The Shining is the perfect scary film, the formula found

The secret of making a scary movie has been calculated by university experts.

Scientists have worked out an equation to prove why thrillers like Psycho and the Blair Witch Project are so successful at terrifying audiences.

The formula combines elements of suspense, realism and gore, plus shock value, to measure how scary a film is.

Researchers spent two weeks watching horror films like The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silence of the Lambs in pursuit of the formula.

The model focuses on three major areas: suspense, realism and gore.

Shock impact

Factors considered include the use of escalating music, the balance between true life and fantasy, and how much blood and guts are involved.

As suspense plays such a pivotal role in the success of a scary film, its elements - escalating music, the unknown, chase scenes and a sense of being trapped - are brought together and then squared. Shock value is then added.

SCARY MOVIE FORMULA (es+u+cs+t) squared +s+ (tl+f)/2 + (a+dr+fs)/n

+ sin x - 1.

Where: es = escalating music u = the unknown cs = chase scenes t = sense of being trapped s = shock tl = true life f = fantasy a = character is alone dr = in the dark fs = film setting n = number of people sin = blood and guts 1 = stereotypes

They then looked at how many characters were in the movie, assuming audiences empathise with a smaller number of people.

The team at King's College, London also took into account the darkness of the film's setting.

The Shining's isolated setting, with the family living in a huge hotel closed down for the winter, and the shower scene in Psycho, were perfect examples of the winning formula, experts said.

The formula also looks at the levels of gore and offset this against the number of stereotypes present in the film.

Jaws was the perfect example of appropriate levels of gore in a film, researchers found.

"Steven Spielberg reached the optimum level perfectly allowing the viewer to see just enough blood to be scared of the Great White Shark, but not so much that it repulsed us," experts agreed.

The research was commissioned by Sky Movies, to launch a season of scary films.

What does make a really scary movie? Below is a selection of News Online readers' comments.

Things not seen, but known. Not perfect dark, but dark enough only to see elements of the whole. Ordinary activities and sounds turned upside down. A knowledge of coming terror amidst a seemingly normal setting. All in all, the archaic human fear of ignorance, of knowing just very little, of being lost and in the territory of the unknown.

Adam Dobay, Budapest, Hungary

Anything with a sinister child. For some reason, children in horror films can be extremely creepy. A prime example is the Japanese horror film Dark Water. It's the most terrifying thing I've ever seen and the scariest aspect is an seemingly innocent 'Hello Kitty' style red schoolbag that just keeps turning up no matter how many times it's disposed of. *burrrrr*

Pam, Glasgow, Scotland

It has to be The Haunting (The Robert Wise 1963 version.) I first watched it when I was in my early teens and have seen it several times since. It scared me as a child, it still can manage to unnerve me as an adult. It's what you don't see in this film that will keep you both hooked and entertained. "Haven't you noticed how nothing in this house seems to move until you look away and then you just...catch something out of the corner of your eye?" Very very creepy. (Note to self: Must check under the bed again tonight.)

John O'Brien, Woking, Surrey

They seem to have got it down to a fine art in the Far East at the moment - Ju-on, Ringu, Audition, Dark Water and The Eye are all terrifying - it's the creepy images and sound effects (but not necessarily the music) rather than shocks and gore that terrify me in these films.

Rob, London

Miike Takashi's Audition is terrifying, and as far as I remember it doesn't have any chases, or escalating music. It's the only film to give me nightmares, and I had to turn it off halfway through the final scene to pull myself together; I wasn't going to finish it, but I had to know how it ended. Haven't been able to watch it again.

Paul Cosgrove, Belfast, N.I.

The "Don't Warch Alone Films" late on a Monday night in the 70's were all pretty scary. Particularly the night the TV voice over at the end gave the usual instruction not to forget to turn the TV off and unplug it etc. and finished off by saying "and for those of you living alone.....BEHIND YOU!!!!" I take it this was the guy's last night in the job and he had been fantasising about doing it for weeks. Nice One, whoever you were!

Celia, Glasgow

Clowns are scary. Really scary. I agree though that The Shining is the best horror film, it certainly is my favourite.

James Jacob, Homestead, Florida USA

Forget scary films. A lot of the films mentioned here are also books. Read It and The Shining. Much scarier and more enjoyable than the films.

Matt,

The original "Halloween." I still cannot watch that without watching my back for weeks afterwards. I think what gets me is the scene where Jamie-Lee Curtis is frantically pounding on doors trying to escape The Shape. No one answers or responds to her. During this, off in the distance you see The Shape exit the house calmly, and then begin walking towards her nonchalantly and without any hurry for he KNOWS that there's no escape for her. That near futility of it all is what scares me the most. That and John Carpenter's music in that movie is what does it for me.

Heather, Ottawa, Canada

I think Hill House (sometimes called the haunting)is one of the scariest films made, with the absence of a solid 'monster', the scary noises and dramatic filming angles. Even in broad daylight it gets me jumpy. The remake was laughable though.

Oonagh Keating, Liverpool UK

I am a film student at MSU in Bozeman and have been studying horror films for quite some time now. First, to try and assign a "formula" to any art form is ridiculous. Art by nature is un-formulaic. Second, our team of researches here have concluded that while soundtrack, lighting, and gore play a role, the scariest films will ultimately tap into phobia's such as fear of the dark or fear of the unknown. Our own team found Fire in the Sky, an alien abduction movie, to be the scariest because it played off the fear of the unknown. This week, the movie Open Water will be released. For me, I am TERRIFIED of being in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight. It is these types of films, movies that play on common phobias, that will scare the most.

anonymous, Montana, USA

Ringu 2 is certainly the most frightening movie ever. I suspect the so-called experts were too afraid to watch this movie. With good reason.

John, NYC, US

The BBC's 'Threads' in 1984 scared me so much I had nightmares for weeks. I'm 33 now, and many many horror films later, I still rank it as the scariest thing I've ever seen. I recently managed to find a Threads video, and watched it again, thinking that now I'm grown up it wouldn't have so much effect on me as it did when I was a 13 year old child. But it did. I had the nightmares all over again.

Jo, UK

There are too many good scary movies and scenes to mention, but my scariest experience was watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre II. I had taken my car to get worked on and while I waited I decided to watch a movie at the mall cinema across the street. I went in the theatre (it was during the work week and at noon) and sat down when I realised that I was the only person in the entire place. I don't recommend watching a good scary movie, by yourself, in a dark theatre. I was shaking and sweating when the movie was over and I had to sit down out in the bright sunlight for about 30 minutes to calm down. I love scary movies, but this experience really got to me!!!

Bill, Newport, RI, USA

The Howling was the one that got me. I saw it when I was about 7 or 8. I couldn't get out of bed to go to the bathroom for months for fear that a relative might have been a werewolf.

Mike, Linden New Jersey USA

In my opinion, the best horror films rely on these things the most: 1.Helplessness 2.Unknown 3.Soft Eerie Music 4.SHOCK factor 5.Realism

Oxman Barak, Seoul, South Korea

One of the scariest films for me was The Thing, directed by John Carpenter. True isolation (the Antarctic) a nice escalation of suspense and some truly brilliant special effects. Not to mention of the best ensemble films in the genre - all the characters were believable. As for the ending ... not a Hollywood ending at all.

Tony , Sheffield, UK

Without a doubt, for me the most scary element in any movie are little children, younger than about 8, girls, twins in dresses, like brides-maid dresses. Even this as a single static picture can be horrifying as well as just words describing them. I'm not sure what it is about this, but once the image is on your head it's hard to get out and forget. Even as i type, the images keep flashing in my head.

Matt, Tasmania, Australia

Films like the new "dawn of the dead" movie. The introduction with the credits, the news footage. It gave a sense of realism and the noises that actually get to you, the sounds that leave your body all tense during disturbing scenes. that film left me paranoid walking home at 12 that night. i was actually nervous in the cinema watching the film

Ben, Maidstone, Kent

The Omen had all of the elements of a truly creepy movie. I think young people will find its beginning a little slow, as newer movies seem to need constant, 3 seconds or less cuts (thanks to MTV). But the build up and escalating music make this one of the best.

Frank, WV, USA

Anyone ever see "The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb"? Something about the entire movie being in stop-motion animation makes ever the "normal" people seem pretty freaky.

Chris, Portland, OR, USA

Definitely "Jaws", and there are two keys to it. The first is Spielberg's use of Hitchcock's "less is more" technique--you never actually see the full length of the shark until about two-thirds into the movie (granted, this was largely due to the chronic malfunctioning of the film's mechanical star). The opening scene on the beach where Chrissy becomes fish food is a classic example of this; it's that much more terrifying because of what you can't see. The second key is of course John Williams' brilliant music. It is so primal, so menacing, and one of the greatest signature themes of all time. It brands the image of the unseen monster fish into your brain, illustrating perfectly its enormous size and equally enormous appetite. It is relentless and never lets you go, as it becomes ever louder and faster and your hands grip the armrests tighter and tighter. "Dum-dum...dum-dum...dum-dum-dum-dum-DUM-DUM-DUM-DUM!"

Michael Tullberg, Hollyweird, California!

I love horror films and I can honestly say not one has ever frightened me, you can kind of tell what is going to happen because people rip off other horror films or foreshadow too much.

Matt, New York, NY USA

I feel the "creep" factor is what makes a good horror film. Its not about what is around the corner, but what MIGHT be there. Another important factor is that the villain(s) have to make sense. Third, you have to be able to care about the victims' plight, and the victims' actions have to be believable. My tope 3 picks are "Alien", "Poltergeist", and "Jaws". Alien had immense creep factor with its dark environments, and a highly intelligent, cunning predator. Poltergeist had a lot of creep factor that still sends shivers up my spine, as well as strong characters you can relate to and share their plight. Jaws had teeth (pun intended) with a villain we all know and fear in real-life, and story that could happen all too easily. These movies work because they bring our darkest fears to life on the screen, in a way that we can easily believe could happen.

Stephen, York

Poltergeist ... scariest film ever made! And The Howling scared me when it first came out. After a while anything original ends up being "done to death" and loses its scare value. Then all that's left is to spoof them like "Scary Movie" and "Young Frankenstein." And then, eventually, the Spoofs get done to death ...

Tami, Martinsburg, WV USA

Toy Story!, now that is scary. Imagine sleeping at night and finding yourself in a room with toys wandering about. Every time you turn your back on that fifteen Barbie with her head off.... hmmmm.. creepy

Vick, Chicago, US

I think that the scariest films, are those filmed in poor quality, such as the earlier zombie films, Cannibal Ferox, Cannibal Holocaust, Night of the Living Dead to name a few. The grainy film quality and bad sound make a terrifyingly real sense. I personally think that the Original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE is the perfect horror film

Kurt, London,Uk

Definitely escalating music . If you watch any scary movie on mute, you will not feel anything. Try it.

Yvette, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

I think the biggest thing is the realistic and commonality factors. For instance in "Psycho" the idea of someone showering is realistic and something that everybody does. The idea of someone breaking in is realistic but not something that one thinks of and when a person sees Norman break in and kill Janet Leigh's character it adds up to someone thinking "my God, that could happen to me." That is why it is a classic scene.

Gregg Barkley, Mechanicsville, Va, USA

Any one of Hugh Grants films make me scream with terror. Although I'd watch a film where he was killed, alone, in the dark, at the end of a chase, after being trapped in an isolated location, accompanied by escalating music, with plenty of blood and guts..........hang on. This formula works!!

John Clement, Newport, South Wales

Music. Music gets me every time. Still can't listen to Mike Oldfield's music without thinking of the Exorcist, or the old 'one, two Freddy's coming for you.' Freaky!!

Marcus, Switzerland

The Ring or Ringu. Good horror films rely on silence, the greatest horror films have a villain worthy of remembering. Yes you got the manic wielding chainsaw man after horny teenagers, or a creature spouting out blood? Is that scary though? Well not really, these days were immune almost to video violence as we see it everyday, and the horny teenagers horror just creates a feel of sexual fascination. True horror comes in the form of a villain that can show its the manifestation of evil. And that is why I think the Ring/Ringu is horrifying. Not because of silence or having a manic but by having a being born out of tragedy to cruelty driven solely to kill..

Daniel, Blackburn, England