The banned manga that inspired ‘Smile’, the scariest horror film of the moment

And surprisingly, “Smile” hit theaters around the world and has become for some the scariest horror film of the moment, and perhaps of the year. The story of him has many references, but there is a manga that has been banned and even censored for a long time, which inspired much of the fear and, above all, the scary smiles of his horror.

Those who have already been able to attend cinemas say that ‘Smile’ It’s one of the best horror movies of 2022, and not because of its complicated history, indeed, there are not many symbolisms or complex plots like those of Ari Aster or Robert Eggers, but it remains simple but effective. However, while his influences are sometimes evident, there is a truly unique inspiration in his fears.

Some mention “It Follows” or “The Ring” as references for their story of a curse or virus that spreads among people and attacks the protagonist. But, although j-horror is present in every moment of the plot, Junji Ito and her sleeves were the inspiration for ‘Smile’, more evident. In particular, plots such as “Uzumaki” or “Tomie” can be clearly seen.

The disturbing smiles of ‘Smile’ have their origin in the drawings of ‘uzimaki’, a horror manga by Junji Ito’s boss, published from 1998 to 1999. The illustrations of this mangaka were sometimes so horrifying and terrifying that it was even noticed that some of his images were too strong for sensitive people.

Junji Ito’s Uzumaki coming to Netflix

Despite the above, the manga of “Uzumaki” and Junji Ito was so successful in their country that they were adapted into a movie. In the story of this manga, as well as in ‘Smile’, the protagonists must face a much more powerful and incomprehensible force than them. Recently, Adult Swim confirmed that it will bring an Ito animated series to the Netflix platform.

As for ‘Smile’, many call Parker Finn, the director of the horror film, one of the directors to watch over the next few years, as this film marks its film debut. His style halfway between James Wan’s commercial with ‘The Conjuring’, as well as Junji Ito’s dreamlike one and the aforementioned ‘It Follows’, make him a very special person within the industry.

For those who find among the references mentioned above, ‘Smile’ is a horror film that will not leave anyone indifferent and that will arouse strong emotions, many nervous smiles and images that will surely haunt your nightmares for the next few days. This film has been available in theaters since last September 29th.