10 Recent Horror Movies That Blew Great Concepts

Writer-director Parker Finn’s Smile proved to be a sensation with audiences, earning over $217 million at the box office. Based on Finn’s short film Laura Hasn’t Slept, the film follows therapist Rose (Sosie Bacon) as she becomes haunted by visions of people with sinister grins on their face after witnessing a patient commit suicide.

As Rose’s encounters with the strange entity become more violent, she discovers that she’s fallen victim to a curse and has only a few days to break the cycle before it claims her life.

With Smile's heavy focus on trauma, the curse can be understood as an allegory for mental illness. Exploring these themes in horror is always a tantalising angle, but Smile’s ill-conceived depictions of trauma ruin an otherwise entertaining experience.

The ways in which the curse in this outing function would have viewers believe that trauma is something that's contagious and – more egregious – untreatable. This is, of course, not the case. Mental health is not a death sentence and help can be sought from speaking to the right people.

With a predictable twist, which doubles down on this misleading depiction of mental health, Smile lost all hope of being a thoughtful exploration of trauma.