These are the scariest horror films, according to science

The ranking was determined by a study monitoring how much an audience's heart rates increased while watching certain horror films

A study has used science to determine the scariest horror films of all time.

Conducted every year since 2020, MoneySupermarket’s Science of Scare study has involved hundreds of volunteers who watch hours of horror movies while having their heart rate monitored.

The films are then ranked based on the effect on the audience’s heart rate, for which they are assigned a score based on the change in heart rate and the highest heart rate reached among the cinemagoers.

According to the study, the scariest horror film of all time is Scott Derrickson’s 2012 supernatural horror,  Sinister, with the audience experiencing a 34 per cent uplift in heart rate on average when watching the movie.

Coming in at a close second was the 2020 Zoom-based horror film Host, followed by Skinamarink, Insidious and The Conjuring.

Hereditary placed sixth in the ranking while Smile came in seventh. The top 10 is rounded out by The Exorcism Of Emily Rose, Talk To Me and Hell House LLC.

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The list is largely dominated by modern horror films, several of which had been released in 2024. The scariest film of the past 12 months was determined to be Oddity, which placed 20th in the ranking. Also making appearances in the top 50 were Terrifier 3, Stopmotion, Immaculate, Longlegs and The First Omen.

You can see the full list here.

In other news, Variety put together a ranking of the 100 greatest horror films of all time, focusing more on classics of the genre than the list created by the MoneySupermarket study.

The top positions on the list were largely occupied by 20th century classics, but the film claiming the top spot turned out to be The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 

“Very few horror movies possess the quality of a true nightmare — that transcendently scary bad dream you can’t wake up from, because it feels like it’s really happening. In 1974, just the title of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre could put the fear into you,” the outlet said.