A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

If there is one thing to say about Hollywood that many filmgoers will agree on is that it's no longer being original with their material. For most cases this occurs because many film makers, whether being the director, writer or actor are either lazy trying to get their yearly pay or because they really don't have an understanding of the project they were cast for. On the other hand, it could also be because the process of being original is not the smoothest task to begin with believe it or not. That's why the category of A-list actors is much smaller by comparison to anything below them. So when looking at horror genre films, it might be easier to understand why there haven't been many new horror icons of recent memory other than a few. A large portion of popular killers came from the 1970s and 1980s. After that, the challenge became much steeper for anyone who came after. Like much film students nowadays, much were inspired and influenced by such films. The director to this movie, Michael J. Gallagher, probably has been subjected to the same experience.Having a script also written by the director already brings into question whether this could be made competently. As for the final product, it shows that Mr. Gallagher may have not been ready. Viewers are introduced to college freshmen Ashley (Caitlin Gerard), the daughter of a widower who lost her mom to suicide. After moving in with her friend Proxy (Melanie Papalia), they learn that a strange craze is taking over the campus. The craze is using a random Internet chat roulette program. When somebody wants the other person to die (of course, because any does), they type into the chat forum "I did it for the lulz" three times. As a result, the person gets stabbed by a character only known as Smiley for his face looking like an over fanatic fan of Zack Snyder's Watchmen (2009) pin. After Ashley and Proxy try it out for themselves to see if it was real, they get nervous and begin to feel like they might be next on Smiley's hit list.Directly taking ideas from the "Bloody Mary" urban legend, the script is a giant mess of confusing logic with a number of other flaws. If anything, the killer has a grotesque design but even then it's also nonsensical. There's very little to talk positively about here. The cinematography handled by Nicola Marsh (Twenty Feet from Stardom (2013) and Pearl Jam Twenty (2011)) kept the camera steady for the most part. Marsh also gave as many clear shots as he could even for the lighting in this movie. The only other plus is there are roles filled in by some Internet / veteran celebrities most notably Shane Dawson. There are a couple others but the script makes them sound unintelligent and boring. Writing overall isn't convincing either. There are moments where the Ashley character is focused on due to mental disorder but it's only used to further the illogical story telling. Then there's Roger Bart (the singing voice of Young Hercules in Disney's Hercules (1997)) who plays what seems to be Ashley's only college professor of an unknown class.Bart plays his character so strangely, he feels creepier than the villain. Not only does he openly address classmates strangely in public; he also likes to constantly stare at his students and casually drink whiskey (like its coffee, without even flinching) on his down time. What's up with this guy? Really the only purpose for Bart's role is to give obvious script fodder to the viewer so the main character continues to try and figure out their situation. Finally topping off the disappointment of actors to be seen here is veteran Keith David playing the head of the local police who does nothing but ignores Ashley's claims. He's probably the best part but also the worst because of how he's not used to the film's advantage. It's Keith David! As for the villain himself, he too is sorely lacking any kind of development. With a backstory rushed in at the first five minutes at the beginning of the film it only shows how much thought was put into this character.Apparently this character stitched his eyes and mouth shut. First, how did he do it on his own? Plus, how can he still say understandable words and clearly see? And where did his nose go? Was it surgically removed? Making things even more confusing is how this villain operates. How does he know when you type "I did it for the lulz" three times? What if you do this to two different people at the same time from two different locations? There's no motive for any actions this individual takes. It makes no sense. The kills in this film are nothing to praise either. There's nothing that looks overly painful or gross. It's very standard with typical stabbings and shootouts. The scares are pointless too because all that Mr. writer/director knows how to do is jump scares. Lastly, the musical score to this production made by Dave Porter was of no importance as well. Almost entirely atmospheric, the film score is largely dull in several areas of the running time. There's no main theme or recognizable motifs for anything. It's really close to not worth it.Aside from okay cinematography, internet and veteran actors having roles in the film, there's not much to enjoy other than how ludicrously inept the characters are made from a script with enormous plot holes. The horror aspect is MIA and the violence has no invention behind it.

Pros: Very good lead actress. Likable, believable, attractive, interesting, confident, and charismatic. The guy that played the professor was light years ahead of the other males, in terms of chops. I was impressed by the sure-handed direction, too; there were no big blocking mistakes or glaring camera placement errors that had me shaking my head (unlike so many recent big-budget horror movies --Ixm looking at you Final Destination peeps). Also good was the tension and atmosphere. Continuity was fine. Engaging philosophy discussions were refreshingly anti-social. Sort of nice to see /b/ mentioned in a movie, but then again it kind of peeved me seeing how the filmmakers piggybacked on its cachet. Technically proficient in almost every category.Cons: The end of the movie is atrocious! It makes zero sense. I refuse to accept it. The young male characters were garbage; way too broadly written, simple, and uninteresting. Creature design was dirt-poor. Logically, this movie held water like a colander. Finally, the biggest sin this movie committed in my opinion is not showing any girl nips bare bottoms, shagging, or any tangibly yummy displays of any kind, whatsoever. I might have missed a few minutes here and there, so maybe I missed the appearance of the moaning beast with two backs? Regardless, every quality horror movie has oodles and oodles of graphic or at least strongly suggestive content. Therefore, this was not a quality horror movie, period.And another thing, you little punks: There is no such thing as a YouTube star, OK? The word is celebrity, not star. Everybody knows stars. Grandmas, uncles, rocket-stove Luddites, even the "you knee bomber" knew the names of stars. They are household names. Minus grumpy cat y'all got nothing'.

First off I have to say, for a group of people with practically no movie making experience at all, this isn't half bad. This is a teen slasher, pop-culture, amateur made movie, it isn't supposed to be the greatest thing ever, it's just supposed to be fun. These guy and girls that made this movie knew going into it that it wasn't going to be a hit, they just wanted to try it out and see what happened... For the actors, producers, and director, this is a HUGE learning experience, now granted, even without experience this movie good have been better in many ways. For a low budget independent film, it's not terrible, they did get it online, on DVD, and on major movie networks on T.V, and that's pretty cool!! So for the jerks in whom are crapping all over this movie with you over critical reviews, calm down and look at the big picture...

I don't understand why you people are rating this so badly! I really enjoyed it! The twists and turns made me love it even more! <3<3<3 The best part about Smiley, I thought, were the actors. Shane, Nikki, Steve, Jason, I've loved all of them since the first day I watched one of their YouTube videos! I own Smiley, and am glad I do. I didn't get to see it in theaters because of where I live, but I did get to rent it! As soon as the movie was over, I knew I wanted to buy it. I have to admit, I got a little Smiley crazy... My computer background was of Smiley, and I was Smiley for Halloween. I kept asking people if they've seen it, and wouldn't shut up about it! I am so proud of Shane and this movie! Especially that Michael Gallagher directed it! So proud of all the people in it! This was a huge step for everyone, and now Shane is making a movie, plus he's starring in it! I can't express my love for this movie anymore than I already did.