FearScale monitoring is a methodical process, an experiment in fear which takes its toll on not only the subject but also on myself as ‘the scientist’. While viewing a movie, we take extreme measures to ensure minimal outside forces affect our results. To date we have monitored over sixty horror films. Here is a list of our current top ten and why they may be considered more heart racing than some of our personal favorites.
[10] Grave Encounters (2011)
The found footage genre has been the root of extremely high results at FearScale. Grave Encounters gained a spot in our top ten scariest movies by sustaining elevated numbers throughout the entire second half of the film. Our subject raced through dark, claustrophobic hallways always preparing herself for the next scare. The lengthy introduction was the ultimate cause for the lower average bpm, otherwise this film had potential to break our top 3. If you need yet another reason to check out this hidden gem, try to figure out why we compared the calories burned against a tongue… happy snacking.
[9] Hereditary (2018)
**Subject’s Personal Bias: Pregnant at the time of viewing**
Hereditary lands at number nine and we can attribute many of the high levels to using a pregnant mother as our subject. We honestly felt worried taking her into the theater due to the hype surrounding this film. Our subject maintained moderately healthy levels for her and the child even though much of the drama revolved around children. She didn’t jump out of her seat from scares but the sense of dread at times was mentally draining. A controversial ending however, will keep filmgoers divided and many will forget the levels of anxiety the film was able to create early on.
[8] Haunt (2019)
Haunt (2019) delivers a brutal haunted house film. It introduced a number of fears including enclosed spaces, spiders, and clowns that combined to grate on our subject’s nerves. These high spikes paired with low periods of relaxation were a heart racing formula that landed the film a spot in the top ten on our leaderboard. Haunt created similar results to the found footage genre where visceral reactions produced extremely high levels of stress. We recorded our subject’s final words after viewing Haunt, “I’m covered in sweat. I’m in deodorant failure.” You’ll have no problem burning off the Halloween candy consumed this year while watching this terrifying treat.
[7] The Invisible Man (2020)
The Invisible Man (2020) is a brutal thriller capable of producing high levels of anxiety. While the new film felt disconnected from the original, this reboot for a modern generation created more scares filled with stylish technological mayhem. The plot twists kept our subject on the edge of her seat. Even though the invisible man can hide in plain sight, our results are clearly visible. The lengthy periods of sustained tension along with a two hour runtime produced enough heart-racing moments for anyone to see calories disappear.
[6] Underwater (2020)
Underwater (2020) is a suspenseful film best viewed in a deep dark room. The unease created below the surface was able to produce extreme physiological reactions in our subject. Much like a found footage film, shaky claustrophobic scenes raised stress levels. Even the simple story did not lessen the tension. Our subject cared for the victims in peril and the gorgeous effects kept her enthralled. For a PG-13 film, the surprising scenes of gore and intense images were impressive. Underwater (2020) is a creature feature worth putting on your radar so turn off your lights and enjoy burning through your next seafood appetizer.
[5] Terrified (2017)
Fear is contagious. This memorable line from the movie is perfect to describe the effect Terrified had on our subject. She empathized with the characters and allowed herself to be drawn in to the emotional storyline. The intense creep factor had our subject cowering under her blanket. At times though, her focus was split between the ongoing action and the subtitles. I only wonder if her numbers would’ve been higher if she wasn’t distracted. If that were the case we could have possibly been looking at a new number one in heart racing horror.
[4] Bird Box (2018)
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**Subject’s Personal Bias: Mother of Three**
We heard several fans on social media chat about how boring they thought this movie was but in the same breath mentioned being stressed at times. This film is a perfect example of why we don’t call our site ScareScale. Fear is what drives the heart and while this movie isn’t all that scary and may have other plot/character issues it does create an intense atmosphere. One that continuously abused our subject with psychological torture.
Note: Our subject is a mother of three children so if you find yourself empathizing with the main character like she did then you will feel the stress this film can induce.
[3] Us (2019)
In creating our FearScale we ignore controversial plot holes and themes to focus solely on immediate physiological reactions. In the moment, our subject was on the edge of his theater recliner for more than half of the film. Jordan Peele brought Us a beautiful dance of terror with unsettling images and an exhilarating climax. The fear invoked in our subject created enough hair-raising horror to burn through 321 calories. If Us doesn’t make your heart race, you may need to check your pulse.
[2] Crawl (2019)
**Subject’s Personal Bias: Resides in Florida**
Crawl (2019) is an intense, fast-moving horror film that makes Jaws feel like a drama. Alexandre Aja created an entirely action based creature feature that immediately attacked our subject at her physiological core. Though the movie had terrifying situations, the excitement of rooting for the characters made it truly entertaining. The short runtime of 1:27 means the hurricane has to blow in fast so you can be sure your appetizer of alligator bites will be burned off before the squalls begin.
[1] The Conjuring (2013)
The Conjuring continues to hold the FearScale record for the highest numbers ever recorded. Having four spikes nearing 100bpm and two eventually passing that mark, this film will be categorized as our scariest film to date (of those we monitored). With an almost two hour runtime and at an average of 83bpm, our subject was able to burn an extraordinary amount of calories while in a resting position. So if you’re in possession of an evil cheeseburger calling your name you can easily exorcise those calories by watching this frightening flick.
There is always an enormous collection of horror films we intend to monitor and we will update our leaderboard weekly. We’re certain that this top ten will be changing over time so subscribe and follow us at FearScale as we continue our experiment in fear.
Do you have a favorite heart racing horror film you think should be in our top ten? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook