Yep, that’s right. A long, long time ago in 2004, an article was written in the Evening Standard about a group of academics that wrote a Scare Equation to calculate the ultimate scary movie. The academics spent a couple of weeks evaluating some of the scariest movies they knew to create and test their formula.
Here is their formula:
(es+u+cs+t)^2+s+(tl+f)/2+(a+dr+fs)/n+\sin{x}-1
What does all of this mean?
Don’t worry, we won’t make you relive those 8th grade trigonometry or algebra days (we don’t want to either), so let’s break down the Scare Equation and see what each component means and how they arrived at their ultimate conclusion.
Suspense – (es + u + cs + t)2
Suspense is calculated by combining 4 categories:
- es – escalating music
- u – the unknown
- cs – chase scenes
- t – the sense of being trapped
And since suspense is such an important aspect of any good horror movie, suspense is squared.
Shock – s
Shock is added as its own separate addition.
- s – shock
Realism – (tl + f)/2
Realism is calculated by combing two categories and dividing by two to find the median:
- tl – true life
- f – fantasy
Realism is almost as important as suspense. The believability of the events happening heighten your investment of what’s happening to the characters on screen. But, there is a fine line in realism. Too real, and you may lose some commitment to the movie (especially in brutally graphic scenes) and if it’s too unbelievable you may just disregard what is actually happening. The balance here is why we take the sum and divide by two.
Atmosphere – (a+dr+fs)/n
Atmosphere is calculated by combining 4 categories:
- a – isolation/alone
- dr – dark/low light environment
- fs – film setting
- n – number of people
Critical to belief in the movie is the investment and commitment to the characters. Much of that investment in the character comes from the environment that the characters find themselves in. The relatable isolation or aloneness, the sense of darkness and even a setting (think abandoned asylum) puts you immediately in a state to relate with the characters. In addition to the overall environment, the number of characters also matters how much you invest in their fates. The fewer the characters in the movie, the easier it is to invest in those characters and what happens to them.
Cliche – sin (x) – 1
Cliche is calculated by combining 2 categories:
- sin x – blood and guts
- # – stereotypes
Since horror movies tend to fall into the trap of adding too much blood and guts and re-using the old stereotypes, these two are combined to calculate just how predictably cliche the movie is.
So, what movie did they say was the scariest?
According to the Scare Equation, they decided that The Shining (1980) was deemed to be the scariest movie ever made. Let’s break it down by formula.
Suspense
The Shining nails suspense in spades. Hitting all the marks.
- es – escalating music – Starting from introduction scene, The Shining kicks off with a foreboding score that continues to resonate throughout the film. Before you even meet the characters or see the first real scene, you have a sense of dread.
- u – the unknown – Nothing better than a giant, empty hotel with a checkered past to keep you feeling like there are places that you don’t know about or things that you aren’t aware of.
- cs – chase scenes – Two great chase scenes in the movie, both with a big, shiny axe.
- t – the sense of being trapped – Even though it’s a large hotel, there is no escaping its confines. Once the snow sets in, you are trapped.
Shock – s
There are a few shocking and memorable scenes.
- s – shock – A few memorable shocking scenes include meeting Grady’s daughters, Jack chopping down the door of his room and, lest we forget, there is the elevator of blood.
Realism – (tl + f)/2
What makes The Shining great is the balance of real and fantasy.
- tl – true life – There is a very real feeling to the isolation and setting of the film. Actually, you can go and stay at the real hotel, the Timberline Lodge in Mt. Hood, Oregon.
- f – fantasy – Then there are the ghosts, but are they really there? What is just as believable is the descent into madness that Jack Torrence is exhibiting and the could merely be part of his delusion.
Atmosphere – (a+dr+fs)/n
Overall The Shining has a memorable and terrifying atmosphere.
- a – isolation/alone – A blizzard in an isolated region of the Rocky Mountains cut off from all people except for a cv radio to the park rangers.
- dr – dark/low light environment – The film is well balanced in lighting. It’s not too dark so you can’t see what is happening.
- fs – film setting – The film setting is right out of any classic horror film. A haunted building with a disturbing past.
- n – number of people – With only 3 main characters, you can easily invest in them and start to care about what is happening.
Cliche – sin (x) – 1
All horror movies are a tad cliche, they know what scares us. The Shining rates pretty good on this scale.
- sin x – blood and guts – This is a horror movie, so there is plenty of blood and guts to go around. Not too much though
- # – stereotypes – And of course, there are some general stereotypes – a loving father becoming the villain, the hysterical mother are just a few.
Scare Critic Challenge
So, we agree. The Shining is a pretty darn good movie, but is it the scariest? With new films being made every year and some amazing classics already out there, we want to keep the search going and either prove that the academics were right, or truly find the most terrifying film. We’re going to use the spirit of the Scare Equation to rate everything horror.