Smiley Face Killers
Ratings: 2/5
Duration: 01 Hr 36 Mins
Language: English
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Director: Tim Hunter
Writer: Bret Easton Ellis
Producers: Kurt Kittleson, Braxton Pope, David M. Wulf
Music: Kristin Gundred
Cinematography: Michael Marius, Pessah, Jan Wielski
Editing: Kristi Shimek
Art Direction: Vidar Tevasvold Aune, Jeremiah Rounds
Release Date: 08 December 2020 (USA)
Released On: Video on demand, DVD, Blu-ray
Star Cast: Ronen Rubinstein, Mia Serafino, Crispin Glover, Amadeus Serafini, Ashley Rickards, Garrett Coffey, Cody Simpson, Daniel Covin, Gianna DiDonato, Rachel Crowl, Daniel Dannas, Reese Mishler, Corey Prather, Courtney Friel, Barry Jay Minoff, Kai Caster, Gus Langley, Gary Kapuscilnski, Roger Cross
Plot: Smiley Face Killers is about a handsome young soccer player Jake Graham (Ronen Rubinstein) who is unable to shake the feeling of being stalked by something or someone, as a strange wave of mysterious drownings of male college students plagues the California coast. He believes he is going insane but will his fear of becoming the next victim turn true, forms the rest of the story.
Review: The film ‘Smiley Face Killers’ directed by Tim Hunter and written by Bret Easton Ellis has given us another horror film based on true events. It is based on the popular but widely ridiculed and debunked theory by New York City detectives Kevin Gannon, Anthony Duarte, and Dr. Lee Gilbertson, a criminal justice professor and gang expert at St. Cloud State University, who claimed that several young men who were found drowned was the work of a serial killer or killers and linked the crime with a drawing of a smiley face somewhere near the scene.
Thus, the film opens with a series of scenes depicting animal murders, random men being kidnapped and bodies washing up on the shore. Well, not a bad start, but then there is no real suspense about what is going on since we know that the killer (a deformed and hooded figure (Crispin Glover) driving an unmarked van) is real and is stalking him. Maybe if the director had left some doubt as to whether Jake’s condition was making him imagine, then ‘Smiley Face Killers’ would have been more interesting!
The plot was a good hook for a horror movie, as the lack of hard evidence had given screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis the freedom to make up whatever he wants about the culprits behind the alleged smiley face murders. But instead of expanding on the details of the real case, the film focused on the few killings that too of most people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time with no connection to Jake Graham.
The director has filled the first half of the movie with aimless scenes of Jake going about his daily business, often shirtless. Even his relationships with the people in his social circle shown are completely generic and unconvincing. Hence, even if you accept the shoddy script, lack of thrills or atmosphere, an abundance of unlikeable characters, and gaping logic holes make the film a poorly constructed one.
Moreover, Kristin Gundred’s score, while solid enough on its face, is nearly omnipresent throughout, leaving few moments for quiet contemplation and terror.
As far as the technical aspects of the film are concerned, editing that leaves unexplained gaps, ugly attempts made for artsy visuals, also the ill-advised CGI enhancements rob the films much of their impact.
Overall, Smiley Face Killers is a dull attempt made by the same man who gave us River’s Edge. In short, the film had a high level of potential but failed to deliver on that!
