In 1981, two new slasher sequels were released and continued to change the face of the horror genre. So which movie murderous icon doubled their fear score to win the title of scariest sequel? We had the same subject find out as she was hooked up with a hospital grade heart monitor for Halloween 2.

Test Subject: Leah

Age : 35

Gender: Female

Fears: Reptiles / Eyeball gore

Resting HR: 65 bpm

Walking HR: 75-80 bpm

ANALYSIS:

Note: Fearscale First –Heart-Rate elevated slightly at 3:00 due to opening credit scene.

Unlike how Friday the 13th Part 2 recapped the original film, Halloween 2 picks up right where its original leaves off. This gave a few small bumps in our subject’s heart-rate but ultimately the familiar scenes kept her levels from peaking early on. The creeping dread of Michael loose on the town slowly worked its way into our subject, taking her pulse from an average walking pace to her peak 91bpm at around 1:12:00. It’s Michael’s methodical motion which created more unease than we have previously recorded from jump scares in other films.

CONCLUSION:

Similar to the original Halloween (1978) the anxiety of this film doesn’t truly begin until we move into the third act. Where Friday the 13th Part 2 had several jump scares throughout (Refer to Chart), Halloween 2 took its time building suspense. In the end, Halloween 2 hit higher numbers overall and climbed slightly past Friday the 13th Part 2. And as we creep closer to October you should know that watching this film burns more calories than a bag of candy corn. So relax and enjoy the treats since our favorite slashers are making us slimmer!

Resting HR: 65bpm

Walking HR: 75-80bpm

Average HR during the film : 75bpm

Peak HR: 91bpm

Calories burned: 199

How many Fear Calories did you burn watching Halloween 2? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook