Sam Smith is a minor character appearing in the Bright Falls mini-series. He is the owner of the Mountain Air Motel in Bright Falls and the father of Daniel Smith. Smith disappeared on late August, 2010, shortly before the Bright Falls AWE of said year, with his current whereabouts and status being unknown.

Appearance

Sam Smith is a Caucasian middle aged man with long, light brown hair. He wears a brown plaid shirt under a fur-collared dark brown jacket. He also wears grayish green pants and black shoes. Due to problems with his lower back, he wears an orthopedic belt underneath his shirt. For hunting, he also wears a tan hunting vest below his jacket.

Personality

Aside from when he may talk with his clients to provide pertinent information regarding his establishment, Sam Smith does not seem to be a conversational person, and he is mostly shown to be calm and quiet. This also extends to his own son, though this does not appear to be an inconvenience between the two as the young boy seems to know what his father wants or needs without the need of him saying it out loud. The most expressive he has shown to be was when he found himself unable to move after falling to the ground and injuring his back, causing him to burst into a frantic laugh.

Smith is a hunting enthusiast and has a collection of rifles and firearms displayed at his motel's lobby, which he seems to take pride of. As suggested by Deputy Mulligan, it appears that he also has a drinking problem.

Biography

For his work trip to Bright Falls, reporter Jake Fischer had arranged in advance with Sam Smith to stay at the Mountain Air Motel. When Fischer arrived at the motel, Smith, who was smoking in a dark corner near the lobby entrance, asked him for his identity. After the reporter confirmed who he was, the two entered the lobby, where Smith retrieved the key to Fischer's room, also informing him of the bathroom location and telling him that he would need to pay in cash and on time. Later, as Smith led Fischer to his room, the reporter, noticing the quietness of the surroundings, jokingly asked him if it was due to him getting rid of all the wood critters, to which Smith ominously told him that "it's quiet ones [he needs] to worry about". Smith then unlocked the motel room and gave Fischer the key.^[1]

Around two days later, while Smith and his son were walking back to the motel with cleaning supplies, they heard noise coming from the back. After signaling Daniel to hide, Smith walked to the back of the motel and discovered that the light bulbs had been broken. He subsequently tried to replace the bulbs, but his low back problems prevented him from reaching the socket. Smith then heard a noise coming from the woods behind him. Returning to the motel lobby, he was assisted by his son to put on a hunting vest and grabbed a shotgun before leaving for the woods. Wandering the woods, Smith fired his shotgun. As he reloaded, he heard noises coming from nearby and tried to back away. However, he tripped over the discarded shotgun shell and fell to the ground, injuring his back. Unable to move, Smith started to laugh frantically before he was dragged away by an unknown entity.^[2]

Some days after Smith's disappearance, during one of his blackouts, Jake Fischer saw a vision of him being dragged away, followed by a glimpse of his (possibly lifeless) hand.^[3] Daniel would later venture into the woods in search of his father only to be found by Deputy Mulligan. The Deputy would later investigate Smith's disappearance, with Fischer being questioned. However, his absence was ultimately attributed to him being on a bender.^[4]

Appearances

• Bright Falls
  • Episode 2: Time Flies (first appearance)
  • Episode 3: Lights Out
  • Episode 4: Local Flavor (cameo in a vision)

Notes

• While not confirmed, it is implied that Sam Smith was killed by Jake Fischer during one of the latter's "blackouts". This is further supported by the synopsis of episode 4, which states that "Jake discovers evidence that he was somehow involved in Sam's abduction" (though it should be noted that no such thing happens during the episode aside from a brief vision of Smith being dragged away as seen in the previous episode).

Gallery

Behind the scenes

Cooper Huckabee

Episode screenshots

Sam Smith in the dark.

Ditto.

Sam Smith.

Sam Smith at the Mountain Air Motel lobby.

Sam Smith and Jake Fischer.

Sam and Daniel Smith at the Mountain Air Motel.

Sam changing a light bulb.

Sam feels pain in his back.

Sam adjust his belt.

Sam hears noises coming from the woods.

Daniel helps Sam put on his hunting vest.

Sam takes his shotgun.

Sam exits the motel.

Sam enters the woods.

Sam in the woods.

Sam fires his shotgun.

Sam after tripping and falling to the ground.

Sam's legs.

Sam is dragged away.

Ditto.

References