A disturbing detail turns Disney classic Beauty and the Beast into a horror movie

Beauty and the Beast
(Image credit: Disney)

There's a very disturbing detail about Beauty and the Beast that will change the way you watch the Disney classic, and it basically turns the film into a horror movie. 

The film, of course, involves a castle full of enchanted furniture: all the servants have been cursed alongside the Beast, and if he can't find true love by the time the last petal of that magical rose falls, he'll be a beast forever – and his servants will never turn back to their human selves, either. 

"It seems many of the staff turned into objects don't have faces. This is clearly seen during 'Be Our Guest,'" notes one movie fan on Reddit. "Many of the staff turned into objects, appear to have turned into objects with no faces, no limbs, no real way to experience the world or express themselves. It seems only the higher-ups get those privileges."

The Redditor goes on to explain that, during that spectacular big musical number, the plates are singing, but don't actually have a face to sing from – and the same goes for the spoons (though the forks do have faces on their handles). "If the spoons do have faces in the same way as the forks, that means they are constantly forced to be upside down, also. More torture," they note. 

The post continues: "Imagine that though. Some of these people have no faces, no senses, no limbs, no way to socialize – all they can do is maybe roll around and emit different pitches, not words. Actually I don't know how those plates are not just screeching that pitch constantly.

"This may be the darkest Disney movie of them all, by virtue of including such a deeply disturbing torture scenario."

Beauty and the Beast

(Image credit: Disney)

That is pretty terrifying, we have to admit. An eternity doomed to be a faceless, almost-inanimate object? We don't even want to think about it. 

Someone else has an even more terrifying idea: "I will one-up your theory with one I've long had about this movie. The whole castle is enchanted, not just the staff so most of the animated objects were not previously human or animal, but gained sentience when cursed. This accounts for the thousands of animated things which is too much staff for a castle that size," they write. 

"Assuming this is accurate, upon breaking the curse, all of the nonhuman/animal staff was essentially killed," they continue. "I've even imagined a song performed by some of the flatware and the non Chip teacups as they question what they are and what will become of them when the curse is broken." Chilling stuff. 

You can fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the best movies on Disney Plus to stream now. 

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.