Trust in scientific process erodes further with study that calls Host the scariest movie ever made

A 2021 study sees Host replace Sinister as its scariest horror movie

By Reid McCarter  |  October 4, 2021 | 8:30pm
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Trust in scientific process erodes further with study that calls Host the scariest movie ever made
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A screenshot from Host that doubles as a real-time reaction to the study’s findings. Screenshot: Shudder

Last year, we were shaken to our core by a study that used scientific methods to determine that 2012's Sinister was somehow the scariest movie ever made. Now, in an effort to further undermine our belief in the processes that establish a rational world, the study has returned with a new edition that makes the even bolder claim that Zoom horror movie Host is the new champion.

This year’s “Science Of Scare” again looked to “categorically and scientifically rank the scariest movies ever made based on the impact they have on your heart rate.”

Its organizers gathered 250 participants and had them wear heart monitors while watching “40 of the world’s scariest and best horror movies, sourced from Reddit, critics’ lists, and [the] 2020 Science Of Scare shortlist, along with new releases over the past 18 months.”

The findings tell us that Host is the “ultimate horror movie” since it got viewers’ hearts pumping the most of everything watched. Otherwise, many of the results are the same as they were last year.

Insidious still has the most intense jump scares and the top section of the “most scientifically scary movies” listed still includes The Conjuring, Hereditary, Paranormal Activity, It Follows, and The Conjuring 2. (The new entries are Terrified, A Quiet Place Part II, The Conjuring 3, and this year’s Candyman, so make of that what you will.)

As with some of the other “scariest movies ever made” that made the cut here, it isn’t that Host is a bad movie. It’s just not the kind of thing that’s likely to linger in the viewers’ mind long afterwards, unsettling them on any level beyond pairing it with this list and knowing that a lot of people take projects that involve ranking any art or entertainment based on criteria as limited as heart rates seriously.

Check out an infographic of the study’s findings by clicking here.

[via Bloody Disgusting]

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