The scariest film of all time according to science might surprise you
Since the spooky season is finally here, many of us are snuggling up to massive bowls of popcorn and watching some of the scariest films.
Now, one study has officially revealed which movie is scientifically the scariest of all time and, well, movie lovers have a lot of opinions.
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For many of us, films such as Hereditary, The Conjuring, Insidious or even Jordan Peele‘s Get Out and Us are the first to come to mind when we think of scary movies. However, The Science Of Scare Project begs to differ.
The new scientific study gathered a sample group of 50 individuals who watched “over 120 hours of the best horror movies.” The list was compiled based on critics’ reviews and Reddit recommendations. For the study, the heart rate of participants was recorded as they watched 50 different films. From there, the movies were ranked from most scary to least based on this data.
According to the study, 2012’s Sinister starring Ethan Hawke had the largest physical reaction from participants, making it the scariest of all time. The supernatural horror film follows true-crime writer Ellison Oswalt who discovers home movies depicting murders in the attic of his new home. This discovery eventually puts Oswalt and his entire family in danger.
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Sinister premiered in October of 2012 and quickly received some criticism for its use of jump scares. However, it went on to gross more than $87.7 million at the box office and led to Sinister 2 which arrived in October 2015. Despite making its way onto The Science of Scare Project list, Sinister only has a 64 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The scientific study also found that James Wan‘s Insidious had the most amount of jump scares by heart rate. As well, The Conjuring, Hereditary, Paranormal Activity, It Follows, The Conjuring 2, The Babadook, The Descent and The Visit are the other films ranked within the top ten scariest according to the study.
Although this data is eye-opening, it would be interesting to see what the results are if more than 50 individuals were involved in the study. As well, the study is completely based on heart rates and jump scares. However, some of the films viewers claim to be the scariest have more of a psychological component than a physical one.
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Naturally, horror movie fans have a lot of thoughts on Sinister being named the scariest of all time.
Definitely NOT the scariest movie ever ….? I feel like there is not one amongst all regardless but like … Sinister ain’t it lol
— Spooky V (@spookyespeon) October 20, 2020
This list seems pretty spot on.
Though Hereditary is my favorite horror movie, Sinister is the scariest movie I’ve ever seen in a theater. https://t.co/uGgy1jF5qZ
— Phillip Poupore (@Phil_Poupore) October 20, 2020
Can confirm Sinister is the scariest movie ever made https://t.co/4FdWlw2NI9
— Gregoris Gkousis (@Gregoris96_YNWA) October 20, 2020
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So the Sinister is the scariest movie of all time? Interesting. I should rewatch it. I think I didn’t notice some scarations the first time I’ve watched it.
— Allen (@_AlainLeroy) October 20, 2020
Sinister was okay, but not in my top picks for scariest movie. I think The Blob (1988) might be the scariest film I’ve seen, or at least that I can recall.
— Thomas the Trump Engine (@DATAEXPUNGED_64) October 20, 2020
The full study is available to view here.
What do you think is the scariest movie of all time? Let us know in the comments below.
