A chilling new film by domestic abuse charity I Choose Freedom that highlights the real-life horror faced by thousands of women behind closed doors is the scariest Halloween ad of 2025, according to new data from DAIVID. 

Ahead of Fright Night, the creative data provider used its AI-powered creative testing platform to analyse this year’s spooky season ads to identify which generated the most intense fear among viewers.

“End The Horror” follows a woman enjoying a quiet bubble bath, only to be confronted by a masked figure while doing her skincare. When the mask is lifted, she recognises him and pleads, “Not tonight, please.” The film ends with the text: “No horror film is as terrifying as living with domestic abuse.”

Shot by Anne-Sofie Lindgaard through MindsEye to look like a horror film, the 90-second film finished top after generating intense fear among a quarter of viewers (24.5%) – making it almost nine times scarier than the average ad. 

Ian Forrester, CEO and founder of DAIVID, said: “‘End The Horror’ uses the language of horror cinema to tell a story that’s all too real. It’s a powerful example of how advertising can move beyond shock to deliver a deeply emotional and important message.”

Just behind in second place is Universal’s promo for horror sequel “The Black Phone 2”, which invited London passers-by to “get a cold call from hell”. Participants were confronted by The Grabber – the masked killer from the original Blumhouse film, voiced by Ethan Hawke – who physically appears inside the billboard. The ad generated intense fear in 21.6% of viewers. 

In third place is an ad from sleep wellness company Hatch, which turns the horrors of doomscrolling into a faux horror movie trailer. A gruesome AI-produced ad from car rental provider Sixt by Jung von Matt Hamburg and a terrifying trailer of Disney+’s “Hulu-ween” season make up the rest of the top 5.

Other ads to make into DAIVID’s terrifying 10 include a Halloween-themed spot from Yahoo Mail featuring comedian Steph Barkley, a freaky horror short from General Mills fruit snack brand Gushers that stars Bradley Whitford, and a scary Six Flags short film titled “Come Out and Play”. Other brands to feature in the top 10 are Heinz and Michaels.

To see the full chart, click here. 

Forrester added: “From giant roaches to Jedward, Adland is delivering plenty of frights this Halloween. Some of the campaigns we’ve tested this year are among the scariest ever – proof that brands are dialing up the horror this spooky season to grab attention and stir emotion.”

Methodology

DAIVID’s research was conducted using its Creative Data Feed API, which uses a model – trained using tens of millions of consumer data points – to predict the emotions evoked by an ad, how much attention it’s likely to generate and its expected impact on various brand and business metrics. Using a combination of computer vision, computer listening, facial coding, eye tracking, survey data and machine learning, DAIVID’s model enables advertisers to evaluate, quantify and improve the effectiveness of their creative at scale. 

Ads were ranked based on the average percentage of viewers who felt intense feelings of fear (the extent to which an ad makes a viewer feel scared). The strength of emotions people feel are ranked from 1-10, with 8-10 considered ‘intense’.  

To find out more about DAIVID’s Creative Data API, click here.