The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

The Pale Blue Eye parents guide

It stays inside its R, with a few tense moments and no jump scares.

Scare

Mildly scary

A few tense or eerie moments.

Jump scares

None noted

Gore

Graphic gore

Blood and wounds shown clearly.

Violence

Strong violence

Violence is frequent or intense.

Sex and nudity

Mild

Mild means innuendo, or sex implied off screen, with no nudity.

Language

Moderate

Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

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 Pale Blue Eye scary?

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

How gory is The Pale Blue Eye?

Graphic gore and strong violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.

What is The Pale Blue Eye rated, and is it OK for kids?

Rated R, and it earns it: strong violence, some strong language and graphic gore. Not one for kids.

What is The Pale Blue Eye about?

West Point, New York, 1830. When a cadet at the burgeoning military academy is found hanged with his heart cut out, the top brass summons former New York City constable Augustus Landor to investigate. While attempting to solve this grisly mystery, the reluctant detective engages the help of one of the cadets: a strange but brilliant young fellow by the name of Edgar Allan Poe.

Cast and crew

More like The Pale Blue Eye

• 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.
• Se7en (1995)Properly scary · extreme gore · brutal violence · emotionally devastatingTwo detectives hunt a serial killer whose gruesome crimes are meticulously based on the seven deadly sins.
• The Silence of the Lambs (1991)Properly scary · graphic gore · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA brilliant, imprisoned psychopath offers chilling insights into a serial killer's mind, if a young agent dares to listen.
• L.A. Confidential (1997)Gritty · graphic gore · brutal violence · emotionally heavyThree Los Angeles detectives navigate 1950s corruption and pulpy violence to expose a dark conspiracy.
• The Batman (2022)Gritty · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA measured, gritty mystery unfolds as Batman confronts Gotham's corruption and a darkly-comic serial killer.
• 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.
• Red Dragon (2002)Properly scary · graphic gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA former FBI agent must re-enter a chilling world of crime to confront his most dangerous adversary.
• Zodiac (2007)Suspenseful · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyJournalists and an amateur cartoonist obsess over an elusive serial killer, even as the public forgets.

The Pale Blue Eye is on our Horror, not scary; Horror on Netflix; Thriller on Netflix; and Mystery on Netflix lists.

More like this feeling

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

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

Lists with the same feel: Late night.