Smile, Smile, Smile!

Directed by Oliver Griffiths

2025

OGK Pictures

A seemingly injured man being dragged away by uniformed men is the rather unconventional intro to new dark comedy short “Smile, Smile, Smile!” from Oliver Griffiths.

Quickly followed by some marching jackboots and a suitably militarily snare drum beat, we end up inside an ominous facility where two young soldiers salute their senior commander before the hooded detainee is taken away.

This intense and earnest beginning pulls us into a grievous scenario but the short subsequently follows the two men standing guard outside the torture chamber itself.

Jacob Kay and Aiden Clark play the two unnamed soldiers tasked with guarding the area. And whilst odious acts are going on behind a closed door, the film focuses on the inane banter of this bored security detail.

From their perceived lack of respect to messing about on their mobile phones, the two’s banal chat clashes with the sound of suffering and screaming coming from off screen.

The comedy duo are played well by the two main actors who deliver dopey dialogue well, as they focus on the minutiae of their jobs and various inconsequential topics unrelated to their predicament.

And the short subverts the tropes of army life. But yet again, talking about restaurants whilst someone gets beaten up in the background and an alarm going off as a prisoner escapes creates a comedic counterpoint as it successfully tackles the balance of humour and horror.

Although being what looks like a Black Ops off-the-book site, if I’m being picky then I have to ask why the soldiers have long dishevelled hair and unkempt beards (sorry lads). Despite showing their ramshackle characters, an alternative could have been a formal army setting or barracks to possibly create a bigger comedy clash for the informal jokey dialogue to sit against.

With the old-timey song on the outro credits then maybe the vibe of, dare I even say it, a sort of dark Dad's Army could have been an idea to explore a little.

The technical side is mostly solid although the lighting a little bit shadowy. Dark clothing on dark-haired men on a dark background in a dark room was hard to differentiate.. But again the choice to make the light dialogue stand out against what we're seeing may have been the intention here, but on pure visuals alone it felt less than stimulating to watch.

Sadly though, despite a mirthful few moments, for me the one-joke set up didn’t quite warrant the 14-minute run time. If the dialogue was a bit more polished or the soldiers told a story rather than giving random thoughts on life, then I may have been more engaged. It leaves on a high though as a bloody, hazmat-wearing "torturer" arrives to discuss the tea order.

Griffiths has been bold to try a new genre outside of his previous efforts A Personal Errand (period drama) and Scavengers (horror) to take go over the top into comedy combat territory. As is, the set up is a great idea and our leads deliver the dialogue with gusto but I reckon another pass on a tighter script and a speedier story would perhaps make audiences smile, smile, smile a bit more.

★★★

3 / 5

Michael Sales

X @midlandsmovies