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Smile is a 2022 American psychological supernatural horror film written and directed by Parker Finn in his feature directorial debut. Based on Finn's short film Laura Hasn't Slept (2020), the film stars Sosie Bacon as a therapist who witnesses the bizarre suicide of a patient, then goes through increasingly disturbing and daunting experiences that lead her to believe she is experiencing something supernatural. It also features Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Kal Penn, and Rob Morgan, as well as Caitlin Stasey reprising her role from Laura Hasn't Slept.
A feature adaptation of Finn's short was announced in June 2020, and the cast was added in October 2021. Principal photography began that month in New Jersey and ended in November. Originally set for release on the streaming service Paramount+, distributor Paramount Pictures opted to release the film theatrically after positive test screenings.
Smile premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 22, 2022, and was released in the United States on September 30. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed over $217 million worldwide on a budget of $17 million. A sequel, Smile 2, is scheduled to be released in October 2024.
The Ring is a 2002 American supernatural horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Ehren Kruger. Starring Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, David Dorfman, and Brian Cox, the film focuses on Rachel Keller (Watts), a journalist who discovers a cursed videotape that causes its viewers to die seven days later. It is a remake of Hideo Nakata's 1998 film Ring, based on the 1991 novel by Koji Suzuki.
The Ring was theatrically released in the United States on October 18, 2002, by DreamWorks Pictures. It was a box-office success, grossing $249.3 million worldwide on a $48 million budget, making it one of the highest-grossing horror remakes of all time. The Ring received mixed-to-positive reviews, with critics in particular praising the atmosphere and visuals, Bojan Bazelli's cinematography, Verbinski's direction and the performances of the cast (particularly Watts). At the 29th Saturn Awards, the film won in two categories: Best Horror Film and Best Actress (for Watts).
The film is the first installment of the American Ring series, and is followed by The Ring Two (2005) and Rings (2017). The success of The Ring inspired American remakes of several other Asian and Japanese horror films, including The Grudge (2004) and Dark Water (2005).
Plot
Teenage girls Katie and Becca discuss an urban legend about a cursed videotape that causes whoever views it to die in one week. That night, Katie, who viewed it one week ago, is killed by an unseen force.
At Katie's funeral, her mother asks her sister Rachel, a Seattle-based journalist, to investigate her daughter's death. Rachel discovers that Katie's friends all died in bizarre accidents at the same time as Katie's death. Rachel visits the Shelter Mountain Inn, where Katie and her friends saw the tape. She finds and views the tape; it contains strange and frightening imagery. She then receives a phone call from an unknown caller who whispers, "Seven days". Though initially skeptical, Rachel quickly begins to experience supernatural occurrences linked to the tape.
