If you loved
Smile
Parker Finn · Film · 2022
If Smile left you unsettled, you will crave these stories that explore how lingering trauma manifests as inescapable, encroaching psychological dread.
Books on the same thread
Holly
Stephen King · Book · 2023
Shares a thread with Smile: Trauma.
Like the relentless pursuit seen in Smile, this thriller features a protagonist forced to confront dark, obsessive forces while navigating her own complex personal losses and heavy emotional baggage.
The Silent Patient
Alex Michaelides · Book · 2021
Shares a thread with Smile: Trauma.
Much like the unraveling reality in Smile, this story centers on a silent, traumatized protagonist whose hidden past creates a chilling mystery that demands to be understood.
The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins · Book · 2015
Explores: Unreliable Narrator, Alcoholism, Infidelity.
If you appreciated the unreliable perspective in Smile, you will find this exploration of memory loss and distorted perception equally gripping as the protagonist descends into her own obsession.
The Tenant
Freida McFadden · Book · 2025
Explores: Gaslighting, Hidden Identity, Secrets and Lies.
The suffocating sense of gaslighting and hidden identity here echoes the psychological entrapment found in Smile, forcing you to question what is real as the protagonist loses control.
Series on the same thread
FROM
John Griffin · Series · 2022
Shares a thread with Smile: Supernatural Horror.
This series captures the same feeling of inescapable, supernatural contagion found in Smile, trapping residents in a nightmarish reality where survival is the only objective against an encroaching threat.
The Haunting of Hill House
Mike Flanagan · Series · 2018
Shares 2 threads with Smile: Trauma, Psychological Horror.
The way Smile uses horror to mirror internal trauma is perfectly mirrored in this series, which follows a fractured family haunted by the persistent, terrifying memories of their past.
The Sinner
Derek Simonds · Series · 2017
Shares a thread with Smile: Trauma.
This show mirrors the investigative intensity of Smile, as a haunted detective digs into the roots of trauma and repressed memories to uncover the truth behind perplexing, dark crimes.
Smiling Friends
Michael Cusack · Series · 2020
Explores: Existentialism, Corporate Satire, Misanthropy.
While Smile explores the horror of forced happiness, this series provides a surreal, dark comedic counterpoint that examines the existential dread hidden beneath the surface of a professional smile.
Podcasts on the same thread
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts · Podcast · 2026
Explores: mental health awareness, female friendship, coping mechanisms.
If the mental health themes in Smile resonated with you, this podcast offers a community-driven space to process those heavy topics through the lens of true crime and friendship.
Casefile True Crime
Casefile Presents · Podcast · 2026
Explores: criminal psychology, victim advocacy, dark reality.
The grim reality explored in this podcast provides a factual counterpart to the dark psychological tension of Smile, focusing on forensic analysis and the cold weight of criminal history.
Keep exploring
Common questions
What is the premise of Smile?
Smile follows Dr. Rose Cotter, who begins experiencing inexplicable and frightening occurrences after witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient. The film chronicles her struggle to understand these events as they increasingly disrupt her life and perception of reality.
Who directed the movie Smile?
The 2022 horror film Smile was directed by Parker Finn. The movie centers on the psychological and supernatural distress experienced by Dr. Rose Cotter following a traumatic event she witnesses in a clinical setting.
Is Smile based on a book?
Smile is not an adaptation of a book or other source material. The film is an original project written and directed by Parker Finn, focusing on the story of Dr. Rose Cotter as she faces unexplainable occurrences after a traumatic patient incident.
What triggers the events in Smile?
In Smile, the frightening occurrences experienced by Dr. Rose Cotter are triggered after she witnesses a bizarre and traumatic incident involving a patient. These events lead her into a spiral of unexplained phenomena that she must attempt to confront.