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The Scariest Movie – According to Science (and PR)
Looking for a scary movie to watch this weekend?
How about the scariest movie ever? You no longer have to rely on algorithms or recommendations from friends. Researchers at the Science of Scare Project have broken down the scariest movies ever – according to science.
Except the project isn’t run by psychologists, neurologists or even filmmakers. It’s run by marketers for a cable company in the UK.
BroadbandChoices.co.uk created the Science of Scare Project in 2020. Each year, hundreds of “victims” are recruited to watch 40 scary movies while hooked up to heart rate monitors. Organizers track participants’ heart rates, measuring spikes and overall increase. The movie with the biggest pulse increase is named the scientifically scariest horror movie.
This year’s winner? Host, a 2020 horror movie that takes place entirely via a Zoom call.
The top five:
- Host
- Sinister
- Insidious
- The Conjuring
- Hereditary
(How Psycho didn’t make the cut, we’ll never understand.)
Content Marketing so Effective, it’s Scary
Each Halloween brings countless articles listing the scariest movies of all time. Those lists are the lifeblood of the internet and a reliable content marketing tactic for film and streaming companies. The Science of Scare Project takes that strategy one step further by making the methodology itself newsworthy.
That’s delivering a big payoff for a UK broadband company eager to get customers and readers seeking out their horror offerings every October.