We’ve got your answer if you and your friends have been debating which horror movie is the scariest and couldn’t decide. The BroadbandChoices platform conducted a study evaluating the heart rate of audiences when watching the highest-rated horror films (on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Reddit).
10th place: The Visit, 2015
- IMDb score — 6.2
- Heart rate: 79–100 bpm
Fifteen-year-old Becca and thirteen-year-old Tyler head to their grandparents. Before their mother got into a fight with them, they had never seen them. The grandparents are happy to see their grandchildren, but after 9:30 PM, they tell them not to leave their bed. And the kids will find out why soon.
9th: The Descent, 2005
- IMDb score — 7.2
- Heart rate: 79–122 bpm
A group of brave girls who enjoy an active lifestyle are going to the mountains to find a hidden cave. They don’t know what’s inside, so they go in, and rocks block the way. The girls are trying to find a way out, but they soon know they’re not in the cave alone.
8th place: The Babadook, 2014
- IMDb score — 6.8
- Heart rate: 80–116 bpm
Amelia is the single mom of Sam, a 6-year-old boy. The boy was born on the day his husband died, and now he sees monsters all around him. He once asked his mother to read him a book on the elusive Babadook, a creature that would soon be more than a character in a book.
7th place: The Conjuring 2, 2016
- IMDb score — 7.3
- Heart rate: 80–120 bpm
This is a sequel to a horror film that is very famous. The Warrens attempt to support a single mother with 4 children who are haunted in the sequel.
6th place: It Follows, 2014
- IMDb score — 6.8
- Heart rate: 81–93 bpm
The main character, Jay, finds out after a series of odd dates with a guy from college that he placed a curse on her that makes a mysterious creature stalk her all the time. And this creature has only one purpose: to destroy her.
5th place: Paranormal Activity, 2007
- IMDb score — 6.3
- Heart rate: 82–127 bpm
In the suburbs, a young couple (Katie and Micah) move in. Strange sounds in their house interrupt their quiet life. Katie tells her husband that she has been pursued by a mysterious presence since the age of 8. Micah tries to purchase a video camera to find out what’s going on while they are sleeping in their home. And the organization becomes even more involved after that.
4th place: Hereditary, 2018
- IMDb score — 7.3
- Heart rate: 83–109 bpm
Terrible things start to happen to her family after Annie Graham’s mother dies. But the family itself is not perfect and we hear about the horrific secrets they are keeping every day.
3rd place: The Conjuring, 2013
- IMDb score — 7.5
- Heart rate: 84–129 bpm
This is the first Warren family film that studies the paranormal. The film is based on a real occurrence in their lives and tells a tale about a demon-terrorized family of farmers.
2nd place: Insidious, 2010
- IMDb score — 6.8
- Heart rate: 85–133 bpm
The worst thing is that their 10-year-old son Dalton goes into a coma and doctors don’t know how to help him, after a series of odd events that happened to Josh and Renai in a new home. When he returns home, horrible occurrences begin to happen. And soon, everyone knows that the boy is related to a different universe.
1st place: Sinister, 2012
- IMDb score — 6.8
- Heart rate: 86–131 bpm
A writer and his family are returning to a house where they murdered an entire family a year ago. He discovers clips that are crucial to solving the mystery of the case. But some weird things start happening in the house that put the writer’s life in danger.
The plots of the films in this list suggest that it is definitely not a good idea to travel to new locations. The full list of films that participated in the study can be found here.
With the lights on, what movies do you still watch?
Preview photo credit The Conjuring 2 / Warner Bros., Sinister / Lionsgate
