Brimstone(2016)
2016 · Martin Koolhoven · 148 min
In the menacing inferno of the old North-American West, Liz is a genuine survivor who is hunted by a vengeful preacher for a crime she didn’t commit.
Thriller · Western · Drama · Horror
7.11.3k votes
TMDB score
5/5
Intensity
4/5
Gore
5/5
Stays with you
How Brimstone scares
Watching this feels heavy and punishing, like being trapped in someone else's nightmare with no way out. The dread builds slowly across a long, non-linear story, and the violence when it comes is brutal, personal, and hard to watch rather than thrilling. There are no ghosts or monsters here, just cruelty from real people and a religious tyranny that feels inescapable. This is for viewers who want a grim, upsetting experience rather than fun scares, and it will sit with you long after it ends.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Brimstone rates psychological 4/5, visceral 5/5, gore 4/5, lingering effect 5/5, and overall intensity 5/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 5 of 5
- Gore: 4 of 5
- Lingering: 5 of 5
- Intensity: 5 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 10 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 95 of 100 — leans Real-world
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 90 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-building, nonlinear dread that keeps tightening in waves and never fully releases, cresting hardest near the end.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 4.
How scary is Brimstone?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Brimstone rates 5/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, 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 heavy on gore and genuinely disturbing. Expect it to stay with you for days.
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