Horror Short Review: Smiling Woman 2 (2021)

Fans of creepy faces and jump scares would have found themselves satisfied with 2019’s horror short Smiling Woman. It did exactly what a horror short should and we liked it. Which makes the find of a sequel (and some more) a nice surprise.

At just a little over 2 minutes long, it’s shorter than the original but hits almost all the same beats. Picking up directly after the first story, a woman (Prathyusha) is working late and on her way to her car (in an underground garage) gets terrorised by the titular character.

In an interesting twist, the entity seems to have taken on the form of its last victim at the train station. Returning for this short, Ariel Fullinwider is now the smiling woman and adds a new level of creep factor with her twisted features.

Like before, our victim starts to get text messages from a stranger but this time she is quickly confronted by the spooky entity. From a distance she approaches in a ‘Silent Hill nurse’ style walk/dance and rightfully, the woman runs away. There’s no escaping the smiling woman though and the short ends with one final frightening jump scare that actually shows what happens when she gets her hands on you.

It’s another good story, tight and to the point. How it is shot and scored really adds a lot of creepiness to the overall experience. This is high-effort stuff and it pays off. Check it out below.