5.22.4k votes
TMDB score
2/5
Intensity
1/5
Gore
1/5
Stays with you
How scary is Poltergeist?
It opens with small, everyday oddities around the house before quickly ramping into loud, effects-heavy set pieces and frequent jump scares. The scares lean on sudden shocks, spooky visuals, and haunted-house theatrics rather than slow dread that gets under your skin. There's some real peril for the family, but it plays more like a spooky ride than something that will haunt you afterward. Good for a casual watch with friends or family who want jumps and ghostly thrills without heavy gore or lasting unease.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Poltergeist rates psychological 2/5, visceral 3/5, gore 1/5, lingering effect 1/5, and overall intensity 2/5.
- Psychological: 2 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 1 of 5
- Lingering: 1 of 5
- Intensity: 2 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 75 of 100 — leans Jump scares
Supernatural vs Real-world: 10 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 25 of 100 — leans Fun-scary
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow suburban setup that steadily ramps into a string of jolts before a loud, chaotic finish.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 4.
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