How scary is The Body Snatcher?

On our intensity scale, The Body Snatcher 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 Body Snatcher?

The Body Snatcher rates 2/10 for gore — expect almost no gore.

How long is The Body Snatcher?

The Body Snatcher runs 78 minutes (1h 18m).

What is The Body Snatcher rated?

The Body Snatcher 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 Body Snatcher (1945)?

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

The Body Snatcher

Name: The Body Snatcher
Director: Robert Wise
Genre: Gothic, Atmospheric, Psychological, Slow-Burn
Released: 1945
Duration: 78 min
Rating: 7.3
Cast: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Henry Daniell, Edith Atwater, Russell Wade

1945 · Directed by Robert Wise · 78 min

GothicAtmosphericPsychologicalSlow-Burn

7.8/10

IMDb7.311k votes Tomatometer86% Popcornmeter75% 豆瓣 Douban7.8317 votes Metacritic74metascore

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

Val Lewton's house style was to keep the horror off-camera, and the street-singer murder here is the purest demonstration of it in his whole filmography: the camera stays in the road while a song simply stops. Karloff's cheerful cabman may be his finest performance, an extortionist who enjoys the leverage far more than the money. Robert Wise directed; he'd make The Haunting eighteen years later.

The Body Snatcher (1945) Parents Guide

MPA rating	No MPAA certificate (released outside the US system)
Runtime	78 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	psychological distress

The Body Snatcher carries no MPAA certificate. We score it 2/5 for jump scares, 1/5 for gore and 3/5 for lingering dread, over 78 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 Body Snatcher?: On our intensity scale, The Body Snatcher 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 Body Snatcher?: The Body Snatcher rates 2/10 for gore — expect almost no gore.
How long is The Body Snatcher?: The Body Snatcher runs 78 minutes (1h 18m).
What is The Body Snatcher rated?: The Body Snatcher 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 Body Snatcher (1945)?: We have not been able to confirm where The Body Snatcher is streaming in the US. Look for it on digital rental or purchase (Apple TV, Prime Video, or your usual store).