Z (2019) is our next horror film to feature children and their imaginary friends. This Shudder original has a short run-time but promises big scares. Find out if the movie kept our subject’s heart rate racing or if it left her ready to catch some Z’s.
Where to Watch:
SYNOPSIS:
A family find themselves terrorized by their eight-year-old son’s imaginary friend.
Test Subject: Jen
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Fears: Agoraphobia (Fear of Crowds)
Resting HR: 60-65bpm
Walking HR: 80-85bpm
ANALYSIS:
The film began as a psychological drama rather than a terrifying horror film. But eventually, the subtle setup of a menacing presence gave our subject the heebie-jeebies. Her pulse climbed into the 80’s within fifteen minutes. Our subject, being a mother herself, was able to empathize with the main character struggling with a horrific situation. This allowed her to fully connect with the story unfolding.
One of our favorite jump-scares in a horror film is the demon in broad daylight from Insidious (2010). Z delivered several of these moments including one of the most shocking jolts we’ve ever encountered. This scene at 28:00 visibly shook our subject and after that incident the expectation of more disturbing surprises would not allow her heart rate to rest. Two times during the movie her heart rate climbed above 90bpm due to the nightmarish imagery. One of the slow, tension building scenes produced her peak heart rate of 93bpm as a brief glimpse of the creature terrorized our subject. This was the key to Z, limited onscreen time for the monster made for a more frightening flick.
CONCLUSION:
Z (2019) is a chilling film which preys on a mother’s worst fear, a child in danger. It established an uncomfortable atmosphere by delivering shocking scenes that were hard to shake. Some of the scariest jolts however were extremely quick which left little time for her heart rate to escalate as high as one would expect. Nonetheless, when Z gets moving, it hits hard and fast with one frightening scene after another. Our subject’s fear of crowds is safely under control as she will be cowering at home beneath her covers for the foreseeable future.
Z: Burns an average of 187 Calories
Zima: 147 Calories
How many Fear Calories did you burn watching Z? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
