The perversion of a gesture of kindness into a sinister symbol of doom has fascinated horror fans and left an unforgettable impression on all. For those who loved Smile, here are some horror movies that deliver similar scares, themes, styles, and tones.
10 It Follows
Smiles are in short supply in this chilling horror film about a supernatural entity that slowly but steadily makes its way toward its victim. “It” doesn’t make its presence known with any particular expression like Smile’s antagonist does, but it does invoke a similar sense of tenseness and suspension in viewers, who are forced to the edge of their seats as they scan the figures on the screen.
Only able to wonder which one could be a monster hiding in plain sight. It Follows is currently available to stream on Netflix.
9 Truth Or Dare
If viewers were thrilled by Smile’s creepy grins, this film is riddled with inhuman smiles that are sure to deliver a similar brand of unease. Truth Or Dare centers on a group of college students whose night of playing the popular, eponymous game takes a deadly turn when they realize a supernatural presence has hijacked the game.
The unearthly smirks that overtake the faces of people being used to challenge the players to tell the truth or perform a dare are by far the scariest thing about this movie. Truth or Dare is currently only available to rent or purchase.
8 Umma
Sandra Oh headlines in this grim film that touches on similar underlying themes in Smile, such as childhood trauma, abusive parenting, and family estrangement. Deriving its title from the Korean word for “mother”, the plot follows Oh’s character, Amanda, after she receives her late mother’s ashes.
Receiving her umma’s ashes triggers a series of supernatural occurrences that force Amanda to battle her umma’s influence on her both psychologically and physically, or risk following in her umma’s footsteps. Umma is currently available to stream on Netflix.
7 Gothika
The psychological and supernatural are intertwined so intricately in this thriller flick that even the characters question whether it’s their own diseased minds pulling the strings or if there is something more unearthly at play. Halle Berry takes the lead as a prison psychiatrist, Miranda, who is convinced that a ghost possessed her and butchered her husband.
The rest of the world, however, is not so certain, and like Smile’s victims, Miranda is written off as a lunatic albeit one with homicidal tendencies. Gothika is currently only available to rent or purchase.
6 Polaroid
Based on the director’s short film of the same name, the supernatural horror film captures the story of a Polaroid camera with a dark past and a determination to murder whoever has the misfortune of their photograph being developed by it.
Similar to Smile, the movie’s characters are almost immediately drawn into a deadly situation and spend most of the runtime urgently trying to find a way to survive the fatal circumstances they have found themselves in. Polaroid is currently available to stream on STARZ.
5 Drag Me To Hell
Like Smile’s protagonist, bank loan officer Christine must contend with a curse and discover how to circumvent its wrath after denying a mortgage extension for an elderly woman with a talent for dark magic and a nasty habit of holding grudges. Though rather than merely ending her life early, Christine’s curse will damn her to hell for eternity.
The film was directed and co-written by Sam Raimi, the director of the Spider-ManTrilogy, and won multiple film awards. Drag Me To Hell is currently available to stream on Peacock.
4 The Purge
The first installment of The Purge franchise is notorious for not only the wide-toothed uncanny valley masks its bloodthirsty antagonists don but also the sinister smile their leader wears under his mask as he politely asks the Sandin family to allow them to murder a man, lest the Sandins be massacred themselves.
If viewers enjoy being unsettled by a scary smile, The Purge delivers eerie smirks from start to finish. A sixth installment in the franchise is in the works. The Purge is currently available to stream on HBO Max.
3 The Ring (2002)
This iconic horror movie is an adaptation of the acclaimed Japanese film, Ring or Ringu. Like Smile, the plot revolves around a lethal curse that has the timespan of a week and spreads to new victims in a chain-mail type fashion. The Ring centers around a mysterious videotape that supposedly inflicts death upon whoever watches it.
Rachel, a journalist, watches the disturbing video herself and quickly realizes that its rumors are true and that she’ll have to race against the clock to save her life. The Ring is currently available to stream on Paramount Plus.
2 Goodnight Mommy
A remake of an Austrian film of the same name, the psychological horror film focuses on a pair of twin brothers who move into their mother’s isolated home. The two begin to suspect that their bizarrely behaving mother, whose face is completely covered in surgical bandages, is not the woman she claims to be.
1 The Invisible Man
Offering a modern twist on the infamous novel and even more notorious protagonist, all of which share the same name, The Invisible Man tells the tale of a woman struggling to escape the clutches of her abusive ex-boyfriend who is seemingly willing to break the laws of science and mortality to maintain his hold on her.
More: Non-Horror Movies That Are Still Terrifying
