Smile 4K review

Dec 02, 2022- Permalink

Paramount has released the psychological horror film Smile on 4K and I had a chance to take a look. Written and directed by first-time feature director Parker Finn, it’s based on Finn’s 2020 short film Laura Hasn’t Slept.

Sosie Bacon plays a therapist who witnesses the suicide of a patient and begins to suffer from hallucinations that she begins to believe are supernatural. The movie also stars Kyle Gallner, Rob Morgan, Kal Penn, Caitlin Stasey and Jessie T. Usher.

The 2160p HEVC / H.265 encoded native 4K digital transfer with HDR10 and Dolby Vision is presented in a 2.00:1 aspect ratio. The image has excellent clarity with a stunning amount of detail in facial features, hair, textiles and environments. The colour palette is somewhat muted and fits in with what the characters are going through. The HDR colour grading makes for bright whites, while the black levels are deep with no loss of detail in the shadows.

On the audio side of things, you have the choice of an English Dolby Atmos soundtrack (which folds back to Dolby TrueHD 7.1) as well as French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are available for English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Turkish. Horror films are perfect for modern soundscapes and the height and surround speakers will immerse you in every knock, bang, crunch and other terrifying noises you can think of. Dialogue is clear and centred.

The 4K disc of Smile also comes with a digital code. Extras include commentary by writer/director Finn, a look at Smile’s adaptation from short to feature, the aforementioned short, a look at the film’s score and deleted scenes.

Fans of horror will be rewarded by the Smile 4K and it’s excellent audio and video presentations.