If you’re considering a horror movie marathon to get into the Halloween spirit, you’re in luck. MoneySuperMarket has released its list of the 50 scariest films that will make your heart race, jump out of your seat or cover your eyes. This year, the 2012 supernatural horror film “Sinister” reclaimed its title as the scariest film. Ethan Hawke plays a controversial real-life writer who moves his family into a house where an unknown serial killer has committed horrific crimes. This decision ultimately puts him and his family in danger. The movie audience had an average heart rate of 86 beats per minute, 34% faster than the average resting heart rate of 64 beats per minute. At the film’s scariest moment, viewers’ heart rates soared to 131 beats per minute. Horror films that use scares to scare the audience trigger a faster heart rate. But not all horror films rely on scares. Some follow slow psychological burns to terrify viewers. Slow-burn horror movies don’t trigger a faster heart rate, but they do cause higher stress levels. MoneySuperMarket measures these stress levels through heart rate variability. A lower HRV indicates a more stressed viewer. The 2024 psychological thriller “Immaculate,” for example, follows an American nun who embarks on a new journey in a remote convent. The journey then turns into a nightmare, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats as the sinister secret unfolds. The audience’s heart rate peaked at 101 BPM, but had an HRV of 13 milliseconds, ranking the film at 42. Only three horror films of 2025 have managed to crack the top 50: “Bring Her Back,” “The Conjuring: Last Rites” and “Weapons.” “Bring Her Back” was the highest ranked of the three at 24, with audiences having an average heart rate of 78 BPM. favorite horror film made the top 50 in the table below.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2Fn ZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoIml mcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlb nRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
If you’re considering a horror movie marathon to get into the Halloween spirit, you’re in luck. MoneySuperMarket has released its list of the 50 scariest films that will make your heart race, make you jump out of your seat or cover your eyes.
This year, the 2012 supernatural horror film “Sinister” reclaimed its title as the scariest film. Ethan Hawke plays a controversial real-life writer who moves his family into a house where an unknown serial killer has committed horrific crimes. This decision ultimately puts him and his family in danger.
The movie audience had an average heart rate of 86 beats per minute, 34% faster than the average resting heart rate of 64 beats per minute. At the film’s scariest moment, viewers’ heart rates soared to 131 beats per minute.
Horror films that use scares to scare the audience trigger a faster heart rate. But not all horror films rely on scares. Some follow slow psychological burns to terrify viewers.
Slow-burn horror movies don’t trigger a faster heart rate, but they do cause higher stress levels. MoneySuperMarket measures these stress levels through heart rate variability. A lower HRV indicates a more stressed viewer.
The 2024 psychological thriller “Immaculate,” for example, follows an American nun who embarks on a new journey to an isolated convent. The journey then turns into a nightmare, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats as the sinister secret unfolds.
The audience’s heart rate peaked at 101 BPM, but had an HRV of 13 milliseconds, ranking the film at 42.
Only three horror films from 2025 managed to make the top 50: “Bring Her Back,” “The Conjuring: Last Rites” and “Weapons.”
“Bring Her Back” was the highest ranked of the three at 24, with audiences having an average heart rate of 78 BPM.
See if your favorite horror movie made the top 50 in the table below.
