# Weird smiles creep me out **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 5, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233 "2011-04-05T03:39:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/1 "2011-04-05T03:39:11Z")
I like scary movies and most scares just shock me and then I move on but sometimes there is a scene in a movie or TV show where someone or something smiles in a weird, creepy way and it freaks me out. It could be a smile that goes too far or that has creepy horrible teeth or any number of reasons. They don’t show up often in horror movies but scenes like that get me every time. Anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/2 "2011-04-05T08:28:40Z")
Yeah sure, weird smiles can be creepy. Very creepy. It has more to do with the situation or the look on the face than teeth, for me. Vincent D’onofrio’s smile in Full Metal Jacket is about as scary as a person can get, and Jack Nicholson got some good mileage out of his sneer in, “The Shining.” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/3 "2011-04-05T09:02:14Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > Vincent D’onofrio’s smile in Full Metal Jacket is about as scary as a person can get You mean [this one](http://www.jordanburchette.com/images/writing_pix/article_pix/full_metal_jacket.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/4 "2011-04-05T13:04:12Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You mean [this one](http://www.jordanburchette.com/images/writing_pix/article_pix/full_metal_jacket.jpg)? The link in your post was light grey in color when I first saw it (meaning it’s a link Firefox recognizes as one I’ve already clicked on), so yeah, that’s the one I meant. I thought about linking to it as well. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/5 "2011-04-05T14:31:49Z")
Every time I see [Paula Dean](http://www.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/29686-paula-dean-doing-ok-after-being-whacked-by-flying-ham/1259008579_paula-dean-290.jpg) on the cover of her latest cooking magazine, I have a strong urge to reach for my shotgun for some reason… ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/6 "2011-04-05T14:58:07Z")
You mean like Tom Hanks’ botched facial reconstruction smile? ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/7 "2011-04-05T15:30:18Z")
There was an episode of Buffy (“Conversations with Dead People”) where Willow is supposedly talking to the ghost of a very sweet girl who died earlier in the season, but she’s not who she says she is. At the end of the conversation, the girl starts to smile and it gets wider, and wider…freaked me out more than anything else I ever saw on that show. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/8 "2011-04-05T16:39:48Z")
I thought of Buffy too, only I was thinking of [The Gentlemen](http://www.chroniclesofmania.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/scarytv-hush.jpg) in “Hush.” ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/9 "2011-04-05T16:50:35Z")
Not TV or a movie, but real life. Last month I went to a restaurant and was greeted at the door by the maitre’d. He gave me a big forced fake “trust me” smile that almost made me run away. Think Tim Curry in Clue. I started looking around for the casket he was going to put my dead body in. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/10 "2011-04-05T17:04:17Z")
I was going to make a joke about [Elizabeth Short](http://images.moviepostershop.com/the-black-dahlia-movie-poster-1020395252.jpg)but in searching for the photo I linked to I unfortunately ran across photos of the real Elizabeth’s er, _smile_, and it didn’t seem all that funny anymore. Who can forget [Karen Black](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kRuD6zV4Fqs/TLdY83iSc4I/AAAAAAAAFlk/Uy1f-p1avH4/s400/ishot-1958.jpg) in " Trilogy of Terror"? That might be cheating, though, since she’s wearing those teeth. [The chauffeur](http://www.amoeba.com/dynamic-images/blog/Eric_B/07-thechauffeur-690.jpg)in " Burnt Offerings " was pretty damn menacing, though looking at the picture now I realize his scary factor was more due to context. I’ll come back with more that aren’t from cheesy '70s movies. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/11 "2011-04-05T17:11:07Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I was going to make a joke about [Elizabeth Short](http://images.moviepostershop.com/the-black-dahlia-movie-poster-1020395252.jpg)but in searching for the photo I linked to I unfortunately ran across photos of the real Elizabeth’s er, _smile_, and it didn’t seem all that funny anymore. > > Who can forget [Karen Black](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kRuD6zV4Fqs/TLdY83iSc4I/AAAAAAAAFlk/Uy1f-p1avH4/s400/ishot-1958.jpg) in " Trilogy of Terror"? That might be cheating, though, since she’s wearing those teeth. > > [The chauffeur](http://www.amoeba.com/dynamic-images/blog/Eric_B/07-thechauffeur-690.jpg)in " Burnt Offerings " was pretty damn menacing, though looking at the picture now I realize his scary factor was more due to context. > > I’ll come back with more that aren’t from cheesy '70s movies. Yep. The Burnt Offerings Chauffeur. Eeeeeeeee! ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/12 "2011-04-05T17:36:53Z")
You probably don’t want to click [this.](http://community.livejournal.com/thrifthorror/544287.html?#cutid1) Of course the eyes have a lot to do with the creepiness as well. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/13 "2011-04-06T00:48:02Z")
Whatever you do, avoid the old horror movie **Mr. Sardonicus**. :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![Private\_Bin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@Private\_Bin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Private_Bin)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/14 "2011-04-07T06:40:03Z")
[Conrad Veidt has a face you can trust](http://www.filmfestivals.com/cannes98/dirus2.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/15 "2011-04-07T08:36:17Z")
Check out [this deleted scene from Terminator 2…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h306vFHACP8) ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/16 "2011-04-07T08:50:48Z")
[Reverend Henry Kane](http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=reverend+kane&aq=f&aqi=g2&aql=&oq=) from Poltergeist 2 had a pretty creepy smile. His gaunt face in the film was supposedly attributed to the fact that the actor was dying of stomach cancer during filming. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2011, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/17 "2011-04-07T08:53:07Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Check out [this deleted scene from Terminator 2…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h306vFHACP8) I don’t think that’s a deleted scene. o.O Unless everything I’ve seen has been extended editions. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/18 "2011-04-08T04:02:20Z")
[Chucky (both of them):](http://www.buffalorising.com/assets_c/2009/11/jon-gruden-thumb-375xauto-6968.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/19 "2011-04-08T08:47:55Z")
I beg the OP not to look at the image on [this TVTropes page](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FrozenFace). Yes, it involves makeup, but it was the first image on that site to actually creep me out. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233/20 "2011-04-08T17:21:17Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I beg the OP not to look at the image on [this TVTropes page](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FrozenFace). > > Yes, it involves makeup, but it was the first image on that site to actually creep me out. I should have listened to you… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-smiles-creep-me-out/577233.md?page=2)