Current Events > 'Sinister' is the scariest movie ever - according to science

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.slashfilm.com/scariest-movie-ever/

Whats the scariest movie ever made? Im sure everyone has their own opinion on this, and some of those opinions will make other people angry because they dont match their particular opinions. So it goes! But can we ever officially determine what counts as the scariest movie ever made? Id say no, since taste is subjective. But leave it to some nerds to try to get to the bottom of this using science. As part of something called the Science of Scare Project, it was determined that Sinister, Scott Derricksons creepy 2012 chiller starring Ethan Hawke, is the scariest movie ever made. And Im sorry, you cant argue with science.

Forbes has the story: broadbandchoicesa comparison tool for broadband deals ran something called the Science of Scare Project to try to find the official scariest movie ever made. Per the story, they tracked the heart rates of 50 people of a variety of ages who watched over 100 hours of scary movies. After all of the tracking, broadbandchoices narrowed down a list of what it (scientifically) believes to be the scariest 35 movies ever made. Then:

For the study, each member of the test audience was fitted with a heart rate monitor to see how much (on average) their heart rates rose above their resting heart rates during a film. All data was averaged for each film, and one film came out on top as the undeniably scariest movie of the bunch.

The average resting heart rate of the participants was 65 BPM, but while watching Sinister, the viewers average heart rate went up to 86 BPM the highest rise in BMP for anyone participating in the study. Released in 2012, Sinister has Ethan Hawke as a washed-up true crime writer who moves his family into a house that was once the scene of a grisly murder. While investigating the case, Hawkes character uncovers a trove of old film reels that contain supernaturally-driven snuff films. Its an exceptionally well-made movie.

However, Insidious also got some attention in the study, too, earning itself the biggest jump scare title when one scene caused the participants heart rates to jump to 133 BPM. The Forbes story doesnt mention what scene it was, but anyone who has watched Insidious knows it was almost certainly the memorable moment when the red-faced demon pops up behind Patrick Wilson.

With more people than ever facing a Halloween at home, our Science of Scare study was designed to help people find the most scientifically scary films ever made, to save them the time of searching through thousands of titles across streaming services like Amazon, Netflix and Shudder, said Daniel Clifford, creator of the study. You can check out an infographic about the study below.

https://i.imgur.com/tQFhRn3.jpg

---

Compared to... Scream and The Ring and A Quiet Place?? lol

---

I liked Sinister and its sequel. Very creepy movies

It is a really good scary movie.

---

Interesting study

---

I'm not completely against it. The biggest knock against it really is that it's new and not as big of a deal.

But I still remember the imagery from the tapes and a couple of those jump scares. It has a bit of a dumb ending but it's a very solid horror movie. So I'm okay with this.

Glad to see that Exorcist 3 jump scare getting a shoutout. Going by that list the trick to topping it is to be consistently scary I think and not give the audience much of a break. Something like The Ring has a pretty long stretch where they're just investigating the mystery for instance even though I think specific scenes of that movie have more of an impact than some others that beat it.

---

Yeah i sure did love how they spoiled the fucking movie on the cover.

---

Sinister was fantastic, until Bughuul showed up.

The sequel was horrific.

---

It couldve been a classic but the script shits the bed 1/3 of the way in.

---

Make me want to mow my lawn

---

That movie fucking sucks though

---

The ending sucked but it was a great movie

---

fear is subjective

---

Tbh a movie doesn't actually have to be good to be scary.

Sinister had so much potential to be so much better though. If they kept the threat more vague it would have been way more scarier in the long run. The concept of finding some tapes of some murders and not knowing wtf they are and if you're next is just such a great concept. Should have felt like when you read a weird unsolved murder that creeps you out.

Even keeping the twist that it's the kids would have been more effective if you didn't really know why the kids were doing it.

---

The idea of your son or daughter being manipulated by an evil spirit to murder you and your loved ones is absolutely horrifying

---

I don't see how it's not the Exorcist, even to this day, I can't watch it.

---

Zikten posted...

I liked Sinister and its sequel. Very creepy movies

Agreed. Dat lawnmower scene. >_>

---

Academia geekmos need to gtfo any discussion about art tbqh
---

Just off the top of my head, i think they got it mostly right. Both sinister and insidious are terrifying, they have some truly chilling parts. One that I believe is also pretty good is drag me to hell, the idea of someone putting a damning curse on you for acting against your own moral compass and showing some backbone in order to get ahead in life terrified me. I know it's a bit cheesy, but that Gipsy curse thing has always terrified me. The end of hereditary with the naked demon people was also terrifying, there was just something about the way those folks looked that made me feel like it mightve been inspired by a bad trip or a scary schizophrenic bout.

---

I was more unsettled by that stupid dog who keeps shaking off his wet fur in 'I'm Thinking of Ending Things' than anything in most of those movies

---

Jump scares are a lazy cheap tactic to make your shitty movie seem scary.

---

Sinister is just dark and tense through the whole entire movie. Not that that's a bad thing mind you, I loved the movie. But it definitely helps hold you at an elevated heart rate for long periods of time.
---

Sinister is an excellent movie and probably my favorite scary movie, I always felt like it was pretty underrated

---