The Invasion (2007)

The Invasion parents guide

Of what we could confirm, nothing runs past a PG-13: a few tense moments and several jump scares.

Scare

Mildly scary

A few tense or eerie moments.

Jump scares

Several

More than a couple of sudden jolts.

Gore

No gore

Violence

Some violence

Some fighting or peril.

Sex and nudity

None flagged

It is a horror title, so treat our zero as unconfirmed.

Language

Mild

Mild words like damn, hell or crap.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is The Invasion scary?

Only a little. The Invasion has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.

How gory is The Invasion?

No gore and some violence. Squeamish viewers are fine here.

What is The Invasion rated, and is it OK for kids?

Better for teens than younger kids: it is rated PG-13, with several jump scares.

What is The Invasion about?

Washington, D.C. psychologist Carol Bennell and her colleague Dr. Ben Driscoll are the only two people on Earth who are aware of an epidemic running rampant through the city. They discover an alien virus aboard a crashed space shuttle that transforms anyone who comes into contact with it into unfeeling drones while they sleep. Carol realizes her son holds the key to stopping the spread of the plague and she races to find him before it is too late.

Cast and crew

More like The Invasion

• Psycho (1960)Properly scary · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA woman on the run finds a chilling, atmospheric motel where dread steadily builds to a shocking twist.
• The Thing (1982)Terrifying · extreme gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyAn Antarctic research team faces a shape-shifting alien, creating a chilling atmosphere of paranoia and suspense.
• Get Out (2017)Properly scary · light gore · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA weekend getaway to meet the parents escalates into chilling discoveries and satirical racial horror.
• Memento (2000)Suspenseful · light gore · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA man with no short-term memory hunts his wife's killer, piecing together a gritty, cerebral puzzle.
• Alien (1979)Terrifying · graphic gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA commercial spaceship crew answers a distress signal, unleashing a chilling, gritty, and atmospheric nightmare.
• The Others (2001)Properly scary · no gore · emotionally heavy · measuredA mother protects her light-sensitive children from unseen forces as a chilling, atmospheric mystery unfolds.
• The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)Properly scary · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyParanormal investigators confront a chilling murder defense rooted in demonic possession, pushing them into uncharted, gritty territory.
• Companion (2025)Properly scary · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA weekend getaway at a secluded estate becomes a chilling descent into technologically-fueled secrets and unsettling truths.

The Invasion is on our Disasters list.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

• “scary but not gory”
• “a horror movie that's actually scary”
• “a thriller with a twist, no spoilers”

Lists with the same feel: Horror, not scary.