Horror:PG-13 or R? (which is better)?

[skybrick]

Most of the older PG movies would be R now... Jaws Poltergeist The Changeling ect...

[steelba]

I prefer an R rating being a fan 80's Horror with their cheesy gore and nudity.

The Changeling is the only PG movie I can think of that I really liked.
What was Fright Night rated?

Fright Night was rated R.
Agreed on 80's horror. But the Changeling sucked imo...

[ASoron0424]

I'd say those are your favorite movie scenes.

Signs - Alien Video from Brazil
The Sixth Sense - Ghost girl under the bed.
Poltergeist - Creepy all over.
The Ring, It, and The Others had some pretty eerie scenes as well.

Gore doesn't equal a good horror movies. All it does is make me go, "eww gross" inside my head. A chilling scene will stay with me for a while.

[ASoron0424]

I heard that if there'd been a PG-13 rating in the 70s that the Texas Chainsaw Massacre woudl've gotten it, and that Tobe Hooper went to great lengths to make the movie in a way that would earn it a PG rating.

[steelba]

The TCM had no gore whatsoever in it.
I can't even remember any cussing in it.
Overrated flick but it's decent.

[holdmycock]

I'd say those are your favorite movie scenes.

Signs - Alien Video from Brazil
The Sixth Sense - Ghost girl under the bed.
Poltergeist - Creepy all over.
The Ring, It, and The Others had some pretty eerie scenes as well.

Gore doesn't equal a good horror movies. All it does is make me go, "eww gross" inside my head. A chilling scene will stay with me for a while.

IT is the perfect example of a good horror movie - that's got a PG rating. They show it on ABC Family for christ's sake! And they leave in all the weird/blood bath/creepy clown scenes.

What I don't get, is why everyone is assuming that the R rated horror movie can't have a good story too? Sure, PG-13 can fit one in better, but I think there's a ton of good examples of R rated horror flicks that have a really good story in them, a long with throwing in tits/ass and people being sawed into tiny pieces or whatever.

Best scene in a PG-13 horror flick: Gremlins 2, with the old guy wrestling the cement covered gremlin bat.

[BooBerry]

I think all ratings can have a good story. High Tension, The Descent, there are tons of examples for both sides of this arguement.

On a side note, I am pretty interested that The Mist is rated R. I'm checking it out for sure.

[//Neon_Maniac//]

Both can be amazing.

The Ring and The Grudge are two good examples of great PG13 movies
The Gate was PG. I thought that it was a fun watch.
Jaws was PG
Same with Poltergeist
A Movies Rating has no effect on how good it can be. There are plenty of awesome pg13 movies.

[KING]

R for me, PG blows.

[ASoron0424]

Both can be amazing.

The Ring and The Grudge are two good examples of great PG13 movies
The Gate was PG. I thought that it was a fun watch.
Jaws was PG
Same with Poltergeist
A Movies Rating has no effect on how good it can be. There are plenty of awesome pg13 movies.

I think The Grudge was one of the worst movies ever made.

[koolmike]

Would you have liked Dawn of the Dead as much if it was a PG flick?

R horror for me all the way.

Never said anything like that dopey.

I just said that there are great films within both ratings and I'm undecided.

[GonzoWeirdness]

Here's the problem for me. Companies cut out the death scenes, the blood and gore, sex, foul language basically its edited for children. Why? Because apparently they assume PG13 opens the doors to a larger audience but what these idiots don't understand is you cannot stop kids. They will watch R rated movies and M rated games. Some of the biggest horror movies are R, some of the biggest selling games are 18+.

I concede on that point.

People whine about its all about 'story' lol how many horror movies can you name with amazing storylines? hardly.

Actually, a lot of horror movies have more meaning/intelligence than you're giving credit for here including the R rated ones like The Hills Have Eyes '77 and Dawn of the Dead '78.

Horror is about 1 thing, to scare not about writing, horror has not been about writing for years, why do you think horror is never up for best picture or any oscar?

Firstly the reason horror is never up for an Oscar or Best Picture is because they're not high-brow enough for a bunch of critics and snobs. And in order for horror to work the writer needs to create suspense so horror is about writing. But what do I know I'm just someone that watches the whole gambit of horror movies rather than limiting myself to 80's slashers flicks.

Now, as a soceity with a horror genre that's afraid of taking chances, we are forced to be pussies watching movies edited for kids.

Dispite majorly disagreeing with you to some extent througout your little rant I can concede on this. I'm not against R rated horror flicks, but a good story can add make a good horror movie great.

think about of your favorite movies.

oh the shotgun scene in Maniac! oh the zombies ripping dude apart in the elevator! oh final destination! Jason hacking people to bits! all visual gore am I right? So if you love this shit so much why are you so convinced it needs to be stopped? Tina being slapped around the walls in blood. Hellraiser torturing people with fishhooks and ripping flesh off. oh yeah, maybe I'm wrong all the best horror was PG13.

You're really more of a gorehound/slasher fan than a horror movie fan. I don't mean that to be a jerk, but the horror genre is much bigger than the movies you mentioned. The genre encompasses something much larger than what you present here. I enjoy slasher movies and the like as much as the next person, but I also am able to watch other subgenres encompassing the horror genre. I don't mean this as a knock, but you are more of a gorehound/slasher fan as I stated earlier. Or at least that's what it sounds like. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Can you name 1 amazing scene in a PG13 horror movie?

I won't name specific scenes, but I thought The Abominable Dr. Phibes and its sequel were pretty enjoyable.

[FreddyFreakChica17]

I think The Grudge was one of the worst movies ever made.

Agreed.

[steelba]

Never said anything like that dopey.

Never accused you of it genius. Was simply asking a question :2far:

[Toby]

R rated Horror films are my anti-drug, baby. PG-13 doesn't cut it for me, I rather go for the story and have tons of blood and gore and so much stuff you couldn't really put into a PG-13 flick.

GORE!!!!!!!!

[steelba]

Gore is sweet.

[Driden]

I think all ratings can have a good story. High Tension.

A lot of people loved High Tension for the mood it set BUT the story sucked to many horror fans. The plot twist thing they used is played out and ruined a perfect would be slasher

@GonzoWeirdness

a lot of horror movies have more meaning/intelligence than you're giving credit for here including the R rated ones like The Hills Have Eyes '77 and Dawn of the Dead '78.

Bare in mind did I not say this

horror has not been about writing for years,

1977 is how long ago? 1978 is how long ago? I don't get where you assume I'm not giving credit to old classics

[slimeisacharacter]

PG-13 vs R boils down to planning in my eyes.

If the heads behind the movie go in thinking "PG-13" and design everything from the ground up around that rating; script, effects, locations, ect... then the movie has a chance to be entertaining, like the forementioned Signs for example. If you take an R rate script or a script written without a rating in mind and try to PG-13 it down, you get crap. Base material usage does a great deal of the damage to a flim before the first mention of the words "QUIET ON THE SET!"

[steelba]

R rules baby!!

[Scaremonger]

If a horror movie winds up being G rated, and that's just the way it turned out, not due to any 'for purpose of ratings' editing, and I find it entertaining in an escapism way, that's good enough for me. I don't think I've looked for a movie simply for seeing decapitations, blood, and limbs flying all over the place, in 20 years. None of that was why horror movies intrigued me in the first place. I was a monster kid that got excited when 'I was a Teenage Werewolf' was on late at night. That really hasn't changed.