Playback(2012)
2012 · Michael A. Nickles · 95 min
While digging into their town's infamous past, a group of high school students unwittingly unlock an even darker secret. Now, an evil spirit has been awakened and will stop at nothing to find his true heir.
Horror · Thriller
4.2109 votes
TMDB score
2/5
Intensity
2/5
Gore
1/5
Stays with you
How Playback scares
Playback is a low-budget teen horror flick about a vengeful spirit tied to old video footage, mixing small-town mystery with cursed-media scares. It leans on sudden jolts and a creepy figure popping up in recordings more than sustained dread, so the fear is quick and surface-level rather than deeply unsettling. There's some physical menace as the spirit goes after its targets, but nothing especially graphic or brutal. It plays more like a forgettable rental for genre fans than something that will stick with you.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Playback rates psychological 2/5, visceral 3/5, gore 2/5, lingering effect 1/5, and overall intensity 2/5.
- Psychological: 2 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 2 of 5
- Lingering: 1 of 5
- Intensity: 2 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 65 of 100 — leans Jump scares
Supernatural vs Real-world: 15 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 35 of 100 — leans Fun-scary
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow-building mystery that steadily tightens into a much more intense, non-stop back half.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 4.
How scary is Playback?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Playback rates 2/5 — moderately scary, delivering its fear through jump scares more than lingering dread. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and fun-first. The dread fades once the credits roll.
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