Ranking the 10 scariest horror movies of all time, according to science
What is the scariest horror film of all time? Pretty much everyone will have a different answer to that, and as it turns out, science has had its say, too.
Broadband Choices set up the ‘Science of Scare’ project to find the scariest films according to science. The organisers got together a shortlist of around 50 films and then enlisted 250 participants to watch the movies in extraordinary viewing chambers. Their heart rates were monitored the whole time, and the films that produced the biggest spikes in heart rates were the ones that got the highest scores.
Of course, this study does present an incredibly limited way of measuring fear; many of the best horror films frighten viewers more psychologically, after all. As such, viewing this as a list of films that made the participants jump the most is better. The movies that have done best in this study are primarily examples of horror films that use jump scares a lot but ones that actually execute this often-maligned scare tactic well. It should surprise no one that James Wan appears on this list more than once.
So, out of the ten films that did the best, which one is the greatest? Which one is the worst? And how do they stack up overall? It’s time to find out. Here are the ten scariest films according to science – ranked in order of greatness.
The scariest horror movies, according to science:
10. Paranormal Activity (Oren Peli, 2007)
Plot: An American couple (Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat) are being haunted in their home, and one of them sets up cameras to record the hauntings.
Paranormal Activity is, at this moment in time, the most profitable film ever made. This found-footage horror, which depicts an American couple being haunted by unseen ghosts in their California home, was filmed for $15,000. Post-production cost between $200,000 and $300,000, and how much money did this thing make back? $194.2million worldwide. That is absolutely insane, and in other circumstances, such a small film doing so well would be a heartwarming success story. Not in the case of Paranormal Activity.
For starters, this movie’s legacy is simply awful. Most of the sequels were terrible, but it kick-started a revival in the mostly awful found-footage subgenre, and it even inspired a risible spoof by the Wayans brothers with A Haunted House. This would be easier to forgive if the original film was any good, but Paranormal Activity proved to be a shockingly overhyped work in every imaginable way. It provides a few good jumps, which are probably what got it onto this top ten, but aside from that, it is a lifeless, clichéd and overwhelmingly un-scary snoozer, all filmed by the most insufferable camera operator in the history of the found-footage genre.
9. The Visit (M. Night Shyamalan, 2015)
Plot: Two teenage siblings (Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould) go to stay with their grandparents, but they quickly discover all is not as it seems.
M. Night Shyamalan’s found-footage horror-comedy might be coming to second-to-last here, but make no mistake: this is a far better work than Paranormal Activity. After years of terrible films, including his disastrous foray into blockbuster directing, this particular work saw a refreshing and long-awaited return to form for this talented yet wildly inconsistent filmmaker.
A lightweight, stripped-down affair, The Visit isn’t anything standout or memorable, but it makes for a very amiable, enjoyable viewing. Its young protagonists are likable, the villains are menacing, Shyamalan’s signature third-act plot twist works, and in the thrills department, the film more than delivers.
8. Sinister (Scott Derickson, 2012)
Plot: A true crime writer (Ethan Hawke) moves into a home where a family was murdered, intending to write a book about the case, but discovers that the murders were actually the work of a malevolent supernatural entity.
In this study, Sinister was rated as the scariest film of all time, an unexpected outcome, to say the least. Is Sinister the scariest film of all time? No, it’s not, but it is very scary, and it remains one of the few Western horror films of the early 2010s that really delivered on the fright factor. There are some truly chilling moments – especially a certain scene involving a lawnmower.
Sinister has a great set-up and largely delivers on its premise’s promise. The film is not only a very frightening experience, but it’s also headlined by a legitimately great performance from Ethan Hawke. The alcoholic, obsessive writer is a familiar trope, but Hawke gives the character real depth and gets viewers fully invested in his journey. As a result, the film’s many potent scares and its shocking, utterly brutal ending hit even harder. To conclude, formulaic… but very effective.
7. Insidious (James Wan, 2010)
Plot: The family of a comatose boy are haunted by mysterious spirits, and with the help of a veteran ghost hunter, the parents try to save their son before it’s too late.
James Wan had a rough few years after breaking onto the horror scene with Saw. The director made a couple of movies, those being Dead Silence and Death Sentence, but neither of them were successful, and he was starting to look like a one-hit-wonder. Then, almost out of nowhere, he returned to form with Insidious, a beautifully directed supernatural chiller that established Wan as not only the king of the jump scare but also one of modern horror’s most talented filmmakers.
Insidious was one of the very first truly awesome horror films of the 2010s. At the time, most studio horror films were duds, and the horror genre was in a very dark place, so Insidious was an uproariously satisfying experience. It was a haunted house horror film that was actually very, very scary – downright terrifying at times, in all honesty. With the number of nerve-shredding jump scares this movie serves up, it’s no surprise that it did so well in this survey. The film loses steam in its final act, but the rest of the movie is so strong that this loss of momentum is easily forgivable – flaws and all. Insidious is a minor classic of modern horror.
6. Hereditary (Ari Aster, 2018)
Plot: After a terrible bereavement, a family begin to experience hauntings from a demonic entity.
At first glance, Hereditary is a surprising film to do well in this study. After all, it is more of a slow-burn, subtle horror film that’s arguably more emotionally affecting than scary in the traditional sense. At the same time, it probably did particularly well in this survey for one key reason. Early on, the film drops one of the greatest and most horrifying mid-film plot twists… well, ever, and this moment is so shocking that audiences will still be recovering from it by the time the film ends.
The rest of the movie is similarly strong – mostly. A brilliantly made and tremendously acted deep-dive into grief and intergenerational trauma, Hereditary is a razor-sharp mix of bruising scares and powerful emotional drama that hits devastatingly hard – especially thanks to Toni Collette’s lead performance, which deserved to win the ‘Best Actress’ Oscar, yet she wasn’t even nominated. The film’s ending is very disappointing and gets too silly, but the rest is an undeniable home run.
5. The Descent (Neil Marshall, 2005)
Plot: A group of British women become trapped in an unexplored US cave system, and they soon find they’re not alone in there.
The Descent was the only British horror film to make it into this top ten, has stood tall and proud as one of the finest horror films of the 2000s (a mostly terrible decade for horror) ever since its release, and there’s a very, very good reason for that. Expertly directed by Neil Marshall, the movie is harrowingly claustrophobic and filled with scream-inducing horror that hits even harder because this absolute nightmare is happening to a group of well-developed, likeable characters that viewers will really care about.
The set-up to the story, which hinges on one of the characters making the stupid decision to lead her friends into a completely unexplored cave system and not tell anyone where they are, is unconvincing, and the creatures that hunt the women in the dark don’t look great now, so it’s not a perfect horror film. Nonetheless, it is a very good one, and compared to most of the dreck the horror genre turned out in the 2000s, it’s a full-blown masterpiece.
4. The Conjuring 2 (James Wan, 2016)
Plot: Ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren go to London to help a family dealing with a haunting there.
The Conjuring 2, though not quite as strong as its predecessor, is an unexpectedly great horror sequel. It’s got absolutely everything people loved about the first film – a terrific cast, likeable characters, nightmarish demonic antagonists and painfully effective scares that make the film a legitimately terrifying experience.
Some might find it a bit of a re-run, and that’s understandable, but by sticking to what worked so well the first time, The Conjuring 2 doesn’t try to fix what was never broken, which is refreshing to see. Besides, it’s more epic in feel, there are more character moments for the two leads, and the 1970s London setting adds a lot to the overall experience. Aside from a somewhat bloated run-time, The Conjuring 2 is a firecracker of a horror film, and not only is it one of the best horror sequels in recent memory, but also arguably one of the best horror sequels of all time.
3. The Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014)
Plot: A bereaved mother and her troubled son are stalked by a mysterious monster in their home.
The Babadook is another surprising entry onto the list, as this one is more of a slow-moving, emotional horror film. At the same time, it’s nice to see it here as, ever since its release, what is easily one of the most elite and accomplished horror films of the last ten years has sometimes unfairly been dismissed by genre fans as overhyped.
There are some really good scares in The Babadook, and it’s laced with dread and atmosphere, but ultimately, this is arguably even better as a drama than as a horror. It’s an extraordinarily moving look at grief, depression, bereavement and motherhood. While this heavy work can be hard to watch, it is an extremely rewarding viewing all the way through. Crafted to perfection and headlined by an Oscar-worthy performance from Essie Davis (a performance which, just like most great ones in horror, got snubbed by the Oscars), The Babadook is horror at its most powerful and it might just be the gold standard of Australian horror cinema.
2. It Follows (David Robert Mitchell, 2015)
Plot: After a sexual encounter, a teenager starts being followed everywhere she goes by a slow-moving, malevolent entity.
It Follows is sometimes just described as the ‘STI horror film’ – that grossly underestimates the film. Sure, the central premise echoes the threat of STIs, but this film goes far deeper than that. It’s a detailed and layered horror film that meditates on many other things, too: trauma, sexual assault, adolescence and mortality itself. It’s a thematically rich chiller filled with well-drawn characters, and better still, it’s extraordinarily scary. It’s no surprise that it did so well in this study.
The film has become well-known for the Tall Man jump scare, and while that is a great moment, this is a film full of similarly terrifying shocks, all headlined by one of the most frightening, well-crafted supernatural villains you’ll ever see in a horror film. Although the ending is terrible, it’s still one of the most elite horror films of the 2010s, not to mention one of the scariest movies you’ll ever watch. For some, it might even be too frightening to watch again.
1. The Conjuring (James Wan, 2013)
Plot: In 1970s America, Ed and Lorraine Warren try to save a family being terrorised by a demon.
When it first arrived, The Conjuring was about as satisfying as a horror film could be for two key reasons. Firstly, it was the perfect antidote to terrible studio horror movies. As a star-studded haunted house movie set in the past, The Conjuring sounded similar to many of the other horror films of the day, but unlike all of those other ones, this was actually an incredibly well-made horror film. Better still, with its measured pacing, relatable characters and strong period detail, this one was also well-written and didn’t waste its terrific cast either.
Secondly, it is a terrifying movie filled with beautifully crafted jump scares and borderline harrowing suspense sequences. The Conjuring is more or less the finest studio horror film to come out of Hollywood in the past ten years, and it more than deserves its spot on this list of the scariest movies, according to science.
10 scariest movies, according to science:
- Sinister
- Insidious
- The Conjuring
- Hereditary
- Paranormal Activity
- It Follows
- The Conjuring 2
- The Babadook
- The Descent
- The Visit
