Scaredy Scale: How scary is Ma?

For the hard-core, no horror movie can be too scary. But for you, a wimp, the bad one can leave you miserable. Maybe you have even lost whole nights of sleep in the fight to get some pictures or ideas out of your mind, leaving you in work or school the next morning and unable to function properly.

Do not worry, scared because Slate's Scaredy Scale is here to help you. We have put in place a patented system, without spoiler, a highly scientific evaluation system of new horror movies, comparing them to classics on a 10-point scale so you can determine which ones scare you. And because not everyone is afraid of the same things – some viewers can not stand the fear of jumping, while others are haunted by more psychological terrors or just can not stand the arterial jets – it wipes out the fear of each film according to three criteria: suspense, fear and gore. This week: My, in which Octavia Spencer plays a middle-aged nurse who makes her basement a festive place for high school students in small towns, for reasons that turn out to be grim.

My Director Tate Taylor is in favor of the fear of sudden jumps compared to slow construction, but Octavia Spencer could make you just run into a field. As the film becomes more and more absurd and ridiculous, the suspense comes mainly from how much it will derail (answer: not far enough).

My has no supernatural elements, and the flashbacks that explain why Spencer's character joins a group of high school students deflate some of his mysterious threat. But there is a crazy worry in the attic that never completely dissipates.

MyGore is more implicit than shown, although there is a good amount of blood near its peak. (Animal lovers can be particularly nervous as My working in a veterinary clinic, but the good boys are largely unscathed.) There is discreet scalpel work, an impromptu branding strategy and many sting bites, plus a moment that, though it would be a shame to waste cis men in particular squirming in their seats.

My It's more a gothic thriller than a pure horror movie, but it's a lot of horror. It's more weird than scary, and more laid-back than either. This is the kind of movie that allows you to be more scared than to stay up all night.

Previously:
• How scary Jordan Peele's We?
• How scary is the new Pet Sematary?