With Halloween approaching, some of us may chose to Trick or Treat whilst others may elect to stay in and watch a scary movie. This option had me wondering - which movie is considered the scariest ever made. Now this is of course is absolutely subjective, so it was interesting to read a poll recently, completed by a group of 50 cinema attendees to identify which movies got their heart rates going.
These top 10 are based on jump heart rate (and are not necessary our choice).
1. Sinister | 2012
The biggest jump scare with the highest spike in heart rate of 86 beats per minute. 32 per cent higher than the average resting heart rate of 65 beats per minute.
2. Insidious | 2010
Came in just behind number 1 with 133 beats per minute.
3. The Conjuring | 2013
4. Hereditary | 2018
5. Paranormal Activity | 2007
6. IT Follows | 2014
7. The Babadook | 2014
8. The Decent | 2005
9. The Visit | 2015
10. The Witch | 2015
Another survey taken last year named The Exorcist (1973) as the scariest movie of all time with The Shining taking out 4th place.
In more recent times, The Conjuring franchise has an almost cult following and The Nun 2 is now showing at a theatre near you (just in case you were not scared enough by her the first time).
Masks in horror are the strength of the villains, and without them, they’re weak. In some metaphorical, horror film way, masks give them power. They give them identity and potray someone who is un-killable. A symbol which frightens people. The face they shudder to think of. We don’t tremble when we think of Michael Myers’ pretty face.
The Top 10 of the most scariest masks were:
1. Jason | Friday the 13th franchise - 1980
The simple hockey mask. Jason Voorhees might have been slow to don his famous piece of sporting equipment (it took until Part 3 to make an appearance), but that didn't stop it from becoming the signature mask of all horror cinema, an article so basic and unforgettable that it remains, even forty three years later, the standard against which all other undead serial-killer costumes must be judged.
2. Michael Myers | Halloween Franchise - 1978
Captain Kirk mask painted white. Nothing terrifies quite like the visage of William Shatner. at least once it's been bleached, stretched out, and given some green hair, as was done to a Shatner Star Trek mask to create Michael Myers's face. As with Voorhees's hockey mask, Myers's look succeeds with a less-is-more approach, a vacancy that embodies the character's blank, irrational evil.
3. Leatherface | Texas Chainsaw Massacre Franchise - 1974
Mask made from skin of his victims. For this evil monster, letting his victims know he meant business was paramount. His mask was used to terrify fleeing men and women, advertising his blunt intentions for their remains.
4. Ghostface | Scream Franchise - 1996
Inspired by the famous Scream Painting by Edvard Munch. Wes Craven's 1996 hit may have introduced self-consciousness to the horror mainstream, but there's no getting around the fact that the white-ghoul-in-black-hood look remains more memorable than actually scary. Not as frightening as the others above in our humble opinion.
5. Hannibal Lecter | The Silence of the Lambs - 1991
Sports goaltender’s mask. A muzzle with teeth-like metal bars over its breathing hole, the mask worn by Hannibal Lecter as he's transported to new quarters in The Silence of the Lambs isn't his primary outfit. Yet by conveying the very nature of his malevolence, the man eats people, and thus must be kept from using his mouth, it remains one of the most memorable aspects of his persona!!
6. IT | IT Follows 2014
Clown. Pennywise the Dancing Clown is the form that IT predominantly takes in the movie. It is believed that “clowns” scare children more than anything else in the world. IT preys on the children of Derry because their fears are easier to manifest into a physical form and harvest. The clown form of IT, entices children before terrifying them. Pennywise is just one of the villain’s many forms, as IT is an eternal, shapeshifting being. Who knew??
7. The Hag | Curtains - 1983
Witch. Worn by the ice-skating killer (Curtains). It’s the uncanny valley effect that makes this mask scary, really. It doesn’t have any particularly terrifying features; it’s just kind of blank, and a bit shapeless. But the way it looks like a human face gone ever so slightly wrong makes it pretty horrible to look at.
8. Mrs Tredoni Mask | Alice, Sweet Alice - 1976
Translucent mask with eerie baby-doll features and makeup. Like an adult Betty Boop come to demonic life, this mask from 1978's cult slasher mixes the translucency of Chaney's Phantom costume with eerie baby-doll features and makeup. Top that with a yellow rain slicker, and you have one of the few female horror masks to make a lasting mark on the genre.
9. Pig Mask | Saw Franchise - 2004
As worn by: Jigsaw’s various acolytes in the Saw franchise. There’s so much going on in the Saw movies that this mask is far from the most iconic thing in the movies. Billy however is a puppet, not a mask, so can’t be included on this list. With its straggly black hair and gloopy eyes, the pig mask is pretty terrifying in its own right, especially for those suffering with swinophobia!
10. Button Mask | Nightbreed - 1990
Director David Cronenberg donned this disguise for Clive Barker's 1990 film, a look so strangely off-putting, it's as if its form and function are at odds with each other. If there are buttons in place of eyeholes, how does he see? And what's the point of a zipper at the mouth, since you'd assume he'd always want said hole open? And yet the impracticality is what makes it so menacing.
You may have seen some of the above films and not others, something to consider for a Halloween fright night if you are keen? They all scare me, so I will settle for a nice Rom Com filled with laughter instead.
Happy Halloween and stay safe on the street. You never know who is out there
