"Smiley" may think that making a spin of the Bloody Mary urban legend into the digital age is going to be a success. Unfortunately, "Smiley" turns out to feel as old as its reference material. New kicks aside, the film feels that it was made from way back in the early 90s, maybe even earlier. Factor in an amateurish cast, repetitive scares and a sluggish plot and what you get is a film, that ironically, won't make you smile. "Smiley" is one disaster of epic proportions.
Stacy (Nikki Limo) is told the story of Smiley, an internet urban legend. When someone types the keywords "I did it for the lulz" three consecutive times, Smiley appears and kills the person you are video-chatting with. Unfortunately for Stacy, someone types those keywords during her chat session with a mysterious man. Suddenly, she gets violently killed.Ashley (Caitlin Gerard) is off to college and hoping for a fresh start from the dorky girl she was during high school. She meets her housemate Proxy (Melanie Papalia) and both go to a party hosted by Zane (Andrew James Allen), an internet hacker. At the party Ashley hears the story of Smiley and doubts its reality. The next day Ashley and Proxy decide to try the Smiley test by typing "I did it for the lulz" three times in a video chat with a random user named Flasher (Jason Horton). Flasher gets murdered. The girls are terrified but decide not to report the incident to the police. But soon, Ashley sees and hears Smiley trying to get her. She fears that the evil they unleashed is also out to get her and her friend Proxy.
Finding good things to write about "Smiley" is one hard thing to do because what you get is total trash. But what can you expect from a first-time director with a low-budget, independently produced film right? Honestly, it shouldn't be that way because what "Smiley" clearly lacks is not about the money or the distribution channels. Creativity doesn't cost a thing and "Smiley" has none of it. The plot is mostly been there, done that but the ending was a surprise. Although "surprise" in the context of being bad. Because what the film eventually reveals about the legend of Smiley does not make any sense. The film never establishes clearly why Smiley did what he/they did and it further cements what a waste of time it was. As for the acting, it was ho-hum. With Amateur actors in tow, don't expect anything convincing in the acting department. And as for the effects and gore, it was mostly non-existent and if it did show up, it was poorly-done. Overall, "Smiley" is a must pass. Don't waste your time and money on this one even with a rental.
Rating: 1 reel
Why you should watch it:
- no reason whatsoever
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- amateurish vast means amateurish acting
- horrendous and non-existent scare or gore
- plot makes no sense especially the reveal part
Stacy (Nikki Limo) is told the story of Smiley, an internet urban legend. When someone types the keywords "I did it for the lulz" three consecutive times, Smiley appears and kills the person you are video-chatting with. Unfortunately for Stacy, someone types those keywords during her chat session with a mysterious man. Suddenly, she gets violently killed.Ashley (Caitlin Gerard) is off to college and hoping for a fresh start from the dorky girl she was during high school. She meets her housemate Proxy (Melanie Papalia) and both go to a party hosted by Zane (Andrew James Allen), an internet hacker. At the party Ashley hears the story of Smiley and doubts its reality. The next day Ashley and Proxy decide to try the Smiley test by typing "I did it for the lulz" three times in a video chat with a random user named Flasher (Jason Horton). Flasher gets murdered. The girls are terrified but decide not to report the incident to the police. But soon, Ashley sees and hears Smiley trying to get her. She fears that the evil they unleashed is also out to get her and her friend Proxy.
Finding good things to write about "Smiley" is one hard thing to do because what you get is total trash. But what can you expect from a first-time director with a low-budget, independently produced film right? Honestly, it shouldn't be that way because what "Smiley" clearly lacks is not about the money or the distribution channels. Creativity doesn't cost a thing and "Smiley" has none of it. The plot is mostly been there, done that but the ending was a surprise. Although "surprise" in the context of being bad. Because what the film eventually reveals about the legend of Smiley does not make any sense. The film never establishes clearly why Smiley did what he/they did and it further cements what a waste of time it was. As for the acting, it was ho-hum. With Amateur actors in tow, don't expect anything convincing in the acting department. And as for the effects and gore, it was mostly non-existent and if it did show up, it was poorly-done. Overall, "Smiley" is a must pass. Don't waste your time and money on this one even with a rental.
Rating: 1 reel
Why you should watch it:
- no reason whatsoever
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- amateurish vast means amateurish acting
- horrendous and non-existent scare or gore
- plot makes no sense especially the reveal part
Comments
Post a Comment