Horror by Mood
Horror Movies That Aren't Too Scary
Low on fear and intensity, still good
Every film on this list scores 3.5 or lower on Watch Darkly's 0–10 fear axis and 5.5 or lower on intensity, the axis for how hard a film is to sit through. Every film also scores 7 or higher overall, so these are good horror films that go easy on you, not weak ones. Easy starting points lead the list, and the rest are ranked by overall score.
Gore is not capped, so some of these are gory. If blood is the problem, check a film's gore score before you pick it. Intensity is our newest axis and not every film has been scored on it yet, so a gentle film missing from this list may simply be unscored.
- Curator Score 7.8
01Poltergeist 1982
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 2.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 3.6
The Freelings' suburban home becomes the center of paranormal activity that opens a portal to the 'other side'. With help, they must cross over to get their daughter back.
- Curator Score 7.3
02Tremors 1990
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 5.0
- Intensity
- 3.0
Val McKee and Earl Bassett are in a fight for their lives when they discover that their desolate town has been infested with gigantic, man-eating creatures that live below the ground.
- Curator Score 7.2
03Zombieland 2009
- Fear
- 2.5
- Gore
- 6.8
- Atmosphere
- 4.3
- Intensity
- 2.0
Columbus has made a habit of running from what scares him. Tallahassee doesn't have fears. If he did, he'd kick their ever-living ass. In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors. But now, they're about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all: each other.
- Curator Score 7.1
04Krampus 2015
- Fear
- 0.5
- Gore
- 3.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.5
- Intensity
- 3.0
When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers.
- Curator Score 8.2
05Ex Machina 2014
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.
- Curator Score 8.0
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 5.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 4.0
American tourists David and Jack are savagely attacked by an unidentified animal while hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. After retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse to recuperate, David soon begins experiencing disturbing changes to his body and mind.
- Curator Score 8.0
07The Wicker Man 1973
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 8.1
- Intensity
- 5.0
Police sergeant Neil Howie is called to an island village in search of a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. The investigation is further complicated as Howie’s religious views clash with those of the island’s residents.
- Curator Score 8.0
08Horror-adjacentNightcrawler 2014
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
Adjacent horror. It is here for what it offers horror fans.
When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
- Curator Score 8.0
09Nosferatu 1922
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 0.5
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 4.0
The mysterious Count Orlok summons a happily married real estate agent to his castle, located up in the Transylvanian mountains, to finalise a terrifying deal.
- Curator Score 7.7
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 1.7
- Atmosphere
- 7.1
- Intensity
- 4.0
The residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves, and as the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers uncover the horrifying truth.
- Curator Score 7.6
11Fright Night 1985
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 3.8
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 4.0
Charley Brewster, a high school student, accidentally discovers the true and creepy nature of Jerry Dandrige, his dashing and enigmatic new neighbor; but no one seems willing to believe him.
- Curator Score 7.6
12Manhunter 1986
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 4.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.8
- Intensity
- 4.6
FBI Agent Will Graham, who retired after catching Hannibal Lecktor, returns to duty to engage in a risky cat-and-mouse game with Lecktor to capture a new killer.
- Curator Score 7.5
13The Hidden 1987
- Fear
- 2.5
- Gore
- 5.5
- Atmosphere
- 5.5
- Intensity
- 5.0
When average, law-abiding citizens suddenly turn to a life of hedonistic behavior and violent crime, Detective Tom Beck is tasked with helping young FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher determine the cause.
- Curator Score 7.5
14Dog Soldiers 2002
- Fear
- 1.8
- Gore
- 5.5
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
A band of soldiers is dispatched to war games deep in the woods. When they stumble across a rival team slaughtered in camp, they realize they're not alone.
- Curator Score 7.5
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.2
- Intensity
- 4.0
When two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
- Curator Score 7.5
16Daybreakers 2009
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 6.5
- Atmosphere
- 8.7
- Intensity
- 5.5
In the year 2019, a plague has transformed almost every human into a vampire. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vampires on a way to save humankind.
- Curator Score 7.4
17The Howling 1981
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 4.5
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 3.0
After a bizarre and near fatal encounter with a serial killer, a newswoman is sent to a rehabilitation center whose inhabitants may not be what they seem.
- Curator Score 7.4
18Significant Other 2022
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 4.5
- Atmosphere
- 8.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
Ruth and Harry decide to take a romantic backpacking trip through the Pacific Northwest, but amongst the beautiful scenery, Ruth makes an unexpected discovery that sets her off on a strange, frightening new path. The couple aren't alone in the woods, and they might not be the same when they come out...if they come out.
- Curator Score 7.3
19Cold Storage 2026
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 6.5
- Atmosphere
- 5.3
- Intensity
- 5.3
When a mutating, highly contagious fungus escapes a sealed facility, two employees – joined by a grizzled bioterror operative – must survive the wildest night shift ever to save humanity from extinction.
- Curator Score 7.2
20They Live 1988
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 3.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.
- Curator Score 7.2
21Over Your Dead Body 2026
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 7.8
- Atmosphere
- 5.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
A dysfunctional couple head to a remote cabin to "reconnect", but each has secret intentions to kill the other.
- Curator Score 7.2
22The Lost Boys 1987
- Fear
- 1.0
- Gore
- 3.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.6
- Intensity
- 3.0
When an unsuspecting town newcomer is drawn to local blood fiends, the Frog brothers and other unlikely heroes gear up to rescue him.
- Curator Score 7.2
23Drag Me to Hell 2009
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 2.0
- Atmosphere
- 5.5
- Intensity
- 4.5
After denying a woman the extension she needs to keep her home, loan officer Christine Brown sees her once-promising life take a startling turn for the worse. Christine is convinced she's been cursed by a Gypsy, but her boyfriend is skeptical. Her only hope seems to lie in a psychic who claims he can help her lift the curse and keep her soul from being dragged straight to hell.
- Curator Score 7.1
24Fallen 1998
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 1.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
- Curator Score 7.1
25Phantasm 1979
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 6.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 4.0
A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.
- Curator Score 7.1
26Under the Skin 2013
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 2.0
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 4.0
A seductive stranger prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.
- Curator Score 7.0
- Fear
- 2.5
- Gore
- 0.5
- Atmosphere
- 5.0
- Intensity
- 4.0
Three years after Jurassic World was destroyed, Isla Nublar now sits abandoned. When the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen and Claire mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.
- Curator Score 7.0
28The City of the Dead 1960
- Fear
- 3.0
- Gore
- 0.5
- Atmosphere
- 7.0
- Intensity
- 3.0
In Whitewood, Massachusetts, a presumed witch places a curse on the town before she is burned at the stake. 300 years later, a college student arrives and checks into the mysterious Raven's Inn to research the town's history with witchcraft.
- Curator Score 7.0
29The Blob 1988
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 7.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 5.0
In Arborville, California, three high school students try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches.
- Curator Score 7.0
30The End of Oak Street 2026
- Fear
- 2.0
- Gore
- 5.0
- Atmosphere
- 6.0
- Intensity
- 4.0
After a mysterious cosmic event rips Oak Street from suburbia and transports their neighborhood to someplace unknown, the Platt family soon discovers that their very survival depends on them sticking together as they navigate their now unrecognizable surroundings.
Common questions about horror movies that aren't too scary
- What's a good horror movie that isn't too scary?
- Start at the top, with fun, easy horror like Poltergeist and Tremors. Everything further down is also low on fear and intensity, but some of it is darker in mood and ending.
- Are these good horror movies for beginners?
- They are a good place to start. Low fear means few real frights, and low intensity means nothing here is punishing to sit through. Some of them are gory, and a few carry content warnings such as sexual violence, so check a film's page first if either bothers you.
- Is this the same as horror movies without jump scares?
- No. A film can have no jump scares and still be frightening or hard to watch. This list caps fear and intensity instead. If jump scares are the only thing you want to avoid, see the no-jump-scares page.
- What does a low fear score mean?
- Fear measures how frightened a film makes you while you watch it. A score of 3.5 or lower means the film rarely lands a real scare, even when it is full of monsters.