The Mother of Tears(2007)
2007 · Dario Argento · 102 min
An ancient urn is found in a cemetery outside Rome. Once opened, it triggers a series of violent incidents: robberies, rapes and murders increase dramatically, while several mysterious, evil-looking young women coming from all over the world are gathering in the city. All these events are caused by the return of Mater Lacrimarum, the last of three powerful witches who have been spreading terror and death for centuries. Alone against an army of psychos and demons, Sarah Mandy, an art student who seems to have supernatural abilities of her own, is the only person left to prevent the Mother of Tears from destroying Rome.
Horror
4.5462 votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
5/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How The Mother of Tears scares
Watching it feels like being thrown into one violent, chaotic set piece after another rather than being slowly unsettled. The pace rarely slows down, jumping from one gruesome attack to the next as the city descends into panic, so it plays more like a fever dream than a patient build-up. Blood and body horror are front and center, with witches and demonic forces driving grotesque, over-the-top violence rather than quiet dread. It's the kind of horror that's messy and shocking in the moment, more likely to make you wince or laugh at its excess than truly haunt you afterward.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Mother of Tears rates psychological 2/5, visceral 4/5, gore 5/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 2 of 5
- Visceral: 4 of 5
- Gore: 5 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 60 of 100 — leans Jump scares
Supernatural vs Real-world: 10 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 60 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
It opens with a jolt then keeps hitting hard, easing only briefly before building into a chaotic, gory sprint to the end.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 2, 3, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5.
How scary is The Mother of Tears?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The Mother of Tears rates 4/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, delivering its fear through jump scares more than lingering dread. It attacks the body more than the mind — physical, in-your-face horror. Expect it to be heavy on gore and genuinely disturbing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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