In an attempt to fit in one more analysis before the arrival of our holiday circus we monitored Big Top Evil (2019). The film written, directed and starring Sean Haitz also featured cult classic actor Bill Moseley. For this project we were able to secure a test subject terrified of clowns. Find out if this gory freak show raised her heart rate higher than a tightrope.

Watch the trailer here.

SYNOPSIS:

Five disparate youths, lost on a road trip to the location of the infamous ‘mangrove slasher,’ end up being pursued by a cadre of cannibal clowns.

Test Subject: Jackie

Gender: Female

Fears: Clowns / Gore

Resting HR: 62-65 bpm

Walking HR: 80-85 bpm

ANALYSIS:

The opening of the film took time to establish the main characters. This prevented our subject’s numbers from climbing early on. Her first heart rate spike came from practical gore at 12:00 which created a quick jolt of 68bpm. As the characters meandered on a long road trip, the film intercut gripping dialogue with featured cameos. This back and forth kept numbers wavering above her resting average. Also, the quick edits of creepy clowns were too abrupt to build true tension. Periodically, a humorous moment would excite her pulse but we failed to see her heart explode with confetti. Wink. Our subject patiently waited to be terrified but the threat of danger did not rear it’s freaky head until the second half of the film. At 52:00, a dark and ominous hallway had our subject cringing with anticipation. This suspenseful scene brought on her peak heart rate of 73bpm. And as the insane clown party arrived, the chaos elevated our subject’s vitals maintaining numbers in the seventies boosting her overall average.

Watch the spoiler free peak heart rate here.

CONCLUSION:

Big Top Evil had a few heart racing moments but the fast paced cuts reduced the time needed to build suspense. Ultimately it was the clever kills and chaos during the finale that created enough shocks to lift our subject’s heart rate. One day after viewing she mentioned having a nightmare featuring one of the clowns from this film. So even if the movie didn’t create an immediate physiological effect, we credit the filmmakers for creating characters that generated a lasting fear in our subject. Big Top Evil (2019) may not have been the scariest movie we’ve monitored this year but the circus clown gore was in tents. Get it? I’ll be here all week.

Big Top Evil: Burns an average of 98 Calories

1 oz. serving of circus fair popcorn : 130 Calories

Available now on, iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, Vimeo, Red Box
on demand. Also available on Blu-Ray

How many Fear Calories did you burn watching Big Top Evil? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook