Smiley (2012 film)
| Smiley | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Michael Gallagher |
| Produced by | Michael Wormser |
| Written by | Michael Gallagher Glasgow Phillips |
| Story by | Ezra Cooperstein |
| Starring |
Caitlin Gerard Melanie Papalia Andrew James Allen Liza Weil Toby Turner Roger Bart Keith David Jason Horton Shane Dawson |
| Music by | Dave Porter |
| Cinematography | Nicola B. Marsh |
| Edited by | Zach Anderson |
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Production
company |
Level 10 Films
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| Distributed by | Fever Productions LLC MIJ Productions |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Smiley is a 2012 American psychological slasher film directed by Michael Gallagher and made by Level 10 Films. The film stars were Caitlin Gerard, Melanie Papalia, Keith David, Shane Dawson, Andrew James Allen, Toby Turner, and Liza Weil. The film was released on October 12, 2012.
The plot revolves around the titular Smiley killer, the subject of an Internet myth. Supposedly, if a person on a ChatRoulette-style website types the phrase "I did it for the lulz" three times, their chat partner will be murdered by a killer called Smiley, so named because he mutilated his own face by stitching his own eyes shut and carved his mouth into a smile, before they themselves are killed.
A college student named Ashley (Gerard) becomes roommates with Proxy (Papalia), Ashley decides to go to a party where she meets Zane (Allen), Mark (Turner) and Binder (Dawson), who is mocked by his classmates for having reported a case of pedophilia, earning him the nickname Pedobear.
One night Ashley and Proxy test out the Smiley myth with a random person online. After typing "I did it for the lulz" three times, to their horror, the stranger is murdered. Proxy convinces Ashley to stay silent. However, Ashley begins experiencing guilt over the stranger's death. She also begins to believe that Smiley is stalking her and intends to kill her; her friends and a psychiatrist write this off as anxious hallucinations and nightmares. Ashley eventually goes to the police; there she tries to convince them, to no avail, to investigate the murders caused by Smiley. The police basically dismiss her, implying that she is going crazy and quite possibly on the receiving end of a large, elaborate prank.
When Proxy loses contact with Zane, she video chats Ashley, in hysterics. Ashley goes to his house to check on him, only to find him shot dead with a handgun he purchased for self-defense. Instead of calling the police, Ashley picks up the gun and orders Proxy to type "I did it for the lulz" three times, hoping to ambush and kill Smiley. However, she accidentally shoots Binder, who had been coming over to check on her. Moments later, Smiley appears and slits Binder's throat. Ashley is then attacked by multiple Smileys, finally throwing herself out a window to her presumed death to escape them.
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