The scariest horror film ever made has been revealed by scientists

It doesn’t have to be spooky season for us to discuss horror films, though it definitely adds to the atmosphere. Fitting, then, that I should be hearing talking about the so-called scariest horror film ever made, as determined by the Science of Scare Project.

Created in 2020, the team of scientists have used heart monitors to analyse the reactions of its stronghold of dedicated horror fans. This year, though, the project has gone one better than heart monitors by also measuring heart rate variance as well, aka the time between each beat of your heart. By combining heart rates and variance for a score out of 100, the team believes they’ve created a better method for determining which film is indeed the scariest.

Horror game Dead Space will soon land on Game Pass.

The 250 lambs to the slaughter this year braced themselves through scenes from 50 of the most spine-tingling horrors of all time (I suspect some of you will argue the list isn’t nearly extensive enough, which I would agree with, but that annoyance should be aimed at the project, not me), including The Conjuring, Insidious, The Blair Witch, and the original 1978 Halloween. Normally when I see results from studies like this, I’m in disagreement, after all, film is such a subjective medium. However, in this instance, I think the final result is accurate. According to the Science of Scare Project, Sinister is the scariest horror film.

Spoilers about the film are coming, turn back now if you don’t want to know. This film is 11 years old, but I know some of you will complain if I don’t scream about potential spoilers from every rooftop I can reach.

I remember watching this film a year after it came out – that’s how long it took me to psych myself up to watch it – and it frightened me. My mum even texted while I was watching it, stating how “surprised” she was I was watching it alone; to this day, I too am surprised at that decision. It isn’t just the well-time jumpscares of this Ethan Hawke 2012 film, it’s the subject matter in general. For whatever reason, snuff films have always unnerved me, so, when you add children and families into that mix, it makes for quite the chilling watch.

Sinister scored 96 out of 100, with Host coming second at 95. During one scene in particular, which the project hasn't disclosed, heart rates spiked to 133 BPM, a stark contrast to the average resting rate of 64. I can’t help but wonder how dramatically the scores would change if it included “brutal” horror series like The Fall of the House of Usher.

If you feel brave enough to test your mettle, you know what you need to do: lock all the doors, turn out the lights, and settle in for the hell ride of your life.