We all have been debating for years about the scariest horror movies ever, yet we couldn’t figure it out even 10 of them. What if I told you the question has been answered by Science?
Study to Determine Scariest Horror Movies
Well, all thanks to a new study conducted by Broadband Choices. The project was started in 2020 and the setup of the experiment was pretty simple.
250 people were asked to watch 40 of the scariest movies mentioned in different movie rating platforms. They were subjected to a study that would monitor the sharp rise in their heartbeats.
The average human resting heart rate of 64 beats per minute (BPM) was taken as the lowest reference rate and then the average heart rate for a viewer was recorded while watching a horror movie.
Each viewer’s heart rate was recorded while watching the highest-rated horror films on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Reddit.
The difference was calculated between the horror movie’s average heart rate and usual resting heart rate and the scariest horror movies were revealed that will make your heart race.
We have taken the ‘highest’ beats per minute (bpm) of the viewers’ heart rates as a reference for our list. And here are the top 10 scariest horror movies ever according to Science that made the list.
10. It Follows
Heart Rate During The Movie – 81 BPM; Difference – 17 BPM; Highest Spike – 115 BPM
The story of the protagonist, Jay, a teenager who experiences a series of terrifying encounters after she sleeps with her new boyfriend whom she dated from college.
Later, she discovers that he has placed a fatal curse on her. She is the latest receiver of a curse that is passed from victim to victim only via physical intimacy.
Jay must find the answer to the curse before it’s too late as she is constantly followed by mysterious creatures trying to kill her. It Follows definitely isn’t for the viewers who love jump-scares but it’s still one the scariest horror movies in the list.
9. A Quiet Place
Average resting Heart rate – 64 BPM; Heart Rate During The Movie – 80 BPM, Difference – 16 BPM; Highest Spike – 112 BPM
A family struggles for survival in a post-apocalyptic world where most humans have been killed by deadly creatures that are attracted to noise. They must navigate their lives in complete silence to avoid those blind but noise-sensitive creatures that hunt by sound.
They survive by communicating in sign language to keep the vicious creatures at bay. A terrifyingly suspenseful thriller, it’s a must-watch for horror addicts.
8. The Autopsy of Jane Doe
Heart Rate During The Movie – 79 BPM; Difference – 16 BPM; Highest Spike – 119 BPM
A father-son team of small-town coroners is pulled into a horrifying mystery while attempting to perform an autopsy on a young, beautiful woman named Jane Doe, discovered in a house buried mysteriously in the basement of a brutally murdered family.
With a well-preserved body and no visible signs of trauma, the woman apparently harbored dark secrets. Mystified by a series of terrifying events, one thing is absolutely clear: Jane Doe may be undead.
7. The Descent
Heart Rate During The Movie 80 BPM; Difference – 18 BPM; Highest Spike – 120 BPM
A group of friends, active young women set out for an expedition in the mountains and stumble upon a mysterious cave. Without any knowledge of what awaits inside the cave, they go inside, only to have the exit sealed off by falling rocks.
As they desperately search for a way to escape, things become worse when it is revealed they aren’t alone as they are chased by a strange breed of predators. Definitely a heart-racer, The Descent is one spine-chilling movie worth watching on this list.
6. Hush
Heart Rate During The Movie – 82 BPM; Difference – 17 BPM; Highest Spike – 122 BPM
A deaf and mute woman who settled into the woods to live a solitary life must fight for her life when a masked serial killer intrudes inside her cabin.
An intelligent thriller, Hush focuses repeatedly on the nightmare of being stalked by a vicious and anonymous killer that always finds ways to introduce blood-curdling tension. The movie doesn’t rely on jumpscares and distills everything to a single effect – terror.
5. Terrified (Atterados)
Heart Rate During The Movie – 82 BPM; Difference – 18 BPM; Highest Spike – 125 BPM
A very unique and blood-curling Argentinian horror film where a Buenos Aires neighborhood becomes the epicenter of a series of petrifying paranormal events, from cryptic noises to atrocious deaths.
A doctor, her colleague, and an ex-cop, prepare to get to the base of the mysteries surrounding the events. It not only delivers legitimate chills from beginning to end, but it also has delightfully terrifying images that would keep you awake all night.
4. Host
Heart Rate During The Movie – 88 BPM; Difference – 24 BPM; Highest Spike – 130 BPM
Six close friends get together during lockdown for a Zoom call and conduct an online séance with a help of a medium. A miscalculated prank by one of the friends gives license for a demonic entity to cross over.
Soon supernatural happenings begin to occur in their houses. But before the friends begin noticing and realized what they have called unintentionally, the demonic entity creates havoc in their lives.
An innovative, fresh, and terrifying Zoom-based horror movie, it’s one of the scariest horror movies to watch alone.
3. The Conjuring
Heart Rate During The Movie – 84 BPM; Difference – 20 BPM; Highest Spike – 132 BPM
Regarded as one of the scariest modern-day horror movies ever and easily the best horror movie in The Conjuring Universe. It subsequently laid the foundation of a successful horror movie franchise.
The movie follows the paranormal investigators, Lorraine and Ed Warren, as they deal with a complicated case involving a demon terrorizing a family. The story is said to be based on a real-life event from the Warrens’ investigating career.
Once again, it’s James Wan delivering a masterpiece where the terrifying entity, Bathsheba, will give you a memorable haunting experience.
2. Insidious
Heart Rate During The Movie – 85 BPM; Difference – 21 BPM; Highest Spike – 133 BPM
Also regarded as one of the scariest modern-day horror movies ever, the first installment of the Insidious film series is one of the scariest movies ever and it’s not surprising.
The film follows a family that moves into a new home and starts experiencing weird activities. The situation takes a drastic turn as their son mysteriously falls into a coma with no apparent medical condition.
Soon eerie events begin to manifest themselves as they realize far more sinister entities are lurking in the house. The family race against time to prevent dark evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a spirit realm.
Another James Wan masterpiece, Insidious changed the modern horror genre with a perfect mixture of classic tension, mystery, and supernatural events.
1. Sinister
Heart Rate During The Movie – 86 BPM; Difference – 22 BPM; Highest Spike – 134 BPM
Science has crowned a worthy winner. And with all the metrics in its favour, Sinister has topped all the chilling factors in the horror genre. Starring Ethan Hawke as an ailing true-crime writer, the film is a tormenting depiction of lies, insanity and supernatural mysteries.
When he discovers the existence of a grisly recording showing the brutal deaths of a family in the house he lives in, he becomes obsessed with trying to find the bottom of the mystery.
From moving his own family into the same location and encountering spine-chilling events, the disturbing and one of the scariest horror movies ever will surely give you sleepless nights for sure.
So have you seen all these movies or have them on your list?
