The Widow(2020)
2020 · Ivan Minin · 80 min
Based on real events. In a densely forested area north of St. Petersburg people have been going missing for three decades. The few corpses ever found were naked. On October 14, 2017 a team of volunteers went out into the woods in search of a missing teenager. Soon, all communication with them was lost. Locals believe they were taken by the same dark spirit that took the others. They call it the Limping Widow.
Horror · Thriller
5.6110 votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
2/5
Gore
3/5
Stays with you
How The Widow scares
It opens like a documentary-style search for a missing person, easing you into the woods before slowly tightening the screws as the search team loses contact with the outside world. Most of the runtime is spent building unease through darkness, isolation, and the sense that something is watching from just out of sight, rather than throwing constant scares at you. The found-footage style keeps things grounded and shaky, which makes the quieter stretches feel more unsettling than the loud moments. It's aimed at people who like folklore-based dread and getting lost in the woods more than gore or nonstop jolts.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Widow rates psychological 4/5, visceral 3/5, gore 2/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 2 of 5
- Lingering: 3 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 25 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 15 of 100 — leans Supernatural
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 trek that steadily tightens into a relentless final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5.
How scary is The Widow?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The Widow rates 3/5 — solidly scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and genuinely disturbing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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