Good morning and happy Saturday! Or whenever you're reading this I suppose. I will apologize in advance if your morning or your day is starting off with reading this. It is CREEPY. But, this is the best way to start off Feartober, right? Be brave, buckle up, and read on...
This week's post is another Community Pick. Thanks so much to Dimthelights for purchasing the case of power cores during the Marvel Strike Force sponsorship. Anyone who opted to do that got the chance to choose a horror topic (as well as a digital drawing). His choice was to talk about Creepypastas that were adapted into films. I liked this idea because I don't know any Creepypastas besides Slenderman and Siren Head. Even then I only know of them because of their video game adaptations, so I don't know much about their lore.
For today's pick, I chose The Smiling Man. Unfortunately I opted to watch two shorts on YouTube before reading the actual Creepypasta, but all of them were enjoyable. I loved how each of them showcased the terror of something so uncanny...
The Smiling Man tells a story of a man who cured his late night boredom by going out for lengthy walks. He hadn't much fear of being outside at night, though on this particular night he stumbles across a man who is a little more than unhinged, a man that doesn't seem to have a true purpose or goal in addition to his creepiness. When all hope seems lost and it seems like The Smiling Man is out to cause harm, our protagonist runs away, successfully escaping. He chooses not to walk alone at night after this event and eventually moves away, hoping to never see The Smiling Man again.
My retelling of the story doesn't do it justice so I suggest that you read it here. One thing I loved is that there was a little bit of background for the protagonist, explaining why he was out at night. He even talks about how he wasn't particularly afraid of walking at night, so the reader understands his demeaner. Everyone needs a little fresh air sometimes, right? Again, I watched the shorts before reading the Creepypasta, but I suggest reading it before moving onto the shorts (and before reading on in general).
Reading this felt like the events of this night took place painfully slow. I like the idea of this because it puts the reader in the head of the protagonist. His thoughts are displayed wonderfully as he tries to navigate and come to terms with such an unsettling encounter. A man seemingly dancing towards you seems relatively harmless. But, the upturned head and the plastered on smile can evoke nothing but panic from the person witnessing this. The feeling of being followed also causes nothing but fear, especially if you're alone on a late night stroll.
One thing about games like Outlast and Mortuary Assistant are that you can't fight back against your attackers and this story felt very much like this. As soon as The Smiling Man began to chase the protagonist, it felt helpless. He was frozen... until he wasn't. I felt like I was in his shoes, afraid of what was going to happen if I were caught. The protagonist mentions that he wished that he would've used pepper spray or something to escape which is interesting because I asked myself why he even froze to ask what the man wanted. But this solidified the fact that you never really know what you're going to do in a situation until you're in that situation. "Fight or flight" is always talked about, but not many people talk about "freeze". Sometimes someone is so afraid that they become petrified and that is evident in how the main character stumbles over his words as he asked the antagonist what he wants... The quick movements of The Smiling Man at the end cause the protagonist to react in a way that offers some potential for survival, but it truly is an unnerving situation.
What's scarier? A person telling you their intentions of what they're going to do or an uncanny smiling man, slowly dancing towards you in a weird fashion with no words and no other actions besides those that petrify you?
This is the first video that I watched and I have.... thoughts. I searched up what movies,, TV shows, and movie shorts existed for different Creepypastas and found an extensive list here. This short was a different take on the original story and at first, I was interested in it since it involved a child and was seemingly set up like Pennywise was about to snatch her away.
The beginning was nicely shot, setting the viewer up for the possibility that this child is in danger. Fear and panic set in for me as she spots a random balloon, like that of Pennywise's infamous red balloon. It had something of interest tied to it, sparking her curiosity which was wholly innocent. She expected nothing but more goodies as she found balloon after balloon. Because this short is titled The Smiling Man, I was expecting something truly uncanny. I watched it late at night as well, so I expected also expected nightmare fuel. Something about a smile reaching from one ear to the other is unsettling. I also think that the balloons reminded me too much of IT and I might've had Pennywise on my mind.
While the little girl inspected the first balloon, another is placed with a set of creepy hands being pulled out of frame as she turns around to face it. I almost expected something grinch-like especially after the hand slowly pulls out of the shot. After the girl makes it all the way down the steps and the shot focusses on the fallen groceries, I already knew that something was wrong with her parents. I had asked myself where her parents were at the beginning because it looked like it was late at night and she was just watching TV before wandering around the house in search of these balloons.
The reveal of The Smiling Man was severely underwhelming. He looks like a man that rolled around in flour and is trying a bit too hard to get the girl to react (desperate even). Her reactions are entirely un-phased by something that is supposed to be truly horrifying. Even when he turns to show her her dead mother, she seems unwilling to react to the situation. The Smiling Man continues to seem desperate to get a response and it's just not working... The little girl should have also seen her mom in the corner since the man wasn't even doing a great job of hiding her before the reveal.
Ultimately, this ending doesn't sell the terror for me. The girl's reactions are non-existent. The Smiling Man also doesn't look creepy and seems to channel clown-like mannerisms to make himself seem scary, but it doesn't work... even when he uses the mother's blood to "paint" his face. It seemed like it could have been a good idea in theory, but the final product doesn't land.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short. I watched this after the previous one and it is true to the original work. Everything from the sound design, to the videography, to the acting, to the true uncanny-ness of the The Smiling Man made me feel on edge. I ended up rewinding it and watching it again.
One thing I noticed was that the film is mostly absent in terms of dialogue. There is only one line, meaning that the actor had to showcase his thoughts and feelings using his demeanor and facial expressions. In the written version of this story, the reader is from the POV of the main character as well so we can read what his thoughts and feelings are. We have to use our imaginations when it comes to playing the scenes out in our heads and because the scenes are conveyed so well, it's not hard to imagine this night.
The live action version of the story uses it's music in a way that makes the viewer feel the thoughts and feelings of the main character. We're still put into his shoes as he tries to avoid any conflict with The Smiling Man. I don't think that I can express enough how much I love how this short was shot either. There's one moment where the protagonist believes that he's safe and when he turns around, I expected him to get caught, but instead he is chased down. I felt horrified as he was chased away and him slowing down to catch his breath made me even more nervous. When he turns around, the facial expression of The Smiling Man is beyond unsettling. Unlike the ending of the written version of this story, the live action makes the viewer believe that the main character is caught. What happens to him? We won't know, but it doesn't seem like he makes it home or moves out of town six months after the events of this night.
While I enjoyed the ending of the written version and honestly the story as a whole, the live action version left me unsettled after I finished watching it (at around midnight or 1 AM).
I'm thinking of making this a series to be posted once a month. If you're interested in checking out Creepypastas that were made into films, I'd suggest starting here. I picked something that sounded creepy for this post and I wasn't disappointed.
Thanks so much again again to Dimthelights for this idea. Please go follow his newsletter to keep up to date on all things in the tech and gaming world.
Thank you so much for reading this far if you have. I hope that you have a wonderful rest of your weekend and I'll see you again for tomorrow's poll. It may be posted a little earlier than usual by the way 🧡.
🔪Versa
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