Back to trending
Scared Stiff

Scared Stiff

Comedy · Horror · 1953

A nightclub singer and his partner escape mobsters by fleeing to Cuba with a beautiful heiress, who has inherited a haunted castle on an isolated island. The trio hunt for a hidden treasure and encounter a ghost, a zombie, and a mysterious killer...

Movie details

Scared Stiff

“They're making a spook-tacle of themselves!”

1953 Comedy · Horror 1h 48m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

A nightclub singer and his partner escape mobsters by fleeing to Cuba with a beautiful heiress, who has inherited a haunted castle on an isolated island. The trio hunt for a hidden treasure and encounter a ghost, a zombie, and a mysterious killer...

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Scared Stiff?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Curse of Bridge Hollow

The Curse of Bridge Hollow

Comedy · 2022

A Halloween-hating dad reluctantly teams up with his teenage daughter when an evil spirit wreaks havoc by making their town's decorations come to life.

We Have a Ghost

We Have a Ghost

Horror · 2023

After Kevin finds a ghost named Ernest haunting his new home, he becomes an overnight social media sensation. But when Kevin and Ernest go rogue to investigate the mystery of the latter's past, they become targets of the CIA.

Death Becomes Her

Death Becomes Her

Comedy · 1992

Madeline is married to Ernest, who was once her arch-rival Helen's fiancé. After recovering from a mental breakdown, Helen vows to kill Madeline and steal back Ernest. Unfortunately for everyone, the introduction of a magic potion causes things to be a great deal more complicated than a mere murder plot.

The Blob

The Blob

Horror · 1958

A drive-in favorite, this sci-fi classic follows teenagers Steve and his best girl, Jane, as they try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches. The first to discover the substance and live to tell about it, Steve and Jane witness the blob destroying an elderly man, then it growing to a terrifying size. But no one else has seen the goo, and policeman Dave refuses to believe the kids without proof.

The Fearless Vampire Killers

The Fearless Vampire Killers

Comedy · 1967

A noted professor and his dim-witted apprentice fall prey to their inquiring vampires, while on the trail of the ominous damsel in distress.

DeadTectives

DeadTectives

Comedy · 2019

A team of reality TV paranormal investigators go to Mexico's most haunted house in the pursuit of better ratings. However, when the true dark secrets of the mansion begin to reveal themselves, the hapless team quickly discover that this house is no hoax. With zero genuine ghost-hunting experience, they have to figure out how to stop the ghosts and escape the house with their lives.

The Monster Club

The Monster Club

Horror · 1981

A vampire attacks a horror author on the street and then invites him to a nearby club as a gesture of gratitude, which turns out to be a meeting place for assorted creatures of the night. The vampire then regales him with three stories, each interspersed with musical performances at the club.

The Jack in the Box Rises

The Jack in the Box Rises

Horror · 2024

When a creepy Jack-in-the-Box is discovered and opened on the grounds of an exclusive girls' school, six brave students soon enter a fight to the finish against the unleashed demon.

Dave Made a Maze

Dave Made a Maze

Comedy · 2017

Dave, an artist who has yet to complete anything significant in his career, builds a fort in his living room out of pure frustration, only to wind up trapped by the fantastical pitfalls, booby traps, and critters of his own creation. Ignoring his warnings, Dave’s girlfriend Annie leads a band of oddball explorers on a rescue mission. Once inside, they find themselves trapped in an ever-changing supernatural world, threatened by booby traps and pursued by a bloodthirsty Minotaur.

Night Watch

Night Watch

Mystery · 1973

A woman recovering from a nervous breakdown tries to convince her husband and and the local London police that she has witnessed a murder in the abandoned house next door.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

George Marshall

Written by

Herbert Baker · Walter DeLeon

Dean Martin

Dean Martin

Larry Todd

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis

Myron Mertz

Lizabeth Scott

Lizabeth Scott

Mary Carroll

Carmen Miranda

Carmen Miranda

Carmelita Castinha

George Dolenz

George Dolenz

Mr. Cortega

Dorothy Malone

Dorothy Malone

Rosie

William Ching

William Ching

Tony Warren

Court is in session

Put Scared Stiff on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.