.jpg?q=50&fit=contain&w=1140&h=&dpr=1.5)
Parker Finn is an upcoming director in the horror genre. His feature length directorial debut, Smile, is turning heads and raising eyebrows after the release of the terrifying trailer. It seems as though this director is ready to break through to the mainstream in a powerful way. His first two short films have been critically acclaimed and entered into various festivals. These films consistently maintain suspense and contain a tone that resembles a classic style of horror filmmaking. Finn is undoubtedly director to look out for, and his short films prior to the 2022 film Smile show he is a force to soon be reckoned with.
The Hidebehind
The Hidebehind is the first short film released by Parker Finn, back in 2018. It tells the tale of a 19th century folk legend of a monster who stalks its prey by hiding behind them. According to legend, it lurks in the woods and meticulously lurks behind the lumber until it is ready to attack in gruesome fashion. The short horror film is Finn’s interpretation of the creature in modern times. It is shown against an unlucky hiker who finds himself lost and injured in the woods. At the wrong place and wrong time, the hiker is stalked by the Hidebehind in a heart pounding ten minute presentation.
The film showcased Finn’s attention to setting and detail. He uses the trees to his advantage in making a suspenseful cat and mouse chase. Even more-so, the film is shot in complete daylight, which rarely evokes scares versus the dead of night. Finn uses camera tricks and clever angles to hide the monster and give the audience a tease for as long as possible. When we finally see the creature, it is a terrifying moment that bookends the film with a not so ambiguous cliffhanger. There is a lot to appreciate from this debut short. From its cinematography to character design, Finn showed audiences he has a lot to offer the horror industry. The short is available to watch on YouTube and on various horror platforms.
Laura Doesn’t Sleep
Paramount Pictures is planning to adapt Laura Hasn’t Slept, Finn's second short film, into a feature-length horror film. As a result, the actual short has been pulled from various platforms and is unavailable to view. According to Deadline, the 2020 short is both critically acclaimed and contains a thrilling concept:
“Laura Hasn’t Slept was set to premiere as SXSW in March, before the event was canceled. Despite that setback, the short film won the Special Jury Recognition Prize for SXSW’s Midnight Short category. The title character (played by Caitlin Stasey) is a young woman desperate to rid herself of a recurring nightmare. She seeks help from her therapist to confront the terror.”
Caitlin Stasey (previously so incredible in Please Like Me) will also play a role in Smile. As Finn’s career is expanding by each film he releases, it seems studios are catching onto his appreciation for the horror genre. Laura Hasn’t Slept conveys fears of isolationism and nightmares themselves. While the concept of dreams and nightmares seems to pay homage to the classic Wes Craven film A Nightmare on Elm Street, his original style and dedication to detail makes a film like this all his own. With this film and The Hidebehind under his belt as a horror filmmaker, there are many factors to look forward to with his next release, Smile.
What Can We Expect From Smile?
As the trailer suggests, Smile will be filled with gruesome images and convey fears of isolationism as the protagonist Rose (played by Sosie Bacon) sees traumatic events unfold around her. One can predict a larger scale production value and a wider variety of settings. However, the most exciting factor to this upcoming horror flick is the use of the smile itself. It can be both inviting and terrifying, depending on the context.
Finn’s use of the smile to convey tension and horror showcases his fresh and original talent. The irony of the smile in terms of the horror genre creates this unnerving and unsettling aura, tapping into the same incongruity that makes clowns so terrifying, a facade which indicates one thing masking something much more awful underneath. From the trailers, we can see subtle uses of tension and subverted expectations. In the final sequences of the trailer, we see Rose sitting in her car while another character approaches the car and stands beside the window. Her head is cut off by the frame so that we only see her neck down, only to soon see her head swivel downward in a gruesome and terrifying way as we soon find her face smiling ear to ear.
What a sequence like this shows is that Finn’s film might have a theme of not being able to trust anyone outside the protagonist, and by doing so isolates the audience as well. In all three of his films thus far, Finn has put the audience into the perspective of the protagonist and allows the horror to slowly circle around them… and us. We can assume that Smile will convey this in a terrifying way that audiences should be on the edge of their seats for. The horror film is set to release September 30th in theaters.