

Shivers(1975)
1975 · David Cronenberg · 88 min
The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are infected by parasites that turn them into mindless nymphomaniac fiends.
Horror · Science Fiction
6.4737 votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
4/5
Stays with you
How scary is Shivers?
It opens small and controlled, almost like a quiet apartment drama, before the infection spreads room by room until the whole building has tipped into chaos. The back half turns into a slow unraveling of order rather than a series of shocks, with dread building as more people lose control of their own bodies. There's a queasy, uncomfortable charge to it tied to touch and intimacy, which makes it feel gross in a way that lingers rather than just startles. It's a good pick for fans of gross, idea-driven horror rather than people looking for jump scares.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Shivers rates psychological 3/5, visceral 3/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 4/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 3 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 3 of 5
- Lingering: 4 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 20 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 85 of 100 — leans Real-world
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.
A slow, uneasy start that steadily spreads into escalating chaos, building to a nonstop frenzy by the end.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5.
Watched it? Sign in to confirm whether this profile fits.





