Videodrome (1983)

Videodrome parents guide

Heads up on extreme gore. That is past what the R on the box suggests. Beyond that, real scares and a jolt or two.

Scare

Properly scary

Frightening, not just tense.

Jump scares

A couple

One or two sudden jolts.

Gore

Extreme gore

Our top level for gore.

Violence

Brutal violence

Our top level for violence.

Sex and nudity

Moderate

Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.

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 Videodrome scary?

Yes, properly. Videodrome is the real thing without being an endurance test.

How gory is Videodrome?

Extreme gore and brutal violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.

What is Videodrome rated, and is it OK for kids?

It is an R, with real scares, moderate sex and nudity, and brutal violence. Keep it for adults.

What is Videodrome about?

As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.

Cast and crew

More like Videodrome

• 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.
• Alien (1979)Terrifying · graphic gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA commercial spaceship crew answers a distress signal, unleashing a chilling, gritty, and atmospheric nightmare.
• 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.
• Dawn of the Dead (1978)Properly scary · extreme gore · brutal violence · emotionally heavySurvivors navigate a zombie apocalypse in a shopping mall, blending gritty horror with darkly comic social commentary.
• The Fly (1986)Properly scary · extreme gore · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA brilliant scientist's breakthrough in teleportation fuses man and insect, transforming his body with grotesque, tragic results.
• FROM (2022)Properly scary · graphic gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyTrapped residents in a nightmarish town fight for normalcy and survival against terrifying nocturnal forest creatures.
• Blue Velvet (1986)Properly scary · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA severed ear pulls a young man into a surreal, gritty mystery with a nightclub singer and criminals.

Videodrome is on our Under 90 minutes, 1980s, Horror on Prime Video, Sci-fi on Prime Video and Mystery on Prime Video lists.

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 fun halloween movie, not too scary”

Lists with the same feel: Weird and surreal and Goriest.