Scariest film of all time officially named according to science — scores 96 out of 100

People's heart rates were measured and this film came out on top.

12:28, Sun, Nov 1, 2026 Updated: 12:31, Sun, Nov 1, 2026

ETHAN HAWKE stars in SINISTER

The 2012 film has been named the scariest film ever according to science (Image: 2011 Summit Entertainment)

When it comes to the scariest film ever made, we've all got our opinions. You can see my top 15 here — but it's likely you'll have a very different list. What we find scary depends on a whole range of different things — whether it's the "found footage" style of The Blair Witch Project, the slasher gore of Nightmare on Elm Street or the supernatural terror of The Autopsy of Jane Doe.

But one film has been declared officially the scariest of them all, based on scientific measurements. The Science of Scare ranking of 2026 measured people’s physiological response to horror movies by tracking their heart rate, heart rate variability and peak heart rate. The researchers curated a list of English-language horror movies and showed them to 250 viewers, measuring their physical responses by fitting them with heart monitors.

After collecting each film's average heart rate increase, biggest heart rate spike and heart rate drop, they combine the numbers to create a Science of Scare Score out of 100. This year's winner achieved a score of 96. For comparison, Shrek holds a Scare Score of 3.

But it's likely not a film that springs to mind for most people when thinking about the scariest film of all time. Many people will immediately think of classics like The Evil Dead, The Omen, Halloween or Don't Look Now, while others may think of more modern films like The Exorcism of Emily Rose or Paranormal Activity.

This year's winner, with a score of 96 out of 100, was the 2012 film Sinister. It pushed viewers' average heart rate up 34%. The supernatural horror film sets out its dark and threatening mood early, opening with old home video footage showing a family of four standing beneath a tree with sacks over their heads and nooses around their necks. It goes on to tell the story of a true crime writer, Ethan Hawke, whose family move into a new house and discover a box of terrifying home movies in the attic. It was directed by Scott Derrickson.

Seance horror Host came second with a score of 95 and Skinamarink was third with 91. The scariest new films, meaning those released in 2026, were Undertone and Obsession, which both scored just 63. But the biggest jump scare went to this year's Resident Evil, which sent the viewers' heart rate up to 134 BPM – a 70 BPM jump, the highest spike of any film in the project's history. Despite this, the film didn't make the overall top 50 scariest films.

What critics say about Sinister

A scene from Sinister starring Ethan Hawke

Sinister from 2012 has been officially crowned the scariest film of all time according to science (Image: 2011 Summit Entertainment)

Sinister may be the scariest film of all time according to this experiment, but it split critics. Writing in Chicago Sun-Times, legendary film critic Roger Ebert said it is "an undeniably scary movie, with performances adding enough human interest to give depth to the basic building blocks of horror". And Mark Olsen writing in the Los Angeles Times said: "As the best horror stories so often do, Sinister makes clear that we are our own boogeymen, the worst monsters of all."

But others are less impressed. In the Toronto Star, Peter Howell said Sinister is "more stupid than scary" and "can't even figure out who its real demon is", while Michael O'Sullivan in the Washington Post wrote: "The hero of Sinister is almost unaccountably dumb. So, unfortunately, is the movie."