These surprising horror films are the scariest ever according to science

Research has revealed the scariest horror films ever made – and the results might surprise you.

From buckets of gore to jump scares and tension so high you could cut the atmosphere with a knife, every horror fan has an opinion on the right recipe to scare.

Whether the classic monster movies gave you nightmares or the modern rise in psychological horror makes you glance out of the corner of your eye, a new study has determined the title that comes out on top just in time for Halloween.

Money Super Market has conducted the Science of Scare study since 2020, tracking the heart rates of volunteers subjected to hundreds of hours of horror films.

According to the study, Scott Derrickson’s 2012 supernatural horror, Sinister, is the scariest movie ever made.

And not for the first time, as the chilling tale of Bughuul has topped numerous studies and lists crowning it the most terrifying movie of the year.

The film follows true crime writer Ellison Oswald (Ethan Hawke) who discovers the existence of a snuff film showing the death of an entire family and moves into their home to solve the mystery.

In this new research, the audience experienced a 34% uplift in heart rate when watching the movie, from a resting rate of 64 BPM up to 86 BPM (beats per minute) on average during the movie.

Sinister’s most scary moments sent hearts racing to a whopping 131 BPM, with the film scoring an overall ‘Science of Scare score’ of 62, measured by combining the average BPM increase with HRV (heart rate variance) decrease.

Second place was Zoom-based horror Host at 95, and divisive ‘lo-fi horror’ Skinamarink in third place.

Directed by Kyle Edward Ball in their feature debut,  Skinamarink impacted audiences’ HRV more than any other movie on the list at 22%, causing the most stress and dread among viewers.

However, a common criticism among those who disliked the film was that they did not find it scary at all – a stark contrast to those who dubbed it the most terrifying film of 2022.

It has 73% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but only 40% from audiences with more than 100 verified ratings.

The audience consensus reads: ‘For some, it might be scary, but for a lot of viewers, Skinamarink is just frighteningly dull.’

The top 10 boasts a lot more modern titles than many may expect, with classic films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Exorcist just breaking the top 50.

Host was released in 2020, terrifying audiences with director Rob Savage’s unique utilisation of Zoom to tell the terrifying haunted house story.

Completing the top 10 were Insidious, The Conjuring, Hereditary, Smile, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Hell House LLC, and Talk to Me. 

Similarly to Skinamarink, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, released in 2005, drove a wedge between audiences and critics who had wildly different opinions of the film.

On Rotten Tomatoes, critics panned the movie giving it a score of just 45%, while audiences favoured it slightly more with the 2005 film sitting at 60%.

Critics thought: ‘Loosely based on a true story, The Exorcism of Emily Rose mixes compelling courtroom drama with generally gore-free scares in a ho-hum take on demonic cinema.’

According to the study, the scariest film of 2024 was  Oddity, Damian McCarthy’s latest offering which debuted at an impressive 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Stopmotion, the feature-length debut from British director Robert Morgan and record-breaking splatter film Terrifier 3 also cracked the list – but didn’t make the top 20.

Other new films making it into the top 50 included Sydney Sweeney’s nun-horror Immaculate, Nicholas Cage’s smash hit demonic thriller Longlegs, The Omen prequel The First Omen, and found footage flick Late Night with the Devil.