Horror Short Review: Smiling Woman 3 (2021)

Can you have to much of a good thing? We liked both Smiling Woman and Smiling Woman 2 as they were both high-effort and creepy affairs. However, both short’s shtick was predictable and inevitably would start to lack the same level of impact if more were made.

More were made and here we have Smiling Woman 3 continuing on from the previous short, the entity is in a new body. The one of the woman who was going to her car (Prathyusha) and she is now on the hunt coming across a woman home alone (Teru Hara).

A couple of seconds shorter than Smiling Woman 2, Smiling Woman 3 begins with one of the series’ creepiest shots so far. The home alone woman looks out her window late at night to see the smiling woman standing below, looking up with that horrific smile on her face. This alone will send shivers down your spine.

She’s not as freaked out as she should be until she starts to get text messages. She ignores them and goes to bed but the smiling woman is inside now.

While not as satisfying as the previous two shorts, Smiling Woman 3 does have some of the series’ best creep moments. The location alone freshens things up, attacking the place where you feel safest… home. Alas, the payoff just isn’t as good here. A combination of predictability, repetitiveness and jump scare expectation means it ends on a flat note.

That being said, it is still worth your time. Check it out below.