Smile 2 wouldn’t exist without this “traumatizing” short film – and you can watch it online for free

Smile short film: Caitlin Stasey as Laura in Laura Hasn't Slept Paramount Home Entertainment

Smile 2 is now in theaters, but there’s a place to go and watch Laura Hasn’t Slept – the short film that the original 2022 horror movie is based on.

The new movie brings the infamous grin to a worldwide scale, thanks to the haunting of fictional popstar Skye Riley. Smile 2, released on October 18, is already proving to be a hit, being dubbed as one of the best horror movies of 2024.

But before watching the sequel, or even the first movie if you haven’t already seen it, there’s an eerie horror short that set up the premise for the entire series, and you can watch it for free now.

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Laura Hasn’t Slept, the short film written and directed by Smile creator Parker Finn, is available to watch on YouTube. It originally came out in 2022, and its success led to the full-length $17 million feature, renamed Smile.