Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(1941)
1941 · Victor Fleming · 113 min
Dr. Jekyll believes good and evil exist in everyone and creates a potion that allows his evil side, Mr. Hyde, to come to the fore. He faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run amok.
Drama · Horror · Science Fiction
6.5195 votes
TMDB score
2/5
Intensity
0/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scares
Watching it feels more like a moody stage drama than a modern horror film, with long stretches of tension building around one man's moral unraveling rather than any physical threat jumping out at you. The fear here comes from watching someone lose control of himself and become cruel and predatory, which unsettles more than it startles. There's no blood or monsters in the traditional sense, just old-fashioned atmosphere, shadowy black-and-white visuals, and a growing sense of dread about human nature. It's a slow, talky, character-driven kind of scary, good for viewers who like classic film style over modern scares.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde rates psychological 4/5, visceral 2/5, gore 0/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 2/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 2 of 5
- Gore: 0 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 2 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 10 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 85 of 100 — leans Real-world
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 45 of 100 — balanced
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow, talky setup gives way to escalating dread once the transformation begins, building to a punishing, tense final stretch before a quick resolution.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 4, 3.
How scary is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde rates 2/5 — moderately scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. The fear is mostly in your head — it unsettles far more than it assaults. Expect it to be restrained with gore and scary but not punishing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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