Sinister Named Scariest Film Ever by Science with 96 Score

The 2012 supernatural horror film Sinister has been officially named the scariest film of all time, scoring 96 out of 100 in the Science of Scare 2026 ranking. The study measured viewers' physiological responses, including heart rate, heart rate variability, and peak heart rate, to determine the ranking.

Researchers curated a list of English-language horror movies and showed them to 250 viewers, who wore heart monitors to track their physical reactions. After collecting each film's average heart rate increase, biggest heart rate spike, and heart rate drop, the numbers were combined to create a Science of Scare Score out of 100. For comparison, Shrek holds a Scare Score of 3.

How the Ranking Was Determined

The study's winner pushed viewers' average heart rate up by 34%. Sinister, directed by Scott Derrickson, tells the story of a true crime writer, played by Ethan Hawke, whose family moves into a new house and discovers a box of terrifying home movies in the attic. The film opens with old home video footage showing a family of four standing beneath a tree with sacks over their heads and nooses around their necks.

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

Critics' Reactions to Sinister

Sinister split critics. Writing in the 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." 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 were 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."