Smile
Even with best intentions the demands of a parent to change, to conform and better align with what is expected sometimes achieves the opposite, Anna receiving another voicemail from her increasingly frustrated mother pleading with her to get in touch and asking what became of the happy little girl she used to be, the beautiful girl with the biggest smile.
Instead, the bathroom vanity unit adorned with orange bottles of small pills which she washes down before bed, Anna fights every day just to keep her head up, unable to sleep and tormented by noises, doors knocking in their frame when there is no wind, the sense that there is something there in the house with her beyond the torturing memories of the past reminding her of who she was and what might have been.
A short horror film written and directed by Joanna Tsanis, depression is real in Smile, though whether it is something within Anna (Konstantina Mantelos) which has manifested in ghastly creeping physical form or something external which has latched onto her and driven to this state is unclear, and ultimately immaterial to the unceasing torment she is going through.
Anna’s insomnia not helped by late night guilt trip texting from her unseen mom (the voice of Hellraiser’s Ashley Laurence) when what she needs is understanding and sleep, Smile expresses the crushing awareness that depression is real even if it cannot be articulated or explained without the sufferer sounding even crazier than they already feel, a self-fulfilling prophecy of disappointment and blame.
Her demon also wanting her to smile, although not named in the film the nocturnal visitor is listed in the credits as Moros (embodied by The Boys’ Tyler Williams), the spirit of impending doom in Greek mythology, son of Nyx and Erebus, the goddess of night and the god of darkness, a lurking presence in Anna’s room which is always on her mind.
Shot in half light and the grim mood twisting into body horror in the lonely hours when the shadowy shape of nightmares become tangible and inescapable, the supposed comfort of bed offering no respite or safety as Anna is pinned down by sleep paralysis, Smile is fleeting but effective, achieving what it needs to without drawing itself out needlessly and with impressive effects work for a low budget short.
Smile will be available on the Arrow platform from Friday 2nd February
