Released in 2022, Smile is a psychological horror film that left audiences shaken with its eerie visuals, disturbing jump scares, and emotionally heavy themes. Written and directed by Parker Finn, the movie follows Dr. Rose Cotter (played by Sosie Bacon), a therapist who experiences horrifying visions and escalating paranoia after witnessing a traumatic suicide by one of her patients. The unnerving grin worn by the cursed victims became an instant horror symbol. Naturally, this has left many fans wondering:
Is Smile based on a true story?
The short answer is no, Smile is not based on a true story. However, the film draws deep inspiration from real psychological issues, particularly trauma, mental illness, and the stigma surrounding both—making its horror feel frighteningly real.
The Origin of Smile: From Short Film to Feature
Smile is based on Parker Finn’s 2020 short film titled Laura Hasn’t Slept. The short centers on a woman haunted by a nightmarish smiling entity that appears only to her. The overwhelming success of the short—especially on the festival circuit—led to Paramount Pictures greenlighting a feature-length version, which became Smile.
While Laura Hasn’t Slept was fictional, it laid the groundwork for the chilling themes that Smile explores on a broader scale: inherited trauma, guilt, and the cyclical nature of psychological suffering.
The “Smile” Curse and Its Symbolism
In the film, the terrifying “curse” passes from person to person through trauma. After witnessing a suicide, the cursed individual starts seeing an entity that manifests as people with wide, unnatural smiles, often pushing them toward insanity and self-destruction. While this entity is fictional, the metaphor it represents is very real.
Parker Finn has stated in interviews that he intended the film to reflect the emotional weight and isolating experience of trauma and mental illness. The “curse” in Smile behaves like unresolved psychological trauma—it follows you, distorts your reality, and ultimately destroys if left untreated or ignored. The people affected are often disbelieved, dismissed, or institutionalized—mirroring how real-life sufferers of mental health issues are often treated.
Real-Life Mental Health Themes
What makes Smile feel so terrifying is its rooting in emotional truth. While there is no real entity that haunts people with creepy smiles, the experiences portrayed—panic attacks, hallucinations, feelings of isolation, and being gaslit by others—are relatable to many dealing with PTSD, depression, or anxiety disorders.
In this way, Smile joins other psychological horror films like The Babadook and Hereditary, which use supernatural horror as a metaphor for mental illness and unresolved trauma. The fear doesn’t stem just from the monster—it stems from the characters’ inability to escape their own minds and the emotional pain they carry.
Final Verdict
So, is Smile based on a true story? No, it is not based on any real events or specific individuals. However, the film’s terrifying impact comes from how it realistically portrays the emotional and psychological consequences of trauma, cleverly wrapped in supernatural horror. It’s a fictional story, but one that holds a disturbingly real mirror to the silent battles many face every day.
