A scientific study has established which was the scariest horror film in the history of the seventh art. And it is ahead of certain classics of horror cinema.
Everyone has their own traumas linked to the dark room. And no one will ever agree on which is the most terrifying horror film in history. If some were shocked by Conjuringothers still tremble at the memory of The ExorcistWhen Jawswhich is not always considered a horror film, has terrified generations of spectators of the seabed.
This is why science has looked into the matter to obtain an objective answer to the question: what is the scariest horror film? The Science of Scare, a project now led by the company MoneySuperMarket, took up the subject four years ago, with a ranking reviewed annually in the run-up to Halloween.
To determine which English-speaking horror film is the most terrifying in the history of the seventh art, The Science of Scare recorded the rhythm and variation of the heart rate of 250 people, during several screenings of feature films of terrors spread over several weeks.
This approach helps to find out which films caused the most heart reactions, which can manifest fear, excitement or stress in the viewer.
According to these calculations, this is the film Sinister, directed by Scott Derrickson and released in 2012, which reached first place in the ranking in 2023. In this film not recommended for children under 12, Ethan Hawke plays a thriller writer who discovers films of the murders of several families in an abandoned house . His obsession ends up putting his own family in danger.
According to experience, watching the film Sinister increased heart rate by 34% (from 64 beats per minute at rest to 86 beats per minute during the feature film, on average), reaching a maximum peak of 131 beats per minute at the film’s most terrifying moment.
The heart rate rate only fell by 21%, which suggests that the spectators’ tension was not released during the particularly stressful viewing. All these elements combined made it possible to Sinister to get the final score of 96/100. In comparison, the animated film Shrek obtained a score of 3/100.
In second place, we find the horrific short film Hostwhich takes place in full confinement. The Housea concept horror film which divided spectators in 2022, completes the podium, in third place.
The full list is available here. In the top 10, we find other classics of horror cinema, such as Insidious (4th), The Conjuring (5th) or Hereditary (6th). Other more recent films, such as smile (7th) or Talk to me (10th) also appear in the ranking.