The Science of Scare 2026: The Scariest Movies According to Science

Whether it's zombies, ghosts or anything else that goes bump in the night, nothing beats a good scare. But out of the thousands of horror films out there, which is the scariest horror movie ever made?

The Science of Scare Project
Is there anything better than a truly terrifying movie? One that gets your heart pounding, makes you jump out of your seat or sleep with the lights on?

We don’t think so, but with streaming services putting thousands of horror films just a click away, the real nightmare can be deciding which one to watch for the maximum fear factor.

That's why, since 2020, the Science of Scare Project has measured the physiological impact horror films have on us to rank the scariest movies ever made, according to science.

Now in its seventh year, the Science of Scare for 2026 has now found its home at MoneySuperMarket broadband, so read on to find the movies that get our hearts pumping and pulses racing.

Science of Scare 2026 quick facts
Sinister (2012) is the scientifically scariest movie of all time, holding on to the top spot for the fourth year in a row, with a Scare Score of 96.
Zach Cregger's Resident Evil (2026) delivered the biggest jump scare we've ever recorded (134 BPM).
Undertone is the scariest new film of 2026 (33=), tying with Skinamarink for the biggest stress response we've ever recorded (a 22% HRV drop).
Out of 15 new releases this year, just five managed to crack the top 50, including box office hits Obsession and Backrooms.
Host still gets hearts racing fastest, with the highest average heart rate on the list (88 BPM).
James Wan has more films in the top 50 than any other director, with four. Scott Derrickson, Parker Finn, Danny and Michael Philippou, John Krasinski, Damien Leone, Michael Chaves and Damian McCarthy each have two.
Patrick Wilson remains the most-featured actor, appearing in six top 50 films across The Conjuring and Insidious franchises.
> Jump to the full list

How do we measure the scariest movies?
The Science of Scare is an annual experiment that measures people’s physiological response to horror movies by tracking their heart rate and heart rate variability.

Each year, our team curates a list of the most terrifying English-language horror movies and screens them to our 250-strong panel.

Our test subjects are fitted with heart rate monitors, and their heart rate is tracked throughout each movie. We then look at a combination of factors to find out which movies get hearts beating and pulses racing the most.

To prevent audience fatigue, screenings take place over several weeks, before we publish our results in October, just in time for spooky season.

In the project's early years, we simply measured how much each movie raised our panel's average heart rate. However, since 2023, we’ve used a more detailed measurement: the Science of Scare ‘Scare Score’.

The Science of Scare score
Horror fans and communities like r/horror told us that relying on heart rate alone favoured jump scare-heavy movies over slow-burn horror.

The Science of Scare Score combines three metrics:

Heart rate (BPM): this is how much the movie raised our audience's average heart rate throughout its duration, compared with the group's average resting heart rate. This is an indicator of excitement and fear as part of your fight-or-flight instinct.
Heart rate variability (HRV): this is the natural variation in time between heartbeats. The bigger the drop in HRV, the more stressed our audience became, a good indicator of slow-burn fear and dread.
Peak heart rate (BPM): this is the highest point our audience's heart rate reached during the movie – a good indicator of its single most stressful, exciting or scary moment. In horror films, it's particularly useful for finding jump scares.
After collecting each film's average heart rate increase, biggest heart rate spike and HRV drop, we combine them to create a Science of Scare Score out of 100. For comparison, Shrek holds a Scare Score of 3.

This year's panel had a slightly higher average resting heart rate than in previous years (67 BPM, rather than 64 BPM). To keep results comparable, we measure heart rate increases from each panel's own resting rate, and have adjusted this year's resting, average and peak heart rates to account for the difference.

What is the scariest movie of all time?
According to science, Scott Derrickson's 2012 supernatural horror Sinister is the scariest movie ever made, with a Scare Score of 96 out of 100 – a title it has held for four years running.

Sinister stars Ethan Hawke as true crime writer Elliot Oswalt, who, in his obsession with a series of grisly events documented in chilling 8mm footage, unwittingly puts his own family in danger.
Watching Sinister pushed our panel's average heart rate up 34%, from 64 BPM to 86 BPM, peaking at 131 BPM during its most terrifying scene.

However, what sets Sinister apart is its rare ability to build dread, delivering sustained tension alongside its jump scares, partly thanks to its eerie sound design. That sinking feeling meant viewers' HRV fell by 21%, a drop beaten only by Skinamarink and newcomer Undertone.

Sinister first took the crown in our original 2020 study, before losing it to Host in 2021. It won it back in 2023 under our new Scare Score, and has stayed on top ever since.