10 Best Short Horror Movies Of The Last Decade

Many people's idea of a scary horror villain is a giant monster with huge teeth and a gross body. For others, it's a creepy-looking little girl with demonic powers. Really, anything can be a terrifying baddie, even a man smiling as he dances in the street. Wait, what?

The Smiling Man was created by Michael Evans, with Shun Otsubo acting as the screenwriter. It follows a man roaming the streets at night (why do the people in these shorts keep going out at night?) as he encounters a strange sight, a creepy smiling man dancing with himself. What starts as a seemingly innocent encounter soon turns sinister.

It's safe to say that a smiling, dancing man shouldn't be nightmare-inducing, but it totally is. The performance from Paul Foltz as the titular villain is unnerving as hell, and the build-up of tension as the villain continually stalks the protagonist makes it clear that he's a dangerous threat.

While viewers are used to things like vampires and werewolves, there's just something so uncomfortable and uncanny about a person behaving unpredictably. That's what makes this such a great short.