

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 eventsReveal pacing shapeHide 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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