When you hear a movie titled after a razor sharp tool does your mind automatically go to a dark place? The simple title alone made our subject uneasy before even strapping on the heart monitor. How will her physiological reactions respond to the torture that awaits her when she witnesses Saw (2004) for the first time?

What is FearScale? We’ve all heard the expression ‘Scared to Death’ or how something ‘Made My Heart Skip a Beat’, but what does that actually look like? Studies have shown that even when subjected to stimuli that can not present a true threat of danger, our bodies will still produce a physiological response. By analyzing real-time results we are able to give you the most accurate reviews for anything that makes your heart race.

Test Subject: Leah

Age : 35

Gender: Female

Fears: Cleithrophobia (Fear of being trapped)

Resting HR: 62-65 bpm

Walking HR: 75-80 bpm

ANALYSIS:

Even though our subject tested with a resting heart rate between 62-65bpm, the anticipation of this film had her starting point a bit higher at 66bpm. Within the first fifteen minutes, we were recording her pulse at a walking rate. As the mystery began to unravel, a gritty vibe added to our subject’s anxiety keeping her heart rate from dipping lower than 75bpm. Several scenes were responsible in spiking her numbers including one involving the film’s title at 1:30:00 which gave us her peak 88bpm.

CONCLUSION:

Saw (2004) created an extremely tense atmosphere keeping our subject’s numbers at a high average for most of the film. Many scenes were left to our subjects imagination and in speaking with her afterward, she believed she witnessed certain moments that didn’t actually happen on screen. This mind torture burned 247 calories and propelled Saw into a top ten spot on our heart racing leaderboard. Game Over.

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