We often like to think that what scares one won’t necessarily scare another, and the mileage of ahorrorfilm for audiences depends on the viewer. However, what if we could prove scientifically what movie is considered the scariest? ‘The Science of Scare’ study, in its 4th year of operation as of 2023, is doing just that, taking a sample of viewers and forcing them to watch many horror movies to see which ones make viewers squirm in their seats the most. By measuring heart rates, this study has assigned many horror movies a ‘scare number’ based on how much fluctuation there is.
While the study has not testedeveryhorror movie, the selection here is a healthy helping of agreed-upon terrors that often come up in discussions of the scariest movies ever made. We will examine the top 10 choices and outline how the rest of the movies ranked out of the 50 reported.
10Talk To Me (2023)
Talk to Me
A severed cast hand offers those willing to make a deal with it a chance to talk to the dead. For a group of teenagers, this becomes more of a party trick than an object of horror, and many take the dive and post the videos on social media. However, when one girl, Jade, has her brother Riley meet with a vicious entity that ends up hospitalizing him, she begins digging deeper into the hand’s origin to figure out how to battle the forces that have possessed her brother.
Shaking Hands With the Devil
Talk to Mehits hard, with its overly graphic and shocking events cementing its high position in the ‘scare score.’ There is also uncertainty about what is on the other end of the hand and what will confront any teenager anytime they make the contract to speak with the other end, giving the movie a consistent suspenseful atmosphere.
However, the possession of Riley and the extreme acts of self-mutilation he performs under possession is a gristly, viscera-soaked set of sequences that ensuresTalk to Mewill remain infamous as one of the scariest movies ever made.
9Hell House LLC (2015)
Living in infamy among ‘haunt jaunt’ enthusiasts, the fictional Halloween attraction Hell House suffered a tragedy resulting in the death of 15 people. This sparks the interest of documentarians, who decide five years after the event to do their investigation into the events, partnering with the sole survivor of the deadly night. As they investigate the grounds where the events took place, the team soon starts to experience unsettling and potentially supernatural events.
Scary Clowns and Found Footage
Thefound footage genre has a way of putting many viewers at unease, from the shakiness of the visuals to the feeling of experiencing events from a first-hand account; the fear of those filming becomes the viewers'. Add some scary clowns into the formula along with an unsettling atmosphere, andHell House LLCis a consistently frightening experience.
The movie’s small budget charms and a cast of mostly novice actors also giveHell House LLCa personal touch that makes it easy to connect personally with the trauma and terrors the crew encounters.Hell House LLChas carved out a comfortable niche in horror, with two sequels and an upcoming new entry in the franchise set for October 2024.
You can streamHell House LLCon Prime, Fubo, AMC+, Shudder, or Screambox
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8The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Inspired by the real-life case of Anneliese Michel,The Exorcism of Emily Rosefollows lawyer Erin Bruner, who takes on the case of Father Richard Moore, a priest accused of negligent homicide for the death of 19-year-old college student, the titular Emily Rose. The cases surrounding the events are told in flashbacks, and as the case proceeds the truth of what happens unravels to the horror of all those involved.
Possession Horror at Its Most Shocking
The numbers ofThe Exorcism of Emily Rosepoint out that a build-up to a shocking conclusion can be just as effective as nonstop terrors. The way the movie builds is a masterclass in slow-burn horror that also marksone of the best-possession horror movies ever made.
Jennifer Carpenter’s performance here is also one of the best in the genre, with her channeling of a demon-possessed woman utterly haunting. Director Scott Derrickson also proved the film’s success was not a one-off, with hisSinisterplacing at the top of the ‘scare list.’
7Smile (2022)
After being traumatized by the suicide of a girl brought in for her care, Psychiatrist Dr. Rose Cotter begins to see similar visions as described by the young woman before her death. Worried about her mental health, the instances start to become too real and frightening to brush off as trauma.
As Rose begins to dig deeper into the background of the girl, she discovers a long chain of victims, all suffering from the same visions of smiling, aggressive people before their deaths. Realizing she has limited time, it becomes a race to figure out and defeat the force behind the sinister smile.
Fear Served with a Smile
Turning something that is supposed to be a comfort, another’s smile, into an object of horror worked wonders for the supernatural horror ofSmile. The way that the evil entity that distorted reality could come from anywhere certainly had viewers constantly watching the screen, waiting for the potential of a twisted grin to signal danger.
This approach also allowed for plenty of jump scares, leading to a final monster reveal that is utterly frightening.With the sequel set for October 2024, horror fans have plenty of reason to keep smiling.
6Hereditary (2018)
Hereditary
The Graham family suffers a series of traumatic events following the death of their grandmother, Ellen. As they navigate grief and deal with past transgressions, another death strikes the family, putting them in greater distress. As those remaining start to piece together the events, they realize that there may be a greater force behind their misfortune, actively seeking to push them into chaos to awaken an evil force.
A Masterfully Crafted Horror from A24
Being a smaller part of a grand scheme driven by an immeasurable and malicious force has madeHereditaryan uneasy movie to experience; nothing scarier than having no control of your life as it spirals horrifically.
The performances here are also phenomenal; it markshorror staple Toni Collette’s best performance, and Alex Wolff’s investment in the role shines through in his haunting performance (Wolff would claim to have suffered severe emotional trauma from the role). The ending of the movie is exceptionally devastating and haunting.
5The Conjuring (2013)
The Conjuring
Based on the investigations of real-life paranormal experts Ed and Lorraine Warren,The Conjuringfollows the two as they investigate a series of events happening to the Perron family at their Rhode Island farmhouse.
Upon arrival at the farmhouse, it becomes apparent that a malicious force is tormenting the family, whose presence only grows more potent as the Warrens begin their investigation. They face a demon known as Bathsheba as they unravel the dark history surrounding the Perron family and their land.
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Back-to-back James Wan movies and back-to-back horror franchises that exploded after the initial movie; James Wan is the most notable director on the list. Much like the previously mentionedInsidious,The Conjuringis thick with atmosphere andcontains plenty of jump scaresto keep audiences on the edge of their seats.
Additionally, Wan taps into those fears of a malicious force attacking a family unit, which is all the more chilling because it is based on a true story. The franchise would give viewers two sequels and two spin-off series;AnnabelleandThe Nun.
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4Insidious (2010)
Launching one of the most popular horror franchises of the modern era, James Wan’sInsidiousfollows the Lambert family struggling with the inexplicable events around their child, Dalton. Having entered a coma-like state after an event in the attic, the Lamberts come to realize there is something more devious that has happened to their child: that he has become trapped on a different plane by an evil entity.
The family reaches out for help, contacting paranormal expert Elise, who uncovers a dark history tied to the family that led to the events.
A Battle With Evil
Tapping into fears of losing a child, particularly in such a disturbing manner, is sure to raise the ‘scare score’ for many of the viewers who participated in the study. The imagery around children and demons certainly gives the movie an edge. Combine its themes of loss of innocence with a pervasive dark atmosphere and plenty of jump scares, and it is no surprise thatInsidiousranks so high.
3Skinamarink (2022)
Skinamarink
Two young siblings, Kevin and Kaylee, wake one night to find that they are alone, with their father missing. When the two try to look for him, they discover that all the windows and doors in their houses have vanished, trapping them within. Scared and confused, the situation turns terrifying when the kids encounter a sinister presence that manipulates reality to torment them further.
Fear of the Unknown
WhileSkinamarinkhas become somewhat divisive among horror fans, with its experimental and plodding approach to recapturing childlike fears of the unknown, science seems to be on its side. With little dialogue or focus on the features of the two kids,Skinamarinkcreates unease by playing on the viewers' imagination of what exists outside what they see on the screen.
The abstract approach perfectly plays into the children’s confusion and fear, sucking viewers into the uncertainty the two face without saying or showing much of what is happening. It is minimalisticslow-burn horror at its best.
2Host (2020)
At just under an hour, to coincide with the free time allotted to use Zoom,Hostwas director Rob Savage’s means to make a movie under the restrictions of the COVID-19 lockdowns. The movie follows friends who meet up online to keep in touch, but one particular night, they decide to perform a seance. This act awakes an actual evil entity that uses the Zoom call to take each one out one by one while the others watch helplessly.
Ghastly Horrors in Under an Hour
In the 2022 study, Host came up on top, only to be moved down to second in 2023. This is unsurprising given thatHostwas a perfectly crafted piece of pandemic-era horror, touching on the anxiety many felt while trapped indoors by bringing the terror to our computer screens.
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Even as we move past that time, there is still something utterly unsettling aboutHostand its clever use of creating uncertainty as an entity jumps between the screens of several friends in a chat. It has a great atmosphere, jump scares, and a clever use of the sub-genre of found footage, screenlife, to terrorize its viewers. For us terminally online,Hostremains one of the scariest movies ever made.
1Sinister (2012)
Ellison, a true crime writer, moves his family into a small town in Pennsylvania, hoping that living at the scene of his subject will help him with research and inspiration for his upcoming book. However, when Ellison uncovers a box of super-8 tapes in the attic that depict the vicious murder of the family, it appears that their deaths are tied to a mysterious, demonic figure known as Bughuul.
As Ellison’s obsession grows, terrifying things begin to happen to his family, with his children experiencing horrible night terrors. As the terrors manifest, Ellison must battle against a very sinister entity.
The Devil is in the Details
Scott Dickerson’sSinisteris an ideal mix of various elements that terrified audiences on release, a testament to it still being the highest-scored film over a decade since its release. The way the movie blurred the lines of reality by having Super 8 footage of pseudo-crimes bleed into the lives of a family was shocking,the score consistently unsettling, and the expert crafting of psychological horrors ensured that audiences were kept on the edge of their seat.
Sinisteralso showed that you don’t need gore to scare an audience, with everything poured into the atmosphere and ambiguity around the events occurring to maximize the scares.
For a frightfully good time, here are the rest of the films ranked by the study, in descending order:
Total Scare Score
The Descent
The Conjuring 2
It Follows
The Dark and The Wicked
