Robert Pattinson doesn’t watch horror movies anymore because of one relatable reason

“I used to think it was cool…”

Pattinson sat with Mickey 17 director Bong Joon Ho for GQ, where itted that he just can’t handle horror movies anymore. This might come as a surprise, considering his filmography includes some pretty dark and unsettling projects (The Lighthouse, anyone?). But according to Pattinson, that was the old him.

“I used to watch a lot of dark stuff when I was younger and think, ‘Yeah, this is cool.’ And now, I’m too sensitive,” he shared. “It’s strange, you’d think it would go the other way round. As you get older, you become less frightened of these [films]. I can’t watch horror movies anymore.”

Honestly, same. Who hasn’t reached a point where horror movies stop being fun and start messing with your actual peace of mind?

“I was sleeping with knives”

Bong Joon Ho playfully suggested that Pattinson’s new sensitivity to horror might have something to do with becoming a dad. The actor and his longtime partner, Suki Waterhouse, welcomed their first child in Mar. 2024. It’s a solid theory—parenthood does tend to make people more aware (and anxious) about potential dangers.

But Pattinson insists his horror aversion started before fatherhood. And if you need proof of just how much horror messes with his head these days, he shared a wild story about how one movie left him on high alert—armed and terrified.

“I did get very frightened [recently],” he itted. “I had to do a meeting with a director, and he’d done this horror movie, and I watched it, and I kept thinking that someone was breaking into my house. And so I was sitting on my sofa with two kitchen knives waiting for the person to come in. And then I fell asleep with them basically in my neck on the couch.”

Yep. The man was so spooked he actually dozed off clutching knives. Imagine being Suki Waterhouse, walking into that scene. “My girlfriend came in and she was like, ‘What is happening? Why do you have two knives in your face and you’re sleeping?’” Pattinson recalled, laughing. His best guess? “It was probably a squirrel.”

The mystery movie that freaked him out?

While Pattinson didn’t reveal which horror movie left him this shaken, many believe it was Smile—the 2022 psychological horror film directed by Parker Finn. Why? Because Pattinson and Finn are now working together on a remake of Possession, a cult 1981 horror film by Polish director Andrzej Żuławski. It makes sense that Pattinson would want to familiarize himself with Finn’s work before teaming up. Still, it’s pretty ironic that someone too scared to watch horror movies is now starring in one. But hey, at least he won’t have to watch himself in Possession.

Pattinson’s fear of horror movies is so relatable because, let’s be real, horror hits differently as an adult. When you’re younger, it’s all just entertainment—ghosts, demons, and serial killers feel far removed from reality. But as you get older, your brain starts thinking about real-life dangers, home invasions, and, apparently, squirrels. So, if Robert Pattinson—a guy who has faced off against Batman villains, lighthouse hallucinations, and actual vampire wars—can it that horror is just too much for him these days, maybe we can all feel a little less embarrassed about keeping the lights on after a scary movie.