By Melissa Antoinette Garza
College student Ashley (Caitlin Gerard) hears about an online urban legend called Smiley. Smiley is a being with a carved smile and to slits for eyes. When in a chat room where strangers speak to one another, if one wishes the other dead and then types, “I did it all for the lulz” 3 times, Smiley shows up and kills the other person. Then Smiley comes for the one who typed it.
Ashley and her friend Proxy (Melanie Papalia) decide to try the urban legend to prove it false so they can forget about it. Unfortunately, it works and now Smiley is after Ashley.
Proxy begs Ashley to drop it and not pursue an investigation into what Smiley is, but Ashley can’t stop. Every dream she has and everywhere she turns she sees Smiley. Sure, it’s after her, she continues to research in hopes of discovering what it is and how to fight it.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I went in and the result was a very mediocre movie that fits into the Scream (1996) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) subgenre of teen screams.
The pace of the movie is fine. There are way too many jump scares that don’t pay off. Though Smiley looks really cool, he isn’t in enough scenes. The acting and casting is fine although they did insist in getting all super pretty people. That’s one thing I thoroughly dislike about modern Hollywood productions. The actors and actresses look like models which makes it difficult to relate. It’s not only their looks but their perfect make-up and hair. The result is that the viewer is taken out of the film as they cannot relate to the characters. The 70s understood that so much so that even if they had a gorgeous leading lady like Mia Farrow or Katharine Ross they would have them dress down in plain clothing and simple hair. They were made to look like the girl next door.
The conclusion isn’t as surprising as the creators would have wanted it to be. Still, the overall movie is worth watching. It’s entertaining if nothing else.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6/10
