Stream and Scream

‘The Smiling Man’ Is Four Minutes That Will Make You Never Want to Walk Home Alone Again

Want to be terrified this season but only have a few minutes? Then boy do we have a creepy short for you. “2AM: The Smiling Man” takes one of the most mundane experiences of being a person and transforms it into every pedestrian’s nightmare. You know that paranoia you feel walking home alone at night? That’s about to be tripled.

Directed by filmmaker Michael Evans, “2AM: The Smiling Man” was first uploaded to YouTube in 2013. Within its first three days it reached one million views. As of this article’s publication the short has 11 million views. And it’s not difficult to understand why.

Only two characters appear in this four-minute short film: a man who’s presumably trying to get home in the middle of the night (Sean Simon) and the smiling creep who won’t stop following him (Paul Foltz). But for all its simplicity, it’s a setup that’s universal. When you’re walking anywhere after the sun has gone down it’s all fun and games until that one horrifying thought creeps into your mind. What if someone is following you?

“The Smiling Man” never explains anything about its too-cheery antagonist. It doesn’t explain why this man who is alive in 2013 looks like he’s emerged from the ’70s. It doesn’t explain why he dances instead of walks. And it most definitely doesn’t say why he has any interest in following a random stranger. But all of these questions only serve to make the short more chilling. Everything that happens to this unnamed pedestrian at 2 a.m. is completely random and beyond explanation, which means that there’s no reason why it can’t happen to you.

October is the only time of the year when it’s not only OK to scare yourself and your friends; it’s expected. If you want to disturb everyone in less time than it takes to drink a cup of coffee, fire up this bad boy. We promise you’ll remember it next time you’re walking home. And if that’s not enough terror for you, be sure to check out Decider’s Stream and Scream dedicated to all things Halloween.