10 Movies Where The First Scene Is The Best
2. Smile
Smile was unquestionably one of the year's most pleasantly surprising films, and it makes that fact crystal clear from its very opening sequence - a deeply disturbing and superbly executed attention-grabber.
After our protagonist, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), wakes from a nightmare, she heads to work and meets with a seemingly mentally unwell PhD student, Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey).
Laura explains that an entity is pursuing her and taking the form of people who smile at her in a grotesque way and then tell her that she's going to die.
Cotter naturally believes her to be deluded, at which point Laura becomes extremely upset and claims that the entity is in the room.
She then has a seizure, and as Rose calls for help, grabs a shard of a broken plant pot and slashes her throat, all while still smiling at Rose.
And even when a traumatised Rose watches medics attend to a very dead Laura, that horrifying grin remains plastered on her face.
It's a brilliantly effective opening to the film that efficiently introduces our protagonist, outlines the nature of the antagonist, and gives us an absolutely horrifying death to boot.
Smile is a surprisingly well-crafted movie throughout, but it's this taut, unnerving opening that truly made people sit up and pay attention.