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.
Back to trending 
Boom!
Drama · Thriller · Horror · 1968
Secluding herself in an island mansion in the Mediterranean with her servants and nurses, the wealthy Flora "Sissy" Goforth prepares for her impending death -- and she isn't the only one who's waiting. Known for his attraction to the dying rich, poet Chris Flanders ingratiates himself with the wilting Sissy. Although her friend explains Flanders' "Angel of Death" nature to her, Sissy embraces the vulture-like Flanders.
Movie details
Boom!
“Together they devour life”
1968 Drama · Thriller · Horror 1h 53m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
5.5 / 10
1.8K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
20 %
Tomatometer
TMDB
5.9 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Secluding herself in an island mansion in the Mediterranean with her servants and nurses, the wealthy Flora "Sissy" Goforth prepares for her impending death -- and she isn't the only one who's waiting. Known for his attraction to the dying rich, poet Chris Flanders ingratiates himself with the wilting Sissy. Although her friend explains Flanders' "Angel of Death" nature to her, Sissy embraces the vulture-like Flanders.
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 Boom!?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe 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.
Intruders
Drama · 2015
Anna suffers from agoraphobia so crippling that when a trio of criminals break into her house, she cannot bring herself to flee. But what the intruders don't realize is that agoraphobia is not her only psychosis.
Nocebo
Mystery · 2022
A fashion designer suffers from a mysterious illness that puzzles her doctors and frustrates her husband until help arrives in the form of a Filipino caregiver who uses traditional folk healing to reveal a horrifying truth.
Stoker
Drama · 2013
Following her father Richard's death in an unexplained road accident, reclusive teenager India Stoker withdraws further into the quiet rural life she shares with her emotionally disturbed mother Evie. But her curiosity is stirred when her mysterious uncle Charlie, who she has never met, suddenly arrives unannounced. Told that the darkly charismatic Charlie will now be staying at the house, India's initial well-founded distrust of her uncle's motivations begins to waver as she finds herself becoming ever more deeply entranced by his sinister charms.
Black Rainbow
Mystery · 1989
Martha Travis is a medium who makes contact with spirits "on the other side" and connects them with their loved ones still alive, in public performances. Trouble begins when she gives a message to Mary Kuron from her husband, Tom. But Tom isn't dead... yet. And Martha not only knows he will die, she also knows who killed him. And the murderer knows she knows...
Triage
Drama · 2009
The wife of a photojournalist sets out to discover why he came home from a recent assignment without his colleague.
Old
Thriller · 2021
A group of families on a tropical holiday discover that the secluded beach where they are staying is somehow causing them to age rapidly – reducing their entire lives into a single day.
Parallel
Sci-fi · 2024
Grief-stricken after the loss of her child, Vanessa takes refuge at a lake house only to be met with an aberration of herself from a parallel universe and realizes the multiverse gates hold the key to releasing her grief or trapping her forever.
The Good Doctor
Drama · 2011
Dr. Martin Blake, who has spent his life looking for respect, meets an 18-year-old patient named Diane, suffering from a kidney infection, and gets a much-needed boost of self-esteem. However, when her health starts improving, Martin fears losing her, so he begins tampering with her treatment, keeping Diane sick and in the hospital right next to him.
The Surrender
Drama · 2025
A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies, and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead.
Compulsion
Thriller · 2024
Two women—Diana, a flamboyant and ruthless thief, and Evie, a seemingly innocent young woman with a troubled past—become embroiled in a series of horrific murders on the island of Malta.
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.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Joseph Losey
Written by
Tennessee Williams
Elizabeth Taylor
Flora 'Sissy' Goforth
Richard Burton
Chris Flanders
N
Noël Coward
The Witch of Capri
Joanna Shimkus
Miss Black
Michael Dunn
Rudi
Romolo Valli
Doctor Luilo
F
Fernando Piazza
Etti
Court is in session
Put Boom! on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“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.