The Smiling Man
2015 · 6m · USA
Directed by AJ Briones
A little girl is home alone with her mother when a knock at the door brings a grinning, silent stranger into their lives. What begins as an ordinary afternoon spirals into a wordless confrontation with pure malevolence.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Most horror shorts punch you with jump scares or twist endings; Briones just lets a smile widen and watches domesticity implode—which is somehow more unsettling than anything conventional, and exactly the kind of 'wait, that's all it takes?' premise that shouldn't work but does.
The formal restraint here—no dialogue, minimal editing, holding on that single expression—locates itself in a lineage of wordless dread that traces back through folk horror and silent cinema, executing that tradition with considerable discipline and precision.
That smile doesn't just build tension; it *is* the filmmaking choice—Briones commits entirely to letting one facial expression and the camera's patient observation do the work of a full script, and in doing that, transforms a 6-minute setup into something genuinely haunting on a shoestring.
Reviews
Beyond the fact that his title monster is shit-your-pants terrifying, Briones' ability to lead the viewers into his nightmare with a sense of mystery and wonder is perfection, creating a world that at first seems safe but is ultimately anything but.
Briones takes a pretty simple premise... but through skilful camerawork and assured direction he is able to wring the scenario for every single drop of suspense.