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IMDbPro

Smiley

  • 2012
  • R
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
3.4/10
9.3K
YOUR RATING
Smiley (2012)
After learning of an urban legend in which a demented serial killer can be summoned through the Internet, mentally fragile Ashley must decide whether she is losing her mind or becoming Smiley's next victim.
Play trailer1:07
1 Video
28 Photos
HorrorMysteryThriller

After discovering an urban legend of a demented serial killer, who has nothing but a carved "smiley" on his face, a mentally fragile teenager must figure out if she is going insane - or if s... Read allAfter discovering an urban legend of a demented serial killer, who has nothing but a carved "smiley" on his face, a mentally fragile teenager must figure out if she is going insane - or if she could be the next victim.After discovering an urban legend of a demented serial killer, who has nothing but a carved "smiley" on his face, a mentally fragile teenager must figure out if she is going insane - or if she could be the next victim.

  • Director
    • Michael J. Gallagher
  • Writers
    • Glasgow Phillips
    • Michael J. Gallagher
    • Ezra Cooperstein
  • Stars
    • Caitlin Gerard
    • Melanie Papalia
    • Shane Dawson
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    3.4/10
    9.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Michael J. Gallagher
    • Writers
      • Glasgow Phillips
      • Michael J. Gallagher
      • Ezra Cooperstein
    • Stars
      • Caitlin Gerard
      • Melanie Papalia
      • Shane Dawson
    • 96User reviews
    • 51Critic reviews
    • 25Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Theatrical Version
    Trailer 1:07
    Watch Theatrical Version

    Photos28

    Michael Traynor in Smiley (2012)
    Michael Traynor and Caitlin Gerard in Smiley (2012)
    Still of Shane Dawson in Smiley
    Smiley (2012)
    Official Teaser Poster
    Still of Roger Bart in Smiley
    Still of Caitlin Gerard in Smiley
    Michael Traynor in Smiley (2012)
    Nikki Limo in Smiley (2012)
    Jana Winternitz and Toby Turner in Smiley (2012)
    Caitlin Gerard in Smiley (2012)
    Caitlin Gerard in Smiley (2012)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Caitlin Gerard
    Caitlin Gerard
    • Ashley
    Melanie Papalia
    Melanie Papalia
    • Proxy
    Shane Dawson
    Shane Dawson
    • Binder
    Andrew James Allen
    Andrew James Allen
    • Zane
    Liza Weil
    Liza Weil
    • Dr. Jenkins
    Roger Bart
    Roger Bart
    • Professor Clayton
    Keith David
    Keith David
    • Diamond
    Toby Turner
    Toby Turner
    • Mark
    Michael Traynor
    Michael Traynor
    • Smiley
    Jana Winternitz
    Jana Winternitz
    • Maria
    Nikki Limo
    Nikki Limo
    • Stacy
    Steve Greene
    Steve Greene
    • Crash
    Richard Ryan
    Richard Ryan
    • Kells
    DeStorm Power
    DeStorm Power
    • Decepticon
    Jason Horton
    Jason Horton
    • Flasher
    Billy St. John
    Billy St. John
    • Dad
    Patrick O'Sullivan
    Patrick O'Sullivan
    • Cooper
    Tiger Darrien Blue Skylar
    Tiger Darrien Blue Skylar
    • Mary
    • (as Darrien Skylar)
    • Director
      • Michael J. Gallagher
    • Writers
      • Glasgow Phillips(screenplay) (story)
      • Michael J. Gallagher(screenplay)
      • Ezra Cooperstein(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Has only sold 30,000 copies
    • Goofs
      When the detectives are talking to Ashley and they reveal the Youtube video where she's smashing her computer in the library, you can clearly see the editing options on top of the video (edit video details, edit annotations, audio swap, etc.). This would indicate that the detectives were the ones who uploaded the video, as they were logged into the account where the video was uploaded.
    • Quotes

      Binder: [on Ashley] Damn... I never got to fuck her!

    • Crazy credits
      At the very end after the credits are done, Ashley wakes up!
    • Connections
      Featured in Phelous & the Movies: Emoticonly (2013)
    • Soundtracks
      Il trovatore : Act I: Tace la notte!
      Written by Giuseppe Verdi

      Performed by Sondra Radvanovsky

    User reviews96

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    1/10
    The New Face of Failure
    The poster for "Smiley" boasts the tag-line "The New Face of Fear" and honestly I did find Smiley's appearance unsettling the first time I saw the trailer. However, all feelings even vaguely related to fear immediately began to disappear less than 3 minutes into the film (more on that in a moment). Still, I give the film one star to stand as a personal reminder for that one moment in time Smiley seemed promising.

    "Smiley" is not only bad, but it's exceptionally bad to such a fundamental degree in both film-making and writing that every problem is encapsulated in the phrase: "BAD BLANK 101". Bad acting, pacing, atmosphere, dialog, characterization, direction, cinematography, editing, and sound are all astoundingly present as if "Smiley" was the meeting place for the reunion of elements in hack film-making.

    As a film alone the characters are painfully flat; the acting is atrocious and the main character acts like a being from another planet; the dialog is so bad it smells; every single one of the "scares" are some of the cheapest jump scares in modern horror (that's saying something); the pacing is slower than a slug; during the long-drawn out scenes of fundamental philosophical waxing from the college professor (Roger Bart) that same slug is glued to the floor; I will not spoil anything here because the ending still remains an incomprehensible mess that started in less than 3 minutes.

    Two minutes and thirty-two seconds into the film is a jump scare by a little girl that is simply a soft then LOUD noise made for no other reason than hack writing. Get used to that because those are the only kind of "scares" in the entire movie. The problems really begin as the audience and babysitter are told by the little girl about an urban legend killer, the titular Smiley, a mysterious killer (in that he's never explained, we're just expected to take the horribly shoe-horned exposition from the little girl that Smiley is a well-known urban legend, yet the audience doesn't know; Gallagher just expects us to blindly accept this). How does the little girl know this? Who is she? If Smiley is based around the NOT-Chatroulette then is it an international urban legend? All of these questions are just a few examples of what I kept asking the film which gave me nothing in return.

    Then the awful writing comes into play as the audience learns of how "Smiley" is summoned beginning the long endurance test that was this movie. The Smiley killer is summoned (ala Candyman) by typing out the phrase "I did it for the lulz" three times to someone on Not- Chatroulette causing Smiley (dressed in Michael Meyers' one piece jumpsuit) to sneak up behind the person you typed the message out to then stabs them in the back (with Ghostface's knife no less). Let that sink in. The killer is summoned through Chatroulette.

    Now here's a quick lesson to future horror writers and filmmakers: if you want to create a new horror icon then its important to remember that often timelessness trumps modernity. Sure, technologically based horror movies can make some of the best in the genre (Ringu, Videodrome, Kairo, Christine, Poltergeist, etc) and there's nothing wrong with being hip to the now (if done right), but the technology has to age well and be recognized as being a staple of everyday life with the majority of the public and Chatroulette has not aged well at all. In fact, Chatroulette is stale and by having the killer revolve around such an unbelievably dated concept severely hurts the potentiality for the character only speeding along its inevitable fade into obscurity.

    Smiley might as well have been summoned by wearing a haunted pair of Crocs. Of course Smiley might have appeared more if the characters were wearing haunted Crocs because Smiley rarely appears in his own film. The rest of the film is just awful acting, horrible dialog, and one middle- finger of an ending.

    What else is there to say? Smiley is just all-around bad in every single way possible regarding filmmaking and writing dumbing down or ripping off intriguing concepts from far superior horror films to create a poorly-stitched together amalgamation of first year philosophy, general science, and psychology. The only amusement is watching Roger Bart trying to make "I did it for the lulz" sound ominous and if you want to see that I'm sure Youtube will provide for you.
    helpful•39
    3
    • fcm434
    • Jul 7, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 12, 2012 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • I Did It for the Lulz
    • Filming locations
      • Glendora, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Level 10 Films
      • Andrew E. Freedman Public Relations
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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