It was my wife's turn to pick the next screen draft home version topic. Screen Drafts is a competitive game where players (in this case Dennis, me, Vanessa and two of our friends Scott and Nick) work to make a top 18 list on a given topic where vetoes and veto overrides can be deployed (and incidentally carried over: My wife starts the next game with one of each, Nick and I start with an override and Scott starts with a veto). My wife became very taken with this study called The Science of Scare. It is a 250 participant study where horror movies are watched with concern towards heart rate. The film that most elevates the heart rate is scariest to them, for details on how they pick what films to watch, the order of the films and how the study is conducted seek out their website. It is hard to navigate but interesting. I submit below the 2025 top 50 list that we had to pick from in alphabetical order.
28 Days Later, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) A Quiet Place, A Quiet Place Part 2, The Babadook, Barbarian, The Blair Witch Project, Bring Her Back, The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Dark and The Wicked, The Descent, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Exorcist, Evil Dead Rise, The Grudge, Halloween (1978), Hell House LLC, Hereditary, Host, Hush, Immaculate, Insidious, Insidious 2, Insidious: The Red Door, IT (2017), It Follows, Lights Out, Longlegs, The Nun 2, Oculus, Oddity, Paranormal Activity, Paranormal Activity 2, The Ring, Saw X, Sinister, Skinamarink Smile, Smile 2, Stopmotion, Talk to Me, Terrifier 2, Terrifier 3, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1973), The Visit, Weapons
And I will tell you that five of our top 18 ended up in the top 18 of the study. The rest of our picks were all over the place. But what else is new. V wanted to use this as an opportunity to find out what scares us, and it led to some fun discussion. Our buddy Mario was kind enough to provide trivia to determine placements and veto and override amounts (see previous write ups for how that goes) and away we went.
18. It Follows (2014)
Although I much prefer Contracted, it was not on the pick list so I picked It Follows at 18 even though I am not really a fan. I had to concede that background characters who move towards foreground because they are the monsters made for some honest scares. Everyone agreed with that and Nick singled out the way it was shot and Monroe's performance. I found it to be a low budget version of a horror movie inspired by Terrence Malick and that cannot be a bad thing.
17. Terrifier 3 (2024)
Scott first tried to play Skinamarink and was surprised when I vetoed it. He was afraid it was not to make the list but I had big plans for it. After all, it ranked number three on the actual study. Scott found the things to fuck them up were the bits of mundane business after the kills, Art eating cookies, washing dishes. Nick loved the pantomime, found it funny and creepy. Vanessa found the movie not scary but saw other people being scared by it and she loved it being played.
16. The Visit (2015)
Vanessa found the dementia woman very frightening because she was unpredictable. Nobody wanted to talk about the diaper scene. Nick liked the idea that these were just humans, not monsters. We all felt M Night had at least a place in a scary list and no vetoes were offered.
15. Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
Nick chose this because he felt it had effective jump scares and was better than the first. Scott agreed with that assessment and felt a Paranormal film should be on the list. He pointed out the fan sequence and the cabinet sequence. He felt these jump scares helped move the plot. He liked the family trauma aspect as well. My wife and I loved this one (so no vetoes offered) but were partial to the first.
14. The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
I first tried to play Texas Chainsaw if for no other reason because of the hitchhiker scene. That scene always disturbs me. But Nick vetoed and did not feel like it had a place on this list so I pivoted to The Autopsy of Jane Doe. I found this scary simple because of the corpse, the actress was a yoga expert so was able to regulate her breathing well. She had the perfect innocent look for the movie's doom and gloom. Scott and Vanessa found all the jump scares effective. Poor Nick is no fan of autopsies on screen so this was a challenging film. Apologies to Nick because my next game is all the Saw Films and the Eli Roth oeuvre. He'll be viewing plenty of meat on the slab.
13. Stopmotion (2023)
Scott had a distaste for roadkill. He finds it disgusting and had a tough time with Stopmotion. We talked about that and Stopmotion in general. Mad God was discussed. It is amazing. Nick found the style memorable and felt the film's style stayed in his head.
12. Hush (2016)
Nick played a favorite movie of his. He found the suspense of the film terrifying as someone who lives alone, but he was impressed with the lead character's strengths. I liked its connection to films like Wait Until Dark and Mute Witness. It might be the director's best film.
11. The Dark and the Wicked (2010)
Scott's a family man and this one hit him particularly hard. He mentioned the carrot scene. He found the wtf moments particularly frightening. Nick was fine with the pick despite finding it an unfair movie.
10. 28 Days Later (2002)
We equated Cillian Murphy waking from a coma to waking from a coma now. V chose this because of the parent scene which broke her. Nick liked the bits of hope offered then taken away. Nick had a lot to say about Celina and her toughness, the violence of humanity and the occasional levity. Scott found that Danny Boyle can do no wrong. No one offered a veto.
09. Insidious the Red Door (2023)
My biggest controversy happened because I explained how film can be scary if you care about the main character or the family; this is why I chose the Red Door because I cared about Patrick Wilson's lead and his son and his son's girlfriend. I was moved that the son got out of a several year trance through painting and drawing. I find art to be the most important of things. V was not so moved, but she loved Wilson's version of Stay at the end credits. When I said that some of the later sequels to franchises are best because one cares more by that point (for instance Wilson's good version of Ed Warren and his bum ticker), Nick was frothing at the mouth and threw a veto card down. He did not mind previous insidious films due to Shaye, but he is not a Wilson guy! He hated the son and wished awful things for the girlfriend. Luckily Scott stepped in with an override and the pick stayed. The more Scott spoke on it though the more we realized, he was talking about Insidious 3, but he did not ask to take his override back and was only a few beers in so he was (I assume) of sound mind.
08. Host (2020)
Vanessa's pick after self vetoing Blair Witch Project (1999) and being vetoed by Scott for Bring her Back (2025) was The Host. She loved all the background stuff that went into the making of the film and the low key effects that are still really effective. We all loved the running time and the jokey character that gets it the worst. No vetoes were offered but Scott admitted to some interesting things regarding voice chat that must stay redacted until the time of his demise.
07. Haunted House LLC (2015)
Scott has a thing for clown horror. The jump scares in this one still get him. Everyone else loved this one as well. It is an impressive work.
06. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Everyone was happy to admit that serious Freddy was seriously scary. I talked about how powerless one is as a teen and the sleep doctor sequence. No one was mad at this choice.
05. Sinister (2012) and 04. The Descent (2005)
Nick had the next two picks. First he chose Ethan Hawke as the shitty dad because the video tapes Hawke watches make Nick very uncomfortable; everyone called out the pool one. The tree really fucked Scott up. Vanessa named this as one of her favorites. Next pick, The Descent. The first half about people hurt with no medical help available was scary enough. He watched it with our friend Izzy, and she was horrified. Nick was moved by the friendships in the film. It is a heart pounding film. Scott loved the British ending and coming out of the water bloody.
03. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
V wanted this as high as possible. We lived through the hype on this and remember the effect it had on the horror world. We both watched the film last year at a 25th anniversary screening; it lost none of its power.
02. Bring her Back (2025)
Scott recalled being openly mocked by teens for reacting viscerally to this film, particularly the cantaloupe scene. But he was like, how could one not react to this film. Part of being a teen is mocking others, so one cannot be too mad. Horror is fun.
He found the film so traumatic that he would not want his wife to see. Nick missed the film but caught it and loved it later. V loved the film almost as much as Scott; no veto was offered.
01. Skinamarink (2023)
My wife and I silently planned this if either of us were to get number one. We both knew the other loved it because it captures the fear of being a child at night, the dark, the low angles. I think only a few silent films have hit me as hard. Nick found the film sort of boring. Nothing happened was his argument, and he tried to veto, but my wife had the override. Scott thought it was a touch too high but did wear a Skinamarink shirt to the game.
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