How scary is The Black Cat?

On our intensity scale, The Black Cat rates 4/10 for jump scares and 6/10 for dread. It is on the gentler side — it favors mood and atmosphere over hard scares.

How gory is The Black Cat?

The Black Cat rates 2/10 for gore — expect almost no gore.

How long is The Black Cat?

The Black Cat runs 65 minutes (1h 5m).

What is The Black Cat rated?

The Black Cat has no MPAA certificate — common for films released outside the US. On our scale it rates 4/10 for jump scares, 2/10 for gore and 6/10 for dread.

Where to watch The Black Cat (1934)?

We have not been able to confirm where The Black Cat is streaming in the US. Look for it on digital rental or purchase (Apple TV, Prime Video, or your usual store).

The Black Cat

Name: The Black Cat
Director: Edgar G. Ulmer
Genre: Gothic, Universal Monsters, Occult, Psychological, Atmospheric
Released: 1934
Duration: 65 min
Rating: 6.9
Cast: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Julie Bishop, Egon Brecher

1934 · Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer · 65 min

GothicUniversal MonstersOccultPsychologicalAtmospheric

7.4/10

IMDb6.915k votes Tomatometer89% Popcornmeter69% 豆瓣 Douban6.8628 votes

jumps 4

gore 2

dread 6

Tap a dot to add your rating.

Where to watch: We have not been able to check the US streamers for this one — try digital rental.

How it scared people

The vibe

Karloff plays a Bauhaus architect who built his glass-and-steel house on the ruins of a fort where he sent thousands of men to die, and Lugosi is the one who came back to collect. Their first pairing is barely Poe at all — satanism, a chess game for a woman's life, and a skinning staged entirely in shadow. Universal's strangest hit.

The Black Cat (1934) Parents Guide

MPA rating	No MPAA certificate (released outside the US system)
Runtime	65 minutes
Jump scares	2/5 — on the gentler side — it favors mood and atmosphere over hard scares
Gore	1/5 — almost no gore
Dread	3/5 — a lingering atmosphere that stays for the evening
Themes	occult ritual; psychological distress

The Black Cat carries no MPAA certificate. We score it 2/5 for jump scares, 1/5 for gore and 3/5 for lingering dread, over 65 minutes. Better suited to teens than to younger children.

We rate what the film does — scares, gore, dread — not scene-level content like language or nudity, which we don't track.

Before you press play

How scary is The Black Cat?: On our intensity scale, The Black Cat rates 4/10 for jump scares and 6/10 for dread. It is on the gentler side — it favors mood and atmosphere over hard scares.
How gory is The Black Cat?: The Black Cat rates 2/10 for gore — expect almost no gore.
How long is The Black Cat?: The Black Cat runs 65 minutes (1h 5m).
What is The Black Cat rated?: The Black Cat has no MPAA certificate — common for films released outside the US. On our scale it rates 4/10 for jump scares, 2/10 for gore and 6/10 for dread.
Where to watch The Black Cat (1934)?: We have not been able to confirm where The Black Cat is streaming in the US. Look for it on digital rental or purchase (Apple TV, Prime Video, or your usual store).