Smile, out in theaters this Friday, is the “intensely creepy debut feature” from writer/director Parker Finn.
His feature debut makes for an interesting spiritual successor to his 2020 short film, “Laura Hasn’t Slept,” which stars Caitlin Stasey as a woman seeking help from her therapist over her troubling nightmares.
Ahead of Smile‘s release on September 30, Bloody Disgusting spoke with Finn about creating a loose continuation of his short, crafting scares, and teaming up with horror SFX legends for his feature debut.
Finn explained how the idea for Smile came during post-production of his short film.
“I made the short to exist in its own right. I think that’s how all good shorts should exist instead of being a commercial for something bigger. While I was in post, something about the idea kept nagging at me, and this larger story started forming in my head with a different character at its center. So, I look at them more as spiritual siblings rather than a direct adaptation. I wanted to take some of the DNA from the short, thread it into the feature, and then add little Easter eggs.
“But for me, it was all about telling this character’s story. I wrote it with Caitlin in mind, and there’s nobody else that I was considering for that role. For people who have seen the short, there is a parallel, but it goes quite differently. I love that about it. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just a retread but its own new thing.”
For Finn, scares in horror are much more effective when audiences are invested in the characters. The filmmaker explained his approach to scare crafting and how it began with putting his characters first.
“I wanted to center it on the character, and we’re either observing her very closely, or we’re in her experience and perception. From there, it was all about finding ways to change how we’re going to scare people constantly. There is a visual motif clearly of the smile throughout the film, but I didn’t want anything to become stale. I wanted to constantly keep people sort off-kilter, not knowing where the next scary thing would come from. And for me, I love the big visceral, jumpy moments; I never want to do cheap ones. I always want to do ones that feel well-earned, well set up, and subversive in what they’re doing. But I really, really, really am drawn to the sort of feeling of dread and anxiety and tension that’s ratcheting up the whole film. For me, that’s the most effective stuff, is if I can get people just to be squirming in their seats all the way through.”
“I’d say for the atmosphere of the film, I was looking at films from the seventies or even earlier,” Finn said of his influences. “I mean, Rosemary’s Baby was on my mind in a big way. I think what’s going on with Mia Farrow’s character in that film in the way that she’s being gaslit and is not being believed is palpable. But also, Todd Haynes’ Safe was on my brain constantly while I was making this movie. It’s one of my favorite films. The level of anxiety, the way it places you in that feeling of anxiety of Julianne Moore’s character and just doesn’t let go. That was something that I wanted to accomplish with this film.”
Smile delivers some surprising and compelling horror imagery. To bring it to life on screen, Finn turned to two SFX masters: Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr.
When asked about their involvement, Finn explained: “I grew up on their work. They built the Alien Queen in Aliens with Stan Winston. I love practical effects. As a kid, I was so fascinated with them. It drew me to horror films and why I wanted to become a filmmaker. I knew very early on that I wanted to use practical effects in the film and told the studio that. They’re like, ‘are you sure, that makes it way more difficult.’ But it’s so worth it. I think the juice is definitely worth the squeeze on that.
“When the opportunity came to get to work with Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis and StudioADI, we got on Zoom, and I basically was like, ‘you guys don’t understand, you changed my childhood. This is the reason that I wanted to make movies.’ We just geeked out for two hours, and then they said, ‘We’re going to do this; let’s do this together.’ It was amazing. They were rock stars on set. It was having legends in the flesh with you, and I’m so grateful I got to work with them.”
The post ‘Smile’ Writer/Director Parker Finn on the Film’s Practical Effects and Horror Influences [Interview] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.