Vox pops, night vision, people jumping out of seats: these are now the new norms of horror marketing. If you show them being scared enough then the film must be scary, right? But no film has have ever actually measured the fear factor. Until now…
For the launch of the new film Sinister from the makers of Paranormal Activity and Insidious, M2M and Drum teamed up with Professor Brendan Walker of The Thrill Laboratory to measure and record the authentic, sheer fear generated by the film.
To establish Sinister’s ‘Fear Factor’, subjects were placed in a cinema theatre with 400 members of the public and hooked up to instruments measuring their heart rate, skin temperature, and perspiration.
The results of the experiment concluded that the subjects were in a genuine state of fear for an incredible 41% of the film. The peak heart rate was 237 beats per minute, a frightening 177 bpm above normal, matching the top heart rate people reach on some of the world’s most intense rollercoasters.
In the content released as a 6o” spot on Saturday 29th September (longer online only version is running as an exclusive today on Orange) Professor Brendan Walker from the Thrill Laboratory relays back to one subject: “You were having a very extreme experience. You actually broke our heart rate monitor”. Even the bravest contestant amongst them was in a state of fear for 34% of the film.
The experiment sits alongside a partnership with Bauer to showcase content from the experiment on their TV channels, along with advertorials and spots that track the journey from subject recruitment through to results in Zoo and Kerang, Kiss and Kerrang radio. All are set to drive people to www.sinisterfilm.co.uk.
Building on this M2M are currently ramping up the fear across TV, radio, outdoor and press as the 5th October release date approaches, all posing one simple question:
Can You #SurviveSinister
- Sam (thanks to all the Momentum team)
