Smiley Face Killers

Urban myth spliced with true crime is the frame for Smiley Faced Killers. It’s based on the supposedly true events of college students murdered, bodies dumped and smiley faces painted nearby. The victims numbered in the hundreds and as the drifting killers were never caught this ensured the murders a mythical status.

Jake Graham (Ronen Rubinstein) is a hyper-fit, bike riding and handsome student just getting back into his stride having had some mental health issues in the past. Something his girlfriend Keren (Mia Serafin) (and best friend Adam (Garrett Coffey) are conscious off whenever there is any hint of a relapse; the question is about his ‘meds’.

Jake is having of a confidence crisis too when he sees Keren talking to her ex Rob (Cody Simpson) who is something of the stereotypical college jock. There’s also a very suspicious white van that’s slowly driving around in and out scenes that nobody is picking up on but clearly signals to the audience that something is going to happen to someone.

And as if Jake isn’t wound up enough his laptop and mobile are hacked by a hooded stalker who also leaves a map with smiley faces on it. The latter he blames on his flat mate who actually comes to very violent end meted out by the hooded stalker (Crispin Glover) who is in the house

Jake then begins to receive messages about the water wanting him (!) that naturally shakes him up, these in turn lead him to make questionable assumptions and decisions, that lead to confrontations with Keren and Rob. This all heads towards, as we knew it would all along, to the white van, its passengers and purpose being revealed. The changes the nature of the film that up until then was much more concerned with developing Jake’s paranoia.

This is partially successful though crucially Jake doesn’t generate the sympathy that his character could and should do. Written by Brett Easton Ellis the characters are quite cold - other than Rob oddly enough - and little more than sketches, which is fine; I wasn’t expecting a deep character study but they lack any real bite and interest in them begins to dissolve. Leaving the viewer with only the white van and the legend to follow.

Which is problematic as when the wandering serial killers do appear, the motives they are provided with are right out the black hooded figures manual. However it’s at this point that the film swivels into a full-blown horror with director Tim Hunter unleashing the blood and violence and very effectively too. It comes as jolt when he shifts up the gears and the gore, though doesn’t overly damage the rhythm of the film.

Smiley Face Killers is available on digital platforms from 14 December.