In 2020, BroadbandChoices.co.uk founded The Science of Scare Project, aiming to identify the films that cause the highest amount of physical reactions by recording participants’ pulses and screams. As the website shared an updated list of the 30 scariest films every year, we gathered the top 5 of its 2022 list in the article below.
1. Host (2020)
Directed by Rob Savage, ‘Host’ depicted a group of friends having a virtual chat during the lockdown as they unintentionally allowed a spirit into their homes. This 56-minute film achieved the top position for the second time while pushing ‘The Conjuring 2′ out of the top 10 and caused an average increase in viewers’ heart rates by 24 BPM.
2. Sinister (2012)
‘Sinister,’ under the direction of Scott Derrickson, was about a crime writer who found disturbing videos in the house he moved his family to write about a murder committed there, leading to a supernatural ordeal. Measurements showed that heart rates averaged 86 BPM for the audience, with peaks reaching 130 BPM at jump scare points.
3. Insidious (2011)
Directed by James Wan, this film focused on a family attempting to save their comatose child from evil spirits in a realm named The Further. According to the data, the viewers’ heart rates rose by 21 BPM, with the highest spike of 133 BPM on the 2022 list.
4. The Conjuring (2013)
Another film by James Wan, ‘The Conjuring,’ introduced paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren helping a family in a haunted farmhouse. Recorded data showed the average heart rate at 84 BPM, with spikes up to 132 BPM during specific scenes.
5. Hereditary (2018)
Ari Aster directed the film to explore a family’s experiences following the passing of their mysterious grandmother as Toni Collette and Alexx Wolff starred in it. Although the movie fell behind the first four films on the list, it topped the rest by increasing the heart rate in the room by 18 BPM.
Rest Of The Movies
With four new entries replacing 2020’s ‘Candyman (2021),’ ‘The Invisible Man (2020),’ ‘The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021),’ and ‘Friday The 13th (1980),’ the rest of the top ten films in the 2022 list went as follows:
6. Terrified (2017)
7. It Follows (2014)
8. Dashcam (2021)
9. A Quiet Place II (2020)
10. Paranormal Activity (2007)
You can check out the full list here.