Smile Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

2. The Brief But BRUTAL Violence

Probably the biggest surprise and most polarising aspect of Smile is that it's far from the relentlessly violent gore-fest you're probably anticipating from the marketing.

There's actually not much death directly shown on-screen throughout Smile at all, yet what we do see is wrought in such nauseatingly brutal detail that it more than compensates.

Finn does such a solid job of dousing the entire story in so much dread and unease that even the seconds-long bursts of brutality leave a bruising, scarring impact.

Anyone lured in by the promise of a movie filled with gnarly death scenes might be left a touch underwhelmed by this approach, yet the story and execution are ultimately compelling enough that many won't even notice, let alone care.