NEW YORK, BRONX (ORDO News) — As the season of spookiness and chills descends upon us, horror enthusiasts are diving into countless hours of spine-tingling films to celebrate the haunting allure of Halloween.
However, a new study reveals that not all scary movies are created equal, shedding light on which films truly raise heart rates and send shivers down the spine.
This study, part of the Science of Scare Project, involved equipping participants with heart rate monitors as they embarked on special screenings of horror films.
This unique approach allowed researchers to objectively identify which films induced the most fear and excitement among viewers.
Unveiling its findings, the team crowned ‘Insidious’ as the scariest film and anointed ‘Sinister’ as the most horrifying horror movie of all time.
While the study does not specify which particular part of ‘Insidious’ incited elevated heart rates, many viewers might point to the spine-chilling ‘Demon in the Corner’ scene as the source of their palpitations.
The Science of Scare Project is a four-year-long endeavor that has been compiling a list of the most spine-tingling movies by monitoring the heart rates of 250 participants during special screenings.
The latest iteration of the experiment assessed heart rate and heart rate variance.
The former measures beats per minute, providing insight into the excitement and fear invoked by the film, akin to the body’s fight-or-flight response.
In contrast, heart rate variance calculates the time intervals between heartbeats, giving an indication of a slow-building sense of fear and dread. By amalgamating both scores, a ‘Science of Scare’ score out of 100 was established.
To put these scores into context, it’s worth noting that a film like ‘Shrek’ earned a mere ‘Scare Score’ of three out of 100. Using this scoring system, the researchers deemed ‘Sinister’ as the scariest movie ever created.
This 2012 supernatural horror film, directed by Scott Derrickson, follows the story of Ellison Oswald (portrayed by Ethan Hawke), a true-crime writer in search of a hit book after enduring a decade of writer’s block.
His research focuses on an unsolved family murder case in which one child disappeared while the others, including the parents, were hanged from a tree in their backyard.
Notably, Ellison makes the ill-fated decision to relocate his family to the very house in which these gruesome murders transpired.
There, he stumbles upon a box of Super 8 home movies that take a chilling turn. As he plays the reels, they reveal a series of horrifying snuff films depicting five families’ gruesome murders over five decades.
Convinced that these acts are the work of a serial killer, Ellison and his family soon find themselves entangled in a sinister web of darkness.
‘Our audience experienced a 34 percent increase in heart rate when watching the movie, from 64 beats per minute up to 86 beats per minute across the duration of the film, with the film’s scariest moment peaking at an astounding 131 beats per minute,’ shared the project researchers.
‘Heart rate variance (HRV) decreased by 21 percent among viewers, which was the second lowest among all films on our list. This indicates a perfect balance of startling moments and slow-burn scares.’
Ranking |
Movie |
Avg resting heart rate (BPM) |
Avg movie heart rate (BPM) |
Overall difference (BPM) |
HRV Difference (%) |
Highest spike (BPM) |
Scare Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sinister | 64 | 86 | 22 | 21 | 131 | 96 |
2 | Host | 64 | 88 | 24 | 18 | 130 | 95 |
3 | Skinamirink | 64 | 84 | 20 | 22 | 113 | 91 |
4 | Insidious | 64 | 85 | 21 | 18 | 133 | 90 |
5 | The Conjuring | 64 | 84 | 20 | 18 | 132 | 88 |
6 | Hereditary | 64 | 82 | 18 | 19 | 104 | 81 |
7 | Smile | 64 | 83 | 19 | 15 | 114 | 78 |
8 | The Excorcism of Emily Rose | 64 | 82 | 18 | 17 | 96 | 76 |
9 | Hell House LLC | 64 | 81 | 17 | 16 | 107 | 75 |
10 | Talk To Me | 64 | 79 | 18 | 15 | 106 | 75 |
11 | The Descent | 64 | 79 | 15 | 16 | 121 | 74 |
12 | The Conjuring 2 | 64 | 79 | 15 | 17 | 116 | 74 |
13 | It Follows | 64 | 81 | 17 | 17 | 96 | 74 |
14 | The Dark and The Wicked | 64 | 80 | 16 | 19 | 88 | 74 |
15 | Paranormal Activity | 64 | 80 | 16 | 15 | 115 | 73 |
16 | The Babadook | 64 | 79 | 15 | 15 | 119 | 72 |
17 | A Quiet Place Part 2 | 64 | 80 | 16 | 13 | 123 | 71 |
18 | The Autopsy of Jane Doe | 64 | 78 | 14 | 15 | 122 | 70 |
19 | Insidious 2 | 64 | 78 | 14 | 15 | 118 | 70 |
20 | The Ring | 64 | 78 | 14 | 15 | 114 | 69 |
21 | Terrifier 2 | 64 | 78 | 14 | 17 | 91 | 68 |
22 | A Quiet Place | 64 | 78 | 14 | 13 | 120 | 67 |
23 | Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) | 64 | 77 | 13 | 15 | 99 | 65 |
24 | Insidious: The Red Door | 64 | 76 | 12 | 14 | 112 | 64 |
25 | A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) | 64 | 77 | 13 | 14 | 105 | 64 |
26 | Halloween (1978) | 64 | 77 | 13 | 14 | 103 | 64 |
27 | Barbarian | 64 | 78 | 14 | 14 | 97 | 64 |
28 | The Nun 2 | 64 | 76 | 12 | 14 | 108 | 63 |
29 | Hush | 64 | 78 | 14 | 14 | 89 | 63 |
30 | IT (2017) | 64 | 75 | 11 | 15 | 102 | 62 |
31 | The Visit | 64 | 76 | 12 | 15 | 93 | 62 |
32 | The Excorcist | 64 | 74 | 10 | 18 | 89 | 62 |
33 | The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It | 64 | 76 | 12 | 14 | 100 | 61 |
34 | The Blair Witch Project | 64 | 75 | 11 | 14 | 92 | 58 |
35 | Paranormal Activity 2 | 64 | 75 | 11 | 13 | 94 | 57 |
36 | Evil Dead Rise | 64 | 75 | 11 | 14 | 83 | 57 |
37 | Lights Out | 64 | 74 | 10 | 13 | 90 | 54 |
38 | Saw X | 64 | 74 | 10 | 12 | 84 | 52 |
39 | The Grudge | 64 | 72 | 8 | 13 | 93 | 51 |
41 | Oculus | 64 | 73 | 9 | 12 | 91 | 51 |
42 | Ouija: Origin of Evil | 64 | 73 | 9 | 11 | 89 | 49 |
43 | Scream | 64 | 73 | 9 | 11 | 81 | 48 |
44 | Poltergeist | 64 | 71 | 7 | 11 | 98 | 47 |
45 | The Invisible Man | 64 | 71 | 7 | 7 | 103 | 42 |
46 | Get Out | 64 | 70 | 6 | 10 | 89 | 42 |
47 | The Witch | 64 | 70 | 6 | 10 | 86 | 42 |
48 | Black Phone | 64 | 69 | 5 | 10 | 90 | 41 |
49 | 28 Days Later | 64 | 73 | 9 | 12 | 92 | 51 |
49 | Alien | 64 | 69 | 5 | 10 | 78 | 39 |
50 | The Thing | 64 | 68 | 4 | 8 | 80 | 34 |
These combined statistics contributed to ‘Sinister’ receiving a scare score of 96 out of 100, officially making it the most spine-tingling film ever according to this analysis.
While ‘Insidious secured the fourth spot on the list, it did claim the title of having the highest spike in heart rate overall, which implies that it may feature the most terrifying scene in the history of horror cinema.
‘Insidious,’ released in 2010, revolves around a married couple whose young son inexplicably falls into a comatose state, becoming a vessel for various malevolent entities dwelling in an astral plane. The terrifying red demon, complete with hooves and claws, relentlessly pursues the comatose boy, Dalton.
In the most spine-chilling scene, the boy’s grandmother recounts how she heard a sinister voice emanating from his room, expressing its desire for Dalton.
Lorraine Lambert (Barbara Hershey) conveys the story to her son, Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson), and his wife, Renai Lambert (Rose Byrne). In a heart-stopping moment, the red demon materializes over Josh’s shoulder, instigating pulses of fear in the hearts of viewers.
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