Terror on the 13th: Smiling Woman 4 and 5

Alex Magana's "Smiling Woman" films have been getting more elaborate as time has gone on. The series began with two actresses at simple locations (a train station passenger platform at night, a closed public parking garage). With "Smiling Woman 4" and "Smiling Woman 5", the series featured more characters and several different sets, as the Smiling Woman grins her way through a hospital.

Smiling Woman 4 (2021)
Starring: Anna Dahl, Felissa Rose, and Michelle Twarowska
Director: Alex Magana
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

A mysterious phantom--the Smiling Woman in Yellow--spreads death and terror in a hospital.

 "Smiling Woman 4" (which is actually the fifth entry in the series, since the actual #4 was released out of order, something we've fixed with our presentation of the series here at Terror Titans) is step up for Alex Magana. First, the film features an honest-to-God horror movie semi-icon, Felissa Rose and several different sets/locations within a hospital. For the first, time, the Smiling Woman also goes through several victims in one film.

The film follows the same basic pattern as those that have gone before. In some ways, it feels like a small step backwards, because the Smiling Woman in Part Six (the actual Part Four) seemed more interactive than she had been up to this point. On the other hand, it captures the eeriness of what its like being in an building that is bustling with people and activity during the day, but which is empty at night.

Check out one of the most elaborate entry in the "Smiling Woman" series so far, by clicking below. It's another fine effort!

One thing that struck me for the first time while watching "Smiling Woman 4" is that the yellow dress changes with each "incarnation". Why is that? (And if you haven't noticed that the dress changes from victim to victim, just look at the stills used to illustrate the reviews in this post. Anna Dahl and Felissa Rose are wearing different dresses in their respective incarnations as the Smiling Woman.)

I know I shouldn't use the phrase "that makes no sense" about a series of short films where the unifying factor is a spirit that leaps from body to body, but why does the dress change? My first thought was that the dress was what was possessing the victims--in the second film of the series, it's shown that the victim leaves behind whatever clothes she was wearing when she becomes the next Smiling Woman, 

so the dress must either morph into a different piece of clothing with each victim... or maybe the previous vessel of the Smiling Woman dissolves into a new yellow dress for the next victim to wear? (This seems to be the most sensible theory, since the detectives and crime scene technicians in "Smiling Woman 6" didn't make any reference to there being two dead bodies at the laundromat, and as you saw in "Smiling Woman 4", there was only one body delivered to the morgue.)

Smiling Woman 5 (2021)
Starring: Katy Ford, Felissa Rose, and Jessi Sampogna
Director: Alex Magana
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

The entity known as the Smiling Woman continues to claim victims within a hospital.

"Smiling Woman 5" is another excellent, supremely spooky entry in the series. Felissa Rose (as the most recent Smiling Woman) and Katy Ford (as the recuperating patient and next possible victim) both give fine performances--the first being creepy and crazed, and the other confused and frightened. This matches "Smiling Woman 4" in being one of the most horrifying entries in the series, because, like that one, the target of the Smiling Woman ends up in a completely hopeless situation as the end draws near.

This episode also brought another question to my mind: How is it that these films always begin at 1:01am? Up until this point, I thought maybe the Smiling Woman spent the day wandering the city and then settled on her next victim through some unknown (and perhaps even unknowable) means. But as of this entry that theory doesn't seem to work anymore. 

Take a look and feel free to share any theories YOU may have about the Smiling Woman in the comments below!

Beginning on October 1--some two short weeks from now--Terror Titans will once again observe the 31 Nights of Halloween. There will be at least one post daily for the entire month of October, most of them featuring a short film along with writen commentary. Will the Smiling Woman make an appearance and claim more victims? As of this writing, that is one of the many unanswered questions that surround this terrifying creature! 

Time will tell!