Dread(2009)
2009 · Anthony DiBlasi · 108 min
Three college students set out to document what other people dread the most. However, one of the three turns out to secretly be a sadistic psychopath who uses this knowledge to gruesomely torture the subjects.
Horror · Drama · Thriller
5.5271 votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
4/5
Gore
4/5
Stays with you
How scary is Dread?
There's a queasy, slow-building unease here that comes from watching someone manipulate people's deepest fears rather than from any sudden scares. The first half feels like a tense drama about obsession and control, and it gradually tightens into something much more cruel and hard to watch. Once the torment starts, it leans into stomach-turning, drawn-out cruelty rather than quick shocks, so the fear comes from dread and helplessness more than jolts. It's the kind of horror that sits with you afterward instead of giving you a fun scare.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Dread rates psychological 4/5, visceral 3/5, gore 4/5, lingering effect 4/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 4 of 5
- Lingering: 4 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 15 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 90 of 100 — leans Real-world
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 75 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, character-driven build that simmers with unease before tightening into a brutal, unrelenting final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5.
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