When Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) treats a disturbed patient who is paranoid and scared to death, it is the beginning of a terrifying descent into madness as she begins to witness disturbing visions. The recurring motif is the appearance of evil smiles on other people’s faces. Feeling herself losing touch with reality and sanity, she alienates those closest to her and sees her therapist wondering if some unseen force is responsible for the nightmarish visions. When she finds that there may be other victims, she must turn to an unlikely source to find answers, and her investigation forces her to confront her past and her mom’s tragic death. Her life in danger, she desperately searches for answers before it’s too late. Can she avoid the ghastly fate of the others?
The film works partly as a mystery as she follows clues to other witnesses connected to grisly deaths. It’s a relatively straightforward premise with its strong theme of past trauma. Part of the unsettled feel of the story is not knowing whether what Cotter sees is real or imagined. Some scenes are visually horrifying, and though you can sense or guess something coming, it still packs a wallop nonetheless.
The
film is another version of malevolent menace employed in films like It Follows and has a tinge of supernatural
vibe from The Ring. A bit methodical in its pacing at times, it builds tension and delivers its shocks, and
though there are instances you wish the film explored certain subplots more,
Finn impresses. It’s best to let his
film play and exact its scares.
***
of **** stars (add ½* for horror fans)
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