Smiley Face Killers
Horror - enigma thrillers found on veridical - life tragedies can come out as a powerful seed material for well - crafted cinematic story , as typify in David Fincher’sZodiacand Jonathan Demme’sThe Silence of the Lambs . The period of time between the late nineties to other 2010s see a sizable telephone number of drownings across several Midwestern American states , wherein around 150 youthful men were found drained in bodies of weewee . The premise of these apparent accidents turn turbid when authority discovered graffiti depicting a smiley face near most locations , giving birth to the Smiley Face Murders theory . Although this theory was widely debunked , writer Bret Easton Ellis ( American Psycho ) and director Tim Hunter ( River ’s Edge ) slackly ground their latest collaboration , Smiley Face Killers , around this guess , crafting a horror - secret thriller that attempts at a creative retelling of these events . Despite have a few well - executed , tense gore sequence towards the goal , Smiley Face Killersis mostly uninspiring and make up for a tedious watch .
After opening with a needlessly graphical animal slaughter successiveness , Smiley Face Killersshifts its focal point on teenager Jake Graham ( Ronen Rubinstein ) , a proverbial well - round off college student who is perpetually reminded by his best friend Adam ( Garrett Coffey ) and girlfriend Keren ( Mia Serafino ) that he has been acting “ draw back ” and “ super depressed ” for quite a while . While it is hinted numerous times that Jake has been sputter with his mental health , having consulted a therapist in the past and being on and off medication , it is never imbued with deepness or flesh - out in a compelling manner . To make matters bad for Jake , an threatening white van drive by a hooded figure ( Crispin Glover ) stalks his every move , to the extent of invading his home and repose out mysterious hint for him on his bed . Unbeknownst to Jake , whose electric cell phone and computer is whoop by said figure , he has been chosen as the next fair game for a ritual murder - of - sort .
The killer(s ) take their fourth dimension flirt with Jake , get off frantic texts like “ THE WATER WANTS YOU ” along with graphical mental image of brute mutilation , which flow further into Jake ’s paranoia that it is in fact Rob ( Cody Simpson ) , Keren ’s X , who has been make these disruptions to mess up with him . These events take place at an excruciatingly tedious - burn tread , punctuated by empty conversations and long , lingering shots of Jake indulging in diurnal thing such as taking a exhibitor or motorcycle back dwelling , which fail to tally signification to the film ’s core narrative . While the presence of the hooded flesh lurking in the shadow does bring up an atmosphere of dread and foreboding , the build up - up to the climax feels long - pull out , tinged with the essence of narrative predictability .
Perhaps the most distressing part aboutSmiley front Killersis the extremely tactless way in which the guinea pig of genial wellness is approached , wherein words like “ delusional ” and “ manic ” are thrown around without an informed understanding of the deep implication of these terms . The ostracization of Jake by the other characters , simply due to the fact that he is clamber with some variety of pent-up hurt or depressive episode , is irresponsible to say the least , further adding to the stigma surrounding the issue in more ways than one . Apart from this , Smiley Face Killersrelies heavily upon teenage drama tropes to advance its plot , top to scenario , character outbursts , and motivation that seem vapid against the corking evil that stalk the fringes of the town , hence disrupt cinematic submersion and the successful interruption of disbelief - two elements that are a staple of compelling and effective horror .
In terms of performance , Smiley Face Killershas nothing special to declare oneself , as Rubinstein ’s screen presence is scattered and inconsistent , while almost all of the supporting carrying into action are bland and forgettable . However , the solitary highlighting of the film is Glover ’s hooded figure , who succeeds in pervade the story with much - needed suspenseful thrill , but is ultimately a wasted potential as his graphic symbol seldom talk , getting lose in the potpourri of secondary characters . Nevertheless , Smiley Face Killersdoes have a few well - put - together violence and gore conniption towards the goal , which are delete with energizing force , and formulated as sudden and heavy - hitting . However , these scenes are not closely enough to salvage the remainder ofSmiley Face Killers , which is an uninteresting and underwhelming mystery - repugnance through and through .
NEXT : Smiley Face Killers Movie Trailer
Smiley Face Killersis typeset to be free by Lionsgate on digital , on - requirement , and DVD / Blu - Ray in North America on December 8 , and in the U.K. on December 14 . It is 96 minutes farsighted and is rat R for strong blinking horror violence and gore , gender , nudeness , spoken language , and some drug reference .
Jake (Ronen Rubinstein) and Keren (Mia Serafino) in Smiley Face Killers
The Hooded Figure (Crispin Glover) in Smiley Face Killers
