Smile’s Parker Finn talks about the challenges of filming that gruesome birthday party scene

During interview with CinemaBlend, writer-director Parker Finn spoke about how difficult it was to convey the variety of disturbing and frightening moments in Smile. “All the fears in the film were definitely, you know, custom and logistical issues for each of them. I wanted to make sure we weren’t just scaring people the same way over and over again – escalating fears and their unexpected nature,” Finn explained.

However, one scene presented a big problem: the scene at the birthday party. Rose shows up at her sister’s house for her nephew’s birthday party, insisting that she can’t come. She brings a gift, a toy train that the audience saw earlier in the film. Except that the train is suspiciously missing from the box and replaced by a dead cat, Rose.

“The birthday party scene was a major logistical challenge due to the extras and the large number of kids around, and what Sosie had to do in the middle of it all,” Finn continued. The scene is unsettling, both for the characters and for the audience. Watching a horny little boy go from celebrating his birthday to trauma is humiliating, but it’s an integral scene that demonstrates just how far Rose has fallen.

After revealing the cat, Rose sees the smiling creature again, panics, and falls through her sister’s glass coffee table in front of the entire party, only adding to the horror these children have witnessed.