If you ask friends about the scariest movie they’ve ever seen, the answers will be very subjective. But scientists wanted to know for sure and in a study they measured the body reactions of the participants when watching horror films.
The heart races, the breath catches – such reactions may be familiar to some who have seen a really good horror film. To find out which horror films get the heart beating the most, broadbandchoices.co.uk ran The Science of Scare Project 2021. For the second year in a row, the researchers wanted to find out which horror films frightened the 250 study participants the most. In total, they had to watch 40 horror films. Films were selected based on lists from film critics, suggestions from the Reddit community, new releases, and last but not least, the 30 films from last year’s list. The researchers measure how much the heart rate or pulse changes when looking. The average value of the subjects at rest is 64 beats per minute (BPM). The higher the increase on average, the further ahead the film ranks.
The results result in the following Top 30 of the scariest horror films on a scientific basis:
1st place: Host (2020), +24 BPM
The #1 spot is “Host” by director Rob Savage. The film was not only released during the Corona pandemic, but also indirectly deals with it. Six friends book a séance with a medium. This will take place via Zoom during the lockdown. The plot makes you smile at first. The film itself, however, quickly becomes creepy with the appearance of a ghost and the fear of dying.
2nd place: Sinister (2012), +22 BPM
Sinister was still number 1 last year. Nevertheless, the story about crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) still promises a lot of scary factor. He specializes in true crime cases and would like to clear them up. One day he finds a box of videos. What can be seen on it leaves him speechless and resolutely pushes his current case further.
3rd place: Inside (2010), +21 BPM
Evil spirits wish to imprison a comatose child in a realm called The Further. The family wants to prevent that. The result is a terrifying horror film.
4th place: The Conjuring (2013), +20 BPM
A family is being terrorized by a demon creature in their farmhouse. Ed and Lorraine Warren are demonologists and want to help.
5th place: Hereditary (2018), +18 BPM
At number 5 comes “Hereditary”, a film full of family drama, horror and mystery. It all begins with the death of the female head of the family. Afterwards, strange things begin to happen to the grieving family and dark secrets are revealed.
Also interesting: The 15 best crime series on Netflix
In places 6 to 30 even more horror films
If you are still looking for horror films for a spooky evening, you will also find them in the other places:
| Place | Movie | avg Rise Heart Rate (BPM) |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Terrified | 18 |
| 7 | It Follows | 17 |
| 8th | A Quiet Place Part 2 | 16 |
| 9 | Paranormal Activity | 16 |
| 10 | The Conjuring 2 | 15 |
| 11 | The Babadook | 15 |
| 12 | The Descent | 15 |
| 13 | hush | 14 |
| 14 | A quiet place | 14 |
| 15 | the rings | 14 |
| 16 | A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) | 13 |
| 17 | Halloween (1978) | 13 |
| 18 | Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) | 13 |
| 19 | IT (2017) | 12 |
| 20 | The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It | 12 |
| 21 | The Exorcist | 11 |
| 22 | [REC] | 10 |
| 23 | 28 Days Later | 9 |
| 24 | Candyman (2021) | 8th |
| 25 | The Grudge | 8th |
| 26 | The Invisible Man | 7 |
| 27 | poltergeist | 7 |
| 28 | The Blair Witch Project | 6 |
| 29 | Friday the 13th | 6 |
| 30 | alien | 5 |