A 2018 horror movie starring Irish legend Gabriel Byrne has been named the scariest film of all time by online calculator gigacalculator.com.
Hereditary, the Ari Aster directed movie, which followed the story of a family who were haunted after the death of the children’s grandmother was named at the top of the list.
The critically acclaimed hit had both supernatural and psychological elements that would keep viewers awake late into the night.
While many of these kind of lists can come down to a matter of opinion, which people could never agree on, gigacalculator’s test did have a degree of scientific merit.
First, they asked 2,542 horror movie fanatics – or ‘gorehounds’ to rank their top ten scariest movies of all time – then created their aggregate top ten from the results.
Then they asked other volunteers to wear a heart rate monitor while they watch the scariest horror films in the list that they had never seen before.
The monitor would track their pulse to see how dramatically each film effected their heart rate.
An average heart rate is between 60-100 BPM.
When the volunteers watched Hereditary, their heart rates rose to an average of 115 BMP. Hereditary was closely followed by 2004 classic Saw which rose heart rates to 113 BPM on average.
Interestingly, while there are many iconic horror characters though the history of cinema such as Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Norman Bates and Scream’s ghostface, it would seem that movies have become scarier than ever.
Only one of the movies in the top ten was released before the turn of the millennium.
Psychologist and Wellbeing Consultant Lee Chambers said: “Scary movies are powerful mindfulness devices.
“You’re unlikely to be worrying about anything else while watching one, and they are a distraction from the monotony of everyday life, creating a novel experience.”
Top ten scariest films of all time
1 – Hereditary, 2018 (115 BPM)
2 – Saw, 2004 (113 BPM)
3 – The Babadook, 2014 (110 BPM)
4 – Insidious, 2010 (108 BPM)
5 – A Quiet Place, 2018 (106 BPM)
6 – The Descent, 2005 (103 BPM)
7 – Us, 2019 (100 BPM)
8 – IT, 2017 (99 BPM)
9 – The Conjuring 2, 2016 (97 BPM)
10 – The Exorcist, 1973 (96 BPM)
Take a look at the trailer for Hereditary below… if you dare.
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