Most of us have walked out of a horror movie and argued with friends over who jumped the most. A new company called ScareScore wants to settle that argument with data. The Los Angeles-based startup announced today that it has launched a biometric entertainment platform that measures how audiences physically react to movies and live experiences while they happen. Its pitch is short: “Your body is the review.”
How ScareScore Works
ScareScore connects to the smartwatch and reads signals such as heart rate, heart-rate variability and movement. The platform first sets a baseline for each person, then turns their reactions during a film or attraction into a personalized ScareScore. ScareScore records live data on what the body does while the movie is playing. Viewers can share and compare their scores, compete with friends and see how they rank against other audiences. The company calls its leaderboard the “1st Global Human Scoreboard.”
What It Means for Filmmakers and Attractions
ScareScore is also aimed at filmmakers, studios, festivals and theme park operators. The platform tracks when audiences reacted as well as how, moment by moment, which gives creators engagement data beyond surveys, ratings and self-reported opinions.
“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.”
Anastas, a technologist, founded the company with co-founder JP Ouellette, a horror film producer. Between them they have backgrounds in technology, film production, immersive theater attractions and audience engagement.
Starting With Horror
ScareScore is starting with horror because audience reactions in the genre are immediate and easy to measure. The company plans to expand to other genres and formats, including theatrical releases, streaming, theme parks and immersive entertainment.
The first public activations will happen during the 2026 Halloween season at select film festival screenings and location-based experiences across North America. Participants will watch the film or go through the attraction as usual, then see their personal biometric score afterward. ScareScore also plans to introduce Biometric Awards, which will recognize films and experiences based on the intensity of audience responses as measured by physiological signals.
What’s Next
ScareScore says it will announce more film festival, location-based entertainment and technology partners soon. Horror fans already wear smartwatches to screenings and haunts, so the platform adds a scoreboard to something many of them are already doing. HorrorBuzz will share more details on where to try ScareScore as partners are announced. You can download the app HERE.
