Smiley

Could be the worst movie I've ever seen. Seriously.
When I first heard about this movie, I was very excited. The trailer looked scary as hell, and the premise was new and original for the slasher subgenre within horror. The mask was awesome (and still is), plus, Keith David (John Carpenter's The Thing, They Live, There's Something About Mary) was in it, how could it be bad? I was telling people about it, genuinely excited for its release. I even shelled out money to the website that the movie would premiere on, promising behind the scenes looks into the 'Making Of'. I joined their video submission contest to see if it would get into the movie. Independent movies like this, especially horror, are what really give fans things that are new and original, so I am happy to support them.

And then I saw it.

Now, this follows the fact that a week before the movie was set to premiere on VOD, the whole idea was shaken up, and AMC Theaters bought the rights to show the movie in various cities around the country, mine...

I wanted to love this
I wish I could give this movie five stars. I really do. I love the idea of a manifestation of human evil, coming alive through one of our greatest tools. I love the examination of "trolling" behavior and how it looks when people take that attitude into the real world. I love the idea of the extremes we can go through when we have the advantage of anonymity. And I love the idea of humanity being just a step in the evolution of something truly terrifying.

That being said though, the movie itself is a mess. Most of the actors are good, but the script is a jumbled mess. The dialogue is so overly-dramatic and jarring. It sounds to me like the writers spent a lot of time researching the inner-working of internet communities and personalities in a textbook, but never actually bothered to go online.

I enjoyed the reveal towards the end and thought it made for a very good ending, but the actual last couple of minutes were a little disappointing and predictable...

Smiley
I saw this for free on Amazon Prime and I thank Amazon for saving me $10. The movie is basically about a killer that appears after you write something three times on your computer on a chat site kind of like an update of Bloody Mary or Candyman. It does hold my interest but the cast sucks & it dragged on for way too long. The big reveal made me confused & the ending screamed sequel. If you have Amazon Prime then check this out for free but do not pay for this movie. It's not worth the money.

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