Smiley (2012)
Directed by Michael J. Gallgher
A movie about trolls. A movie about 4chan. A movie about memes. When will this movie exist? Wait! It already does, you say?
That's what Smiley is about.
Internet trolls ban together to troll irl, and their target is a poor mentally imbalanced college freshmen who has nearly recovered from the turmoil of her mother's suicide.
Ever seen that Google Chrome commercial with the girl who has just started college?
If not here it is:
You could totally replace the girl in this commercial with the protagonist from this movie and stick it somewhere in the film's timeline and it would fit. Just imagine 'Jess' and her dad are referencing her suicidal mother!
Ashley has just started college and moves into a house a block away from campus with a girl, Proxy, who is Internet obsessed. They go to an ananamouse party full of 4chan trolls and Ashley goes from straight edge good girl to totally wasted good girl. Her and Proxy end up bonding and do tons together, including murder...
At the party Ashley is told of the urban legend of Smiley, an Internet killer that will murder a chat partner if the other chatter simply says "I did it for the lulz" 3 times. Smiley (named after the face of this villain) then appears behind the chat partner and kills!
Ashley and Proxy decide to give it a go to see if the Smiley videos online are true, and somehow Smiley strikes their Chat Roulette partner.
The girls freak out and try to not talk about it. Ashley, however, breaks down and starts seeking professional help; she's seeing Smiley while awake and her sleep, she's losing it. Her therapist gives her some meds and she's probably as shaken as she was right after her mother's death. Eventually Ashley even tries to tell the police about the murder, but of course they don't believe her. Ashley and Proxy fear for their lives because they believe Smiley kills the target then goes after whoever wished it upon someone in the first place.
They try to talk to Zane, the host of the anonymous party at the beginning of the semester, and seemingly self-proclaimed king of the Internet. Being the king of the Internet, Zane is incredibly perturbed that he cannot find who is responsible.
Eventually some sort of break rolls around the Proxy is going to her family's for a couple days. The girls have butthurt-filled goodbye, only to video chat soon afterwards. Proxy can't contact Zane and is worried Smiley may have found him. Ashley tells her housemate she'll go to Zane's herself to check on him. At his place Ashley finds his body and a message, "I did it for the lulz" in blood on the wall. She grabs Zane's gun and rushes back to her house. Proxy says to call the police again, but Ashley decides that she'll handle this now.
She tells Proxy in the video chat to summon Smiley. Once he has come for Ashley she'll shoot him. Proxy does it and they wait...
Eventually Ashley's love interest from school appears at the door, concerned for her, and begins to come in. Thinking it's Smiley she shoots him, then freaks out! However then Smiley appears and she runs through the house, constantly running into him again, like he can just manifest wherever on command. Finally in her room Ashley is cornered by not just one, but a whole gang of Smiley's. In her fear she bursts out her window and falls to her death.
The Smiley's take off their masks and they are but trolls doing ultimate trollin' on that poor girl. Ends up Proxy, Zane, and love interest Binder were all in on it as well.
Why did they do it? Zane says he knows why, and types the phrase to Proxy, still on video chat. She says 'that's not funny!', then somehow Smiley appears behind her and she is killed.
Image from http://www.yellmagazine.com/tag/smiley/
This movie was so dumb! I liked the idea of a movie that ecorporates Internet terms and memes into the story, but this was stupid. The fact that it seemed like everyone was in on the trolling also made all the fake character development so pointless and empty! Even though Ashley had bonded with Proxy and others, they were all just playing a game that Ashley was doomed to lose from the start.
Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
I also wish it was spelled 'I did it 4 teh lulz', or something more Internet-y. Why would they want to troll someone to death anyway? If you watch the movie then you also begin to wonder where do those involved end? As in, was Ashley's dad also in the know? The police that wouldn't help? The therapist? It's so open ended in a bad way. If everone other than Ashley was involved then what was the point? Basicalmicly it's as if the girl lived in a world where she was the only real person.
Acting was decent though. Ashley, played by Caitlin Gerard, has a good pathetic cry voice that squeaks and stuff when the character is really distressed. Unfortunately Ashley was distressed most of the movie so you have to put up with Gerard's good cry to the point where it kind of becomes and annoyance.
I think this is Michael J. Gallagher's first full length fictitious film that he's directed. Depending on what you consider full length, this could just be his first full length movie in general. For a 24 year old now bad at all. Yes I didn't enjoy it, but the acting was okay, the story was clear, and though the cinematography wasn't something amazing and never seen before, it was legible. Good way to start a career making full lengths.
Funny thing to note about Ashley's talent, Caitlin Gerard, is her first acting bit was as Ashleigh in The Social Network. It is a very popular name.
Maybe worth a watch if your bored, or like to have something on in the background.
Directed by Michael J. Gallgher
A movie about trolls. A movie about 4chan. A movie about memes. When will this movie exist? Wait! It already does, you say?
That's what Smiley is about.
Internet trolls ban together to troll irl, and their target is a poor mentally imbalanced college freshmen who has nearly recovered from the turmoil of her mother's suicide.
Ever seen that Google Chrome commercial with the girl who has just started college?
If not here it is:
You could totally replace the girl in this commercial with the protagonist from this movie and stick it somewhere in the film's timeline and it would fit. Just imagine 'Jess' and her dad are referencing her suicidal mother!
Ashley has just started college and moves into a house a block away from campus with a girl, Proxy, who is Internet obsessed. They go to an ananamouse party full of 4chan trolls and Ashley goes from straight edge good girl to totally wasted good girl. Her and Proxy end up bonding and do tons together, including murder...
At the party Ashley is told of the urban legend of Smiley, an Internet killer that will murder a chat partner if the other chatter simply says "I did it for the lulz" 3 times. Smiley (named after the face of this villain) then appears behind the chat partner and kills!
Ashley and Proxy decide to give it a go to see if the Smiley videos online are true, and somehow Smiley strikes their Chat Roulette partner.
The girls freak out and try to not talk about it. Ashley, however, breaks down and starts seeking professional help; she's seeing Smiley while awake and her sleep, she's losing it. Her therapist gives her some meds and she's probably as shaken as she was right after her mother's death. Eventually Ashley even tries to tell the police about the murder, but of course they don't believe her. Ashley and Proxy fear for their lives because they believe Smiley kills the target then goes after whoever wished it upon someone in the first place.
They try to talk to Zane, the host of the anonymous party at the beginning of the semester, and seemingly self-proclaimed king of the Internet. Being the king of the Internet, Zane is incredibly perturbed that he cannot find who is responsible.
Eventually some sort of break rolls around the Proxy is going to her family's for a couple days. The girls have butthurt-filled goodbye, only to video chat soon afterwards. Proxy can't contact Zane and is worried Smiley may have found him. Ashley tells her housemate she'll go to Zane's herself to check on him. At his place Ashley finds his body and a message, "I did it for the lulz" in blood on the wall. She grabs Zane's gun and rushes back to her house. Proxy says to call the police again, but Ashley decides that she'll handle this now.
She tells Proxy in the video chat to summon Smiley. Once he has come for Ashley she'll shoot him. Proxy does it and they wait...
Eventually Ashley's love interest from school appears at the door, concerned for her, and begins to come in. Thinking it's Smiley she shoots him, then freaks out! However then Smiley appears and she runs through the house, constantly running into him again, like he can just manifest wherever on command. Finally in her room Ashley is cornered by not just one, but a whole gang of Smiley's. In her fear she bursts out her window and falls to her death.
The Smiley's take off their masks and they are but trolls doing ultimate trollin' on that poor girl. Ends up Proxy, Zane, and love interest Binder were all in on it as well.
Why did they do it? Zane says he knows why, and types the phrase to Proxy, still on video chat. She says 'that's not funny!', then somehow Smiley appears behind her and she is killed.
This movie was so dumb! I liked the idea of a movie that ecorporates Internet terms and memes into the story, but this was stupid. The fact that it seemed like everyone was in on the trolling also made all the fake character development so pointless and empty! Even though Ashley had bonded with Proxy and others, they were all just playing a game that Ashley was doomed to lose from the start.
Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
I also wish it was spelled 'I did it 4 teh lulz', or something more Internet-y. Why would they want to troll someone to death anyway? If you watch the movie then you also begin to wonder where do those involved end? As in, was Ashley's dad also in the know? The police that wouldn't help? The therapist? It's so open ended in a bad way. If everone other than Ashley was involved then what was the point? Basicalmicly it's as if the girl lived in a world where she was the only real person.
Acting was decent though. Ashley, played by Caitlin Gerard, has a good pathetic cry voice that squeaks and stuff when the character is really distressed. Unfortunately Ashley was distressed most of the movie so you have to put up with Gerard's good cry to the point where it kind of becomes and annoyance.
I think this is Michael J. Gallagher's first full length fictitious film that he's directed. Depending on what you consider full length, this could just be his first full length movie in general. For a 24 year old now bad at all. Yes I didn't enjoy it, but the acting was okay, the story was clear, and though the cinematography wasn't something amazing and never seen before, it was legible. Good way to start a career making full lengths.
Funny thing to note about Ashley's talent, Caitlin Gerard, is her first acting bit was as Ashleigh in The Social Network. It is a very popular name.
Maybe worth a watch if your bored, or like to have something on in the background.
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