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Is Rebecca on Netflix Scary?

Here's Why Netflix's Rebecca Is More Likely to Stress You Out Than Scare You

Watch out! This post contains spoilers.

There's something to be said about the eerie feeling you get after hearing the opening lines of Rebecca: "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." At its core, the Netflix adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's novel of the same name, which premiered Oct. 21, is a thrilling mystery just waiting to be unraveled. While the trailer reels you in with the romance of Lily James's nameless heroine and Armie Hammer's charming Maxim de Winter, you're soon left with a foreboding sense of dread at the introduction of Kristin Scott Thomas's Mrs. Danvers. With the presence of the first Mrs. de Winter still felt within Manderley's walls, the question remains, just how scary is Rebecca?

If you were hoping that the ghost of the titular Rebecca would scare you senseless, you're going to be sorely disappointed. While you can technically consider Rebecca a ghost story, the ghosts aren't supernatural — they're simply figments of our nameless heroine's fragile imagination, egged on by the vicious taunts of the vengeful Mrs. Danvers. That's not to say Rebecca isn't suspenseful or creepy — it's absolutely both.

You'll certainly be on the edge of your seat as you wait to see whether Mrs. Danvers will succeed in breaking down the psyche of the second Mrs. de Winter. The mystery of what Rebecca and Maxim's true relationship was like will also keep you on your toes. As for creepy, Mrs. Danvers more than fulfils that quota with her obsession over the dead Rebecca; plus, the description Maxim gives in court of Rebecca's corpse (and the peek we get of it before that) is particularly vivid. If you end up needing to leave the lights on to watch it, we wouldn't blame you.

Image Source: Netflix
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