Spell(2020)
2020 · Mark Tonderai · 91 min
A father survives a plane crash in rural Appalachia, but becomes suspicious of the elderly couple who take him in to nurse him back to health with the ancient remedies.
Thriller · Horror · Fantasy
6.4468 votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How Spell scares
Spell leans into a trapped, helpless feeling rather than constant shocks, building unease through isolation and folk ritual instead of loud jolts. The fear comes from being stuck somewhere you can't leave and not knowing what the people around you actually believe or intend to do with you. There's some physical harm and body horror mixed with a sense of dark magic hanging over everything, so it never fully feels grounded or fully feels supernatural. It's more unsettling than fun, good for people who like backwoods horror with a slow, dread-filled trap-you feeling.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Spell rates psychological 4/5, visceral 3/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 3 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 30 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 15 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 55 of 100 — balanced
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow drift into unease after a jarring opening jolt, settling into a steady, uncomfortable simmer that keeps building toward a hard, frantic final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 5, 3.
How scary is Spell?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Spell rates 3/5 — solidly scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and scary but not punishing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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