The Scariest Movies According To 'Science,' Visualized

Depending on who you ask, the answer to the question, "What is the scariest movies?" might differ wildly based on people's subjective tastes. However, if we were to try to evaluate which movies are the scariest from a slightly more "scientific" angle, we could look at movies that get people's heart rates up the most, as this graph from BroadbandChoices, a broadband comparison website, does below.

To arrive at this ranking, BroadbandChoices compiled a list of the 50 best horror movies from Reddit recommendations and critics' lists and then had 50 people of varying ages watch the movies while their heart rates were measured.

While a person's average resting heart rate is around 65 beats per minute (BPM), according to BroadbandChoices, viewers watching the 2012 Ethan Hawke horror movie "Sinister" had an average heart rate of 86 BPM, the highest among all the movies that were surveyed, thus making it the "scariest" movie among the bunch.

In second place is the 2010 movie "Insidious," directed by horror master James Wan, which has an average heart rate of 85 BPM. "Insidious" has the highest spike in heart rate across all the movies, with viewers' hearts pumping as fast as 133 BPM during viewings.

And here's a chart of the top 10 scariest movies, according to the graph:

While the method used by BroadbandChoices to measure the scariest movies of all time is by no means airtight, it does provide a fun look at the effect horror can have on people.

[Via BroadbandChoices]

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