Smiley (2012)

After discovering an urban legend of a demented serial killer, who has nothing but a carved 'smiley' on his face, a mentally fragile teen must decide whether she is going insane - or will be the next victim.

Director:

Michael J. Gallagher

Writers:

Ezra Cooperstein (story), Michael J. Gallagher,

Stars:

Caitlin Gerard, Melanie Papalia, Shane Dawson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Caitlin Gerard	...	Ashley
Melanie Papalia	...	Proxy
Shane Dawson	...	Binder
Andrew James Allen	...	Zane
Liza Weil	...	Dr. Jenkins
Roger Bart	...	Professor Clayton
Keith David	...	Diamond
Toby Turner	...	Mark
Michael Traynor	...	Smiley
Jana Winternitz	...	Maria
Nikki Limo	...	Stacy
Steve Greene	...	Crash
Richard Ryan	...	Kells
DeStorm Power	...	Decepticon
Jason Horton	...	Flasher

Storyline

Ashley goes to her new college while getting over the death of her mother. She meets some new people there including Binder ('Shane Dawson' ) while at a party and she learns about an urban legend of an online killer that has the nickname "Smiley" who can only be seen on the web and he apparently kills people after they type in "I did it for the lulz" three times. Soon after going to the party Ashley and her flatmate Proxy go online to test it out, with horrific results. She becomes paranoid and she starts to think she sees Smiley all over the place and feels that he may be chasing her, but how can that be if he is not real? Have they somehow released him from the internet?

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Plot Keywords:

murder | character name in title

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Taglines:

The New Face of Fear

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Genres:

Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, terror, language, some sexual references and substance use by teens

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Smešak

Filming Locations:

USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Level 10 Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Right after the scene where Ashley and Proxy pretend to make out when they decide to test out the myth of Smiley, you can see the full chat log on the screen while they still have to type it in the next scene.

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Connections

References The Matrix (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Ccut Upp"
Written by Annie-Claude Deschênes, Ismael Tremblay, Philippe Clément and Simon Besre
Performed by Duchess Says

User Reviews

One of the Dumbest Horror Films in a Very Long Time

Smiley (2012)

1/2 (out of 4)

I ignored the incredibly negative reviews of this film and flopped down my $13.50 and was lucky enough to get a private screening as no one else showed up. The "story" is about a serial killer named Smiley who appears through chat rooms in Internets. Basically if one person says a quote three times then the other person will be killed by Smiley. The mentally troubled Ashley (Caitlin Gerard) shows up at college and gets involved with the maniac. SMILEY is a really, really, really bad horror movie and perhaps one of the dumbest that I've ever seen. I'll admit that the first fake scare caught me off guard but everything that followed this five-minute prologue was just downright horrid. The biggest problem is without question the awful story that just never makes any sense no matter how much logic you try to put behind it. The entire film just has you sitting there wondering what dumb turn in going to come next and I guess I should at least give the filmmakers credit because just when you thought things couldn't get any dumber they actually did. Another major problem is that the characters in this film are among the most annoying in horror history. The roommate is just so lame and stupid that you'll be pulling out your hair. The "friends" just say one dumb thing after another and none of the conversations in this thing are believable. Even the death scenes are very tame and pathetic and I'll add that there are no scares, no tension and nothing else for that matter. I thought Gerard was cute and good in the role but her character was so poorly written that I hope to see her again in something better. Keith David shows up in a quick cameo and this here at least put a smile on my face. The majority of the supporting performances are...you guessed it, horrible. SMILEY is really a pathetic little film and of course you've got to have the twist ending. I won't ruin it for anyone but it did cause me to deduct a half star. SMILEY is certainly one of the most aggravating horror films to come around in a while and quite worthless all around.