The most scientifically frightening movie! (Sinister)
Let's examine Sinister from 2012, which was scientifically selected as the scariest movie ever in 2020. Just before that, I would like to say a few sentences about why it was scientifically considered.
A technology company organizes a "horror science project" to choose the best #horror movie. As a result of the research conducted on 50 people of different age groups, Sinister is chosen as the movie that scares the audience the most. It is quite interesting that the selection process is based on scientific data. The 50 selected people were asked to watch more than 200 hours of horror movies from a list of horror movies determined by movie critics and #Reddit user recommendations. Their heart rates were measured with the help of devices worn during the viewing. Sinister, which was chosen as the most frightening movie, caused the average pulse rate of the viewers to increase by 131, while their normal heart rate increased by 32%. source
It's quite strange, isn't it? While I agree with the way in which the most frightening movie was determined, the result may not please everyone. I'm sure everyone will have their own list of scares. And they will have their own criteria for determining this list.
I watched Sinister last night and I almost didn't object to the outcome. I will explain why I say "almost" at the end of this article.
Author Ellison Oswalt (played by Ethan Hawke), who researches real-life crimes and publishes the results of his research into a book, moves to the scene of a crime where a family has tragically perished. The place where they tragically lost their lives is actually the family's own home. Just this detail alone causes fear hormones to be released.
From the author's point of view, it seems like a simple moving function that is necessary to shed light on unsolved murders, but for the family it is not easy at all. Because we are talking about moving into the dramatic murder house of four people and the murders committed by unknown perpetrators. It is work for one side and the beginning of tragic events for the other side.
You feel strangely tense while watching the movie. There are many scenes in the movie that cause this. Every scene where Ellison, the writer, is on the job is tense. I know that tension triggers fear because in the scenes I mentioned, my adrenal glands started releasing #adrenaline and #noradrenaline and my heart rate increased. My pupils are probably dilated, but I don't recognize it myself.
The 50 people who were subjected to the study must have had similar results because the average pulse rate increased to 131. I didn't think to take my own pulse, but I'm almost certain it couldn't have been lower. The movie really makes you feel the fear, and it's not limited to a few scenes!
Now for my only criticism about it being almost the scariest movie, the movie really makes you feel the fear as much as possible. It starts at a low level with increasing rhythms to make you feel the fear and it is expected to peak with the final scene...
...but the expected final scene ends with relief and closure rather than fear. It deserved a better and more detailed ending. I don't know if Sinister will be your scariest movie, but if you want to feel the fear in moments full of tension, make sure you watch it.