Aneesh Haridasan

The Smile Man (2024) isn’t your run-of-the-mill thriller. It dives into the raw, twisted heart of obsession and the way one little smile can tip everything sideways. Aneesh Haridasan’s name is stamped all over this thing. The story circles around a guy—let’s call him a regular, everyday Joe—who, after a freak accident, loses the ability to frown. Imagine that for a second. No matter what happens, he’s stuck with this eerie grin plastered across his face. Sounds like a blessing at first, right? Not so much. Pretty soon, people start treating him differently. Some folks think he’s mocking them, others are straight-up creeped out. His relationships go down the drain, his job’s on the rocks, and honestly, the dude starts losing his grip. Every attempt to get back to normal just makes things weirder. There’s this slow-burn tension that’s almost unbearable, as he gets tangled up with some shady characters who are obsessed with his condition for their own messed-up reasons. There’s no cheesy jump scares here—just a creeping sense of dread that builds and builds. It’s the kind of movie that gnaws at you, makes you question your own reactions to the world. You can’t help but feel bad for the guy, but at the same time, it’s hard to look away from the trainwreck. The Smile Man doesn’t just tell a story—it gets under your skin and stays there, long after the credits roll.