Previously published at NOFSPODCAST.COM

Coulrophobia or the fear of clowns affects a significant number of people, so it’s no surprise Andy Muschetti’s  IT: Chapter Two has been terrifying audiences the world over. We may never understand why clowns are able to strike so much fear in our hearts. Horror creators have found countless terrifying ways to corrupt the innocence of these delightful entertainers. Stephen King’s creation, Pennywise, is one of the most iconic creepy clowns in history. Luckily for our experiment, we were able to find a test subject who grew up hating the fun-loving circus freaks. Did she suffer more from her fear of clowns or was it the nearly three-hour runtime that had her squirming in her seat?

Synopsis:

“Twenty-seven years after their first encounter with the terrifying Pennywise, the Losers Club have grown up and moved away, until a devastating phone call brings them back.”

Test Subject: Jackie

Age: 32

Gender: Female

Fears: Clowns

Resting HR: 62-65 bpm

Walking HR: 80-85 bpm

ANALYSIS:

It: Chapter Two began with a brutal scene that immediately raised our subject’s heart rate into a healthy walking pace. She settled back into her seat only to have an uncomfortable family affair spike her pulse once more. As the lovable losers developed their storyline, a mix of comedy and mild creeps attempted to build momentum. True terror found its way onto the screen when we recorded a 95bpm spike at the 43:00 mark from a dark and vicious confrontation. At times, flashbacks would drag our subject’s heart rate into the sewer but another eerie sequence always lurked around the next corner. Scenes were created with a deliberately slow sense of dread but almost always ended with a weak climax. One of these terrifying build-ups induced our subject’s peak of 101bpm when the fear of the unknown became more tortuous than the reveal. Unfortunately, the artificial world created during the finale began to diminish her extremely high heart rate levels. The last hour had the potential to conclude in a nightmarish fashion but ultimately turned into an amusing roller coaster ride. It was unable to shake our clown fearing subject.

CONCLUSION:

It: Chapter Two was frightening… at times. The lengthy film had our subject’s heart racing, however, many of the CG reveals prevented her numbers from climbing into record breaking territory. The runtime combined with multiple high spikes was enough to burn an enormous amount of calories. It: Chapter Two satisfied our cravings for creepy clowns and watching a subject endure her biggest fear.

IT: CHAPTER TWO: BURNS AN AVERAGE OF 404 CALORIES

COTTON CANDY: 220 CALORIES

How many fear calories did you burn watching It: Chapter Two? Let us know in the comments and make sure your following @FearScale on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook