FEAR. MEASURED.
Every time we sit down to a new horror film, we constantly see the previews saying “THE SCARIEST FILM EVER,” “YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO WATCH ALONE,” or some other kind of hook to get tickets purchased. Most of the time, though, our hearts race about as fast as a fat kid at the buffet. We want terror, real horror and real stress when we watch these films. It helps us deal with the world around us, and everyone knows horror fans are better equipped to deal with danger than many.
Now ScareScore wants to track exactly what scares you.
Yep, we’re talking about an app that connects to the smartwatch or wearable device you already own and monitors your body’s reactions while you’re watching a movie. For those at jobs or school, don’t start this thing up while taking a test or giving a presentation. This is strictly for movies, folks.
Launching during the 2026 Halloween season, ScareScore is a new biometric entertainment platform designed to measure how audiences physically respond to movies and adrenaline-filled experiences in real time. The company officially announced its formation today in Los Angeles, with plans to bring the technology to film festivals and location-based entertainment experiences across North America.
The basic idea is pretty damn interesting: Your body is the review.
WATCH THE ANNOUNCEMENT TRAILER FOR SCARESCORE BELOW
That means your score isn’t simply based on whether you say a movie scared you. The technology is designed to show how your body actually reacted while the movie was happening.
Fans will also be able to share and compare their scores, compete with friends and see how their reactions compare with other audiences. For horror fans, that could turn a trip to the theater into its own little competition. Who jumped? Who stayed calm? Who nearly launched their smartwatch across the room?
For filmmakers, studios, festivals and theme park operators, ScareScore could provide another way of looking at audience engagement. Instead of relying exclusively on surveys, ratings and post-screening opinions, the platform is designed to show when audiences physically reacted, moment by moment, throughout an experience.
“Entertainment has spent more than a century asking audiences what they thought after an experience was over,” said Chris Anastas, founder and CEO of ScareScore. “We believe there is another incredibly valuable signal sitting right in front of us: what their bodies were doing while they experienced it.”
ScareScore was founded by technologist Chris Anastas alongside co-founder and horror film producer JP Ouellette. The pair bring backgrounds in technology, entertainment, film production, immersive theater attractions and audience engagement to the project.
Horror is the obvious place to start because fear produces some pretty immediate physical reactions. The company’s plans extend beyond the genre, however, with the platform designed for everything from theatrical films and streaming to theme parks, immersive attractions and other location-based entertainment.
The first public ScareScore activations will begin during the 2026 Halloween season, including select film festival screenings and location-based experiences throughout North America. Participating audiences will experience the movie or attraction normally and then discover their personalized biometric score afterward.
The company also plans to introduce Biometric Awards, recognizing films and entertainment experiences based on real-time physiological signals intended to reveal the intensity of an audience’s psychological and emotional responses.
Additional film festivals, location-based entertainment companies and technology partners are expected to be announced soon.
So maybe all those “SCARIEST MOVIE EVER” claims are finally going to get put to the test.
We’ll be taking a crack at this new app later today so be sure to come back and see what we think, only here at TrulyDisturbing.com
