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BrowseAI · unconfirmed

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 events
Reveal 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.

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