The Binding(2020)
2020 · Domenico Emanuele de Feudis · 93 min
While visiting her fiancé's mother in southern Italy, a woman must fight the mysterious and malevolent curse intent on claiming her daughter.
Horror · Thriller · Drama
5.5262 votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
3/5
Stays with you
How The Binding scares
It starts as a quiet family drama about meeting the in-laws, then slowly tightens into something much darker once strange rituals and old grudges surface. The pace stays patient for most of the runtime, letting unease build through odd behavior and folk superstition before tipping into more graphic, body-focused horror near the end. Instead of jump scares, it leans on a sense of being trapped somewhere isolated and unwelcoming, with the dread coming from what might be happening to the people you love. It's a good pick if you like slow-building curse stories with a nasty physical payoff rather than constant jolts.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Binding rates psychological 4/5, visceral 3/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 3 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, moody build with occasional jolts that steadily tightens into a tense, chaotic final stretch.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 4.
How scary is The Binding?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The Binding 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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