Some people like a good scare, and watching a horror movie is a great way to get one.
But which horror movie is the scariest of them all?
Well, according to MoneySuperMarket’s annual “The Science of Scare” study, that honor has once again gone to “Sinister.” The movie was graded 96 out of 100 available points given by researchers.
The film — which is a 2012 feature starring Ethan Hawke as a true-crime writer whose obsession with a cold case leads to a series of paranormal (and dangerous) events — was crowned the scariest ever made after researchers measured the heart rates of test subjects who were chosen to watch select films.
“Sinister” caused these test subjects to experience an average 34 percent increase in their heart rates, making for the highest spike of all in comparison to the other movies watched.
“Second place remains ‘Host,’ with the Zoom-based horror scoring 95, just one point below the top spot,” reads the study. “However, ‘Host’ still got our audience’s hearts beating faster than any other movie on the list.
“In third place remains 2023’s ‘Skinamarink,’ with the divisive, high-concept horror film terrifying our audiences despite its lack of a clear narrative. ‘Skinamarink’ impacted audiences’ heart rate various (HRV) more than any other on our list at 22%, causing the most stress and dread among viewers for a Scare Score of 91.”
As for the scariest films that came out this year, the study listed “Stopmotion,” “Terrifier 3,” and “Oddity,” in third, second, and first, respectively.