Smile Trivia | 40 facts about the horror film

“Smile” is a new horror film based on Parker Finn’s 2020 short film Laura Hasn’t Slept. He made it into a feature film.

So let’s find out some trivia and facts about the new film.

1. Smile is a 2022 American horror film
2. The film is written and directed by Parker Finn
3. It is his feature directorial debut
4. The film is based on his 2020 short film Laura Hasn’t Slept
5. The film stars Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn and Rob Morgan
6. The plot follows a therapist who appears to be losing her mind after witnessing a bizarre traumatic event involving a patient
7. Smile had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 22, 2022
8. It was released in the United States on September 30, 2022, by Paramount Pictures
9. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics
10. Critics praised the film’s jumpscares, direction, unsettling tone, and cast performances
11. Though some criticized its portrayal of mental illness
12. They also noted its familiarity to other horror media
13. In June 2020, Parker Finn was tapped by Paramount Pictures to write and direct a feature adaptation of his own short film Laura Hasn’t Slept
14. The short film saw a young woman seeking the help of her therapist desperate to rid herself of a recurring nightmare
15. Earlier in March that year, the short film won the Special Jury Recognition Prize for SXSW’s Midnight Short category
16. In September 2021, the film was announced under the title Something’s Wrong with Rose with Sosie Bacon cast as the titular character
17. Paramount Players and Temple Hill Entertainment had boarded the film to co-produce
18. The following month, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Rob Morgan, Kal Penn, Judy Reyes, Gillian Zinser and Caitlin Stasey joined the cast
19. Principal photography began on October 11, 2021, in New Jersey, including in the city of Hoboken
20. Filming finished on November 24, 2021
21. Editing and post-production started on December 3, 2021
22. Editing lasted through the end of May 2022
23. Visual effects was done by the-Artery and was supervised by Yuval levy and Vico Sharabani
24. By the end of the month, Cristobal Tapia de Veer was attached to compose the film
25. Promotional materials that were released included an eight-second teaser on May 26, a 40-second teaser trailer shown at screenings of Top Gun: Maverick and Crimes of the Future in early June 2022
26. A two-minute trailer and poster were released on June 22
27. Brad Miska of Bloody Disgusting described the footage as “pretty generic”, but said it stood out due to its similarities to Ringu and The Ring
28. Shania Russell at /Film compared the film to The Ring, It Follows and Truth or Dare
29. During several Major League Baseball games the weekend before the film’s release, an apparent viral marketing stunt occurred, as the studio or marketing firm purchased seats behind home plate, with actors smiling maniacally into the camera for the pitcher-batter shot for extended periods of time
30. Some of the actors wore shirts with the name and logo of the film on the front
31. A tie-up with the Craiyon text-to-image generator involved AI generation of images of nightmarish smiles
32. In the United States and Canada, Smile was released alongside Bros
33. It is projected to gross $16–20 million from 3,600 theaters in its opening weekend
34. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 78%
35. Based on 82 reviews
36. With an average rating of 6.4/10
37. The site’s critical consensus reads, “Deeply creepy visuals and a standout Sosie Bacon further elevate Smile’s unsettling exploration of trauma, adding up to the rare feature that satisfyingly expands on a short”
38. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100
39. Based on 22 critics
40. Indicating “generally favorable reviews”