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BrowseAI · unconfirmed

The Banishing(2021)

2021 · Christopher Smith · 97 min

In the 1930s, a young reverend and his family are forced to confront their worst fears when they discover their new home holds a horrifying secret.

Horror

5.1168 votes

TMDB score

3/5

Intensity

1/5

Gore

3/5

Stays with you

How scary is The Banishing?

It starts slow and moody, spending real time on a family settling into a creepy old house before the scares ramp up in the second half. The pace favors dread over jolts, with a heavy, oppressive gothic mood built from religious guilt and old secrets buried in the walls. There are a few well-placed jump moments, but most of the fear comes from a sense that something is quietly closing in on this family. It's more of a heavy, atmospheric period ghost story than a fast rollercoaster ride.

On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Banishing rates psychological 4/5, visceral 2/5, gore 1/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 3/5.

  • Psychological: 4 of 5
  • Visceral: 2 of 5
  • Gore: 1 of 5
  • Lingering: 3 of 5
  • Intensity: 3 of 5

Slow burn vs Jump scares: 30 of 100 — leans Slow burn

Supernatural vs Real-world: 12 of 100 — leans Supernatural

Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 55 of 100 — balanced

Intensity over runtime

Shape only — no events
Reveal pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.

A slow, moody haunted-house creep that steadily tightens into a heavy, intense final stretch.

Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 4.

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