With Halloween just around the corner, scientists have been hard at work answering the one question all horror fans have been asking; which horror movie is most likely to cause a sleepless night? Well according to the unmatched scientific method applied by the prestige laboratories and sleep experts at Beds Divans the answer is quite clear, 1999’s The Blair Witch Project is so terrifying that you will not be able to shut your eyes in the name of slumber.
After analysing over 50,000 reviews on IMDb for the top 25 highest-grossing horror movies worldwide, and then tallying up the number of times that words synonymous with “scary” and “terrifying” were used in the reviews, it was determined that The Blair Witch Project has the “highest scare score.” The Blair Witch Project topped the leader board by some margin, earning a whopping score of 2,805, far ahead of The Ring, The Exorcist, The Conjuring and 2017’s It.
Of course, while horror movies and what makes a scary one all comes down to opinion, you can’t argue with science, can you? Released in 1999 and directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo S&ánchez, The Blair Witch Project introduces three students, who decide to venture into the Maryland backwoods to cover the mystery behind the infamous Blair Witch incidents. However, after losing their map, things take an unexpected turn, and the trio are soon at each other’s throats as they wonder whether they will even survive the night.
Well, as it turns out, they won’t, and the three disappear. Their equipment and footage are discovered a year later with the purportedly “recovered footage” being the movie that the viewer is watching. Whatever your feelings on The Blair Witch Project and its top spot on the leader board, it’s impossible to deny the impact that the movie had on the horror genre, introducing audiences to the idea of “found footage” as well as a viral marketing campaign.
Using unknown actors and largely improvised dialogue, The Blair Witch Project was sold as being real-life found footage, with the promotional marketing campaign even listing the actors as either “missing” or “deceased”. In fact, it was the idea of the movie being “real” which no doubt led to such success financially and critically, as well as earning the movie its horror pedigree.
Following behind the story of The Blair Witch is 2002’s remake of The Ring. Directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Naomi Watts, The Ring follows a journalist who investigates a cursed videotape that seemingly kills the viewer seven days after watching it. The horror flick is famous for a series of jump scares, and while its placement so high on the list is surprising, it’s hard to argue that the movie would indeed cause a bout of insomnia. Sitting just behind in third place is a bonafide horror classic, 1973’s The Exorcist, which, thanks to the horrific and vulgar activities of a possessed young girl named Regan, will certainly have you wide awake against your will.
So, what do you think of these results? Do you think the likes of Halloween and A Quiet Place deserve to be higher up the roster? And are you also wondering why exactly The Meg is on this list? Well, please direct your questions to Beds Divans.