Smiley (2012)

In an age were technology has us wrapped around its robot (Sky-Net) finger, it was only a matter of time before people started making up "digital legends". Some you may be thinking, What the fuck are "digital legends"? Well I'm here to tell you that a digital legend is none other than an urban legend with a modern technological twist. Urban Legend have always fascinated me. Stories like Bloody Mary, The High Beams, Aren't You Glad You Didn't Turn On The Light, Candyman, & The Babysitter hunted young kids and teenagers dreams for years. We are now living in a new era, and as Scream 4 so nicely called it, "New Decade, New Rules".

Smiley is basically a movie about a "digital legend". The legend is if you're in a video chat room and you type "I did it for the lulz" 3 times to your partner, that Smiley will appear behind the person you are chatting with and brutally murder them. Sounds pretty dope right? The concept is great. The film however is not.

Smiley stars Caitlin Gerard as Ashley, Melanie Papalia as Proxy, Shane Dawson as Binder, Andrew James Allen as Zane, Roger Bart as Professor Clayton, & Keith David as Detective Diamond. Roger Bart & Keith David are the standouts in the film! While they do only have small roles, the caliber of their skill was amazing. Every scene these two were in they stole. The rest of the cast, was really really bad. Caitlin Gerard was more robotic than Robocop and a T-1000 combined, If two people watching a movie react the EXACT SAME WAY to a bad acting spot...we got problems. The rest of the actors seemed to walk in right off the recent Youtube set. It was bad, and I don't usually mind bad acting.

I will praise the film for concept and the look of the killer. Conceptually this movie could have been amazing. With such a great idea, and killer, Smiley could have been the next Jason. However, Bad casting, direction, and script decisions really did a number on the movie. I cant help but think that the low budget of the film had a lot to do with its problems. Smiley is a creepy looking killer, Think Walmart Smiley face, but instead of yellow its actual skin and the eyes and mouth are sewed shut. I don't feel Smiley was used properly, the film should have revolved around the lore of smiley, where he came from ect. But it didn't. And as a result I feel the film suffered tremendously.

Not only was smiley not used correctly, we barely get any gore. Most kills happen with a cut away, and then you see the less then impressive aftermath. Some red stuff, and sloppy practical effects are present but its the  horrendous CGI effects that will make you laugh. Director Michael J. Gallagher did a good job with camera angles for the most part, but I will say I was not happy with the finished product.

While Smiley had some redeeming qualities, It flopped in almost every way possible. The feeling of self importance runs rampant through the film, and it feels like everyone was taking themselves way too seriously.   GLP gives this rough slasher a 2 out of 5 stabs for creative killer and concept. For more information on the film visit the films website and Facebook page. The film is currently available on-demand. View the trailer below.

GLP Rating: