The New Scariest Movie of All Time, According to Science
What do you think the scariest movie of all time is? It’s a perennial question, one we always ask ourselves as not just genre fans, but people in general. If you asked 100 different people the same question, they’d likely have 100 different answers, and even then, that might change day to day. Well, The Science of the Scare project has tried to find out, and as a result of their study, three 2023 horror releases have cracked the Top 10 alongside reigning champion Sinister which knocked Host from the top spot to reclaim its status. Skinamarink (number 3), Smile (number 7), and Talk to Me (number 10) have all placed among the scariest movies of all time (according to good ol’ science).
For this year’s study, Science of the Scare employed a new physiological metric alongside heart rate to better account for movies less reliant on jump scares (though with Skinamarink and Smile ranking, those jumps seem to have won out again). This year’s test included heart rate variance to measure the time between the beats of participants’ hearts, an indicator of audience stress and slow-burn dread. Heart rate (BPM) remained the chief factor accounting for scare scores, an ostensible indicator of excitement linked to the audiences’ fight or flight response. Remember when A24 tracked Hereditary audience heart rates as part of its marketing campaign? Fun times.
This year’s study had more than 200 people and screenings of over 100 hours of horror movies. If that sounds like a dream, it’s because it is. In my house, we track Cheeto dust on shirts as a metric for enjoyment. Skinamarink’s placement is surprising (though deserved), largely on account of how divisive the breakout indie success was when released earlier this year. Kyle Edward Ball’s debut feature had an overall scare score of 91 out of 100, scoring the highest heart rate variance score among any entry on the list.
Before these results send anyone into a tizzy, it’s worth noting that the researchers are aware of their study’s innate limitations, and while this is science, it isn’t gospel. All films screened are in the English language, so no international fare, and the researchers regularly cull selected films from critic lists and online subreddits. That is, only the most popular and visible films are screened, so your indie darling might still be the scariest movie ever (according to science), it just hasn’t been tested yet. In the meantime, Skinamarink lords over the rest as the third scariest movie of all time.
It’s why 2023 releases like The Nun 2, Saw X, and Evil Dead Rise have all ranked among the Top 50 scariest movies. 2023 releases Cobweb, Pearl, and M3GAN were all screened, though none failed to crack the Top 50. One day, Cobweb—one day.
Don’t forget to check out the full list (alongside methodology notes) here! What do you think? Is Skinamarink one of the scariest movies ever made? What’s the scariest movie you’ve ever seen? My money has been and remains on The Wailing. Either way, let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins!
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