New study claims horror movie slammed as ‘painfully boring’ is actually one of the scariest films ever

A new study has revealed some of the most scientifically scary films ever made, with one of the top three being a movie that was slammed as ‘painfully boring’.

With Halloween just around the corner, film fans across the world will be turning to the spookiest movies they can get their hands on.

Whether that’s newly released horrors like Black Phone 2, classics like Psycho, or Stephen King’s favourite The Haunting, many will be turning to the scariest flicks they know for Halloween.

While horror fans may be hoping that a study on the scientifically scariest films ever might help them make that decision, the inclusion of Skinamarink will cause some to raise their eyebrows.

Why was Skinamarink called ‘painfully boring’ and what is it about?

Skinamarink is a 2022 experimental horror film which follows two children who wake up in the middle of the night to find their father missing.

Made for just $15,000 (£11,182), the movie is set from the children’s perspective and was the feature debut from Kyle Edward Ball who had previously become famous online for his nightmarish YouTube short films.

Skinamarink went viral online for its arthouse style and creepy visuals, but not everyone loved it.

Sitting at a 4.7/10 on IMDb and 2.9/5 on Letterboxd, one review on the latter site said: “I really appreciate the swing here, it's gorgeous and the vibes are just terrific.

“But it's f*cking boring, I'm so sorry. At an hour-forty I was just begging for it to do something, anything.”

Another posted on X following the publication of the new study, saying: “Now’s a good a time as any to admit Skinamarink was painfully boring. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to walking out a movie.”

What were the other scariest films according to the study and how was it decided?

The film was judged to be the third scariest according to science (Shudder)

Per an experiment by the Science of Scare Project, Skinamarink is the third scariest film of all time.

The top five features The Conjuring at five and Insidious at four, with Host coming in at second.

The scariest film ever, according to the scientific study, is Sinister.

The study uses a score which combines heart rate and heart rate variance of people watching the films to get a score out of 100, with Sinister receiving a score of 96.

Skinamarink, despite many finding it dull, got a score of 91, a full 27 points higher than A Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween.

This was calculated from the fact that when watching Skinamarink the average heart rate was 20 higher than the resting heart rate, as well as heart rate variance difference of 22 m/s.

Though everyone is entitled to their own opinion it seems that, even if you found it boring, Skinamarink is scientifically proven to scare the sh*t out of you.

Skinamarink is available to stream for free on Tubi.