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Why Have a lot of the recent horror movies been PG-13?

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Why Have a lot of the recent horror movies been PG-13?

Old 01-30-05, 08:39 PM
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Why Have a lot of the recent horror movies been PG-13?

Why Have a lot of the recent horror movies been PG-13? I just saw in another post the 'Cursed' has been taken down to PG-13 from R. I know R cuts your potential audience in half (and I assume relates to profit as well), but why does it seem most of the (horror) movies coming out are PG-13?

I know this isn't the best guy to quote- but in an interview w/ Creature Corner about "Alone in the Dark":
DG: "What do you think about PG-13 horror?"
Uwe Boll: "Shit."

Last edited by xfilekr; 01-30-05 at 08:44 PM.
Old 01-30-05, 08:41 PM
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It's all about the extra kiddie-cash that PG-13 generates. Plus we get to double-dip for the R or unrated version on DVD when it comes out (ala The Grudge)
Old 01-30-05, 09:07 PM
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Old 01-30-05, 09:44 PM
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It's because they suck, yet we keep getting more...and more... and more...and MORE!

Seriously, I had this conversation with my friend the other day about ever since The Ring, or maybe even earlier than that... the market is being flooded with all these hollywood scary movies that all seem to be the same for the most part. It doesn't look like it's going to stop either because they're still bringing in good numbers. When my friend took me to go see Blade Trinity a few weeks ago... we saw previews for THREE of these in a row. White Noise, Ring 2, and some movie about a leak in the ceiling.

It's annoying, I agree. But if people will see it... it'll get made.

Last edited by MasterCXtreme; 01-30-05 at 09:52 PM.
Old 01-30-05, 09:54 PM
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It's sad when we live in a world where the one of the few people willing to make rated R horror is Uwe Boll.

While not exactly related to horror movies, I think that the current trend of trimming rated R movies down to PG-13 started with Troy this past summer. That was a movie with a huge budget and while it made a lot of money overseas, it's domestic take was disappointing. The problem was not necessarily that it was bad movie, though it was far from perfect, but that the audience needed to make it a hit wasn't able to see it in a time when they are the driving force behind ticket sales.
Like it or not, the teenage consumer most likely constitutes more than half of the entertainment industry's income. They do not have the worries or constraints of adults, so they focus their time and money on recreation. Economically speaking, it is always wise to try and make your money off the people with the luxury of using it extravagantly.
Old 01-30-05, 10:07 PM
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Ya I typically don't go see a horror movie that is rated under an R (reaffirmed that with the Grudge ).

What's the point? You already know the level of scare/blood/gore that will be in it, and it's almost a guarantee of no b**bies. What's a horror movie with no b**bies?!
Old 01-30-05, 10:07 PM
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I think that has been happening long before Troy. You can probably look up some old threads and see myself complaining about this horrible practice. I don't think a movie has to be rated R to be good. But it totally depends on the genre. Can you make an epic battle movie PG-13? No, not really. A gory horror? Nope. A comedy? Sure. A dramatic love story? Of course. Its a sad trend that is sweeping Hollywood but again PG-13 or R all horror movies nowadays suck either way.
Old 01-30-05, 11:23 PM
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To be honest, I haven't been disturbed by this at all. Looking on back on the horror films I have enjoyed the most over the past few years (The Others, The Ring, The Sixth Sense, The Eye) they were all rated PG-13. While the R-rated horror movies I had seen (Freddy Vs. Jason, Saw, Dawn of the Dead) I didn't care too much for.
Old 01-30-05, 11:57 PM
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Because you answered your own question:

I know R cuts your potential audience in half (and I assume relates to profit as well)
Remember, this is a BUSINESS. It's all about getting the most asses in the seats and with the current rating system how it is, it really does cut the potential audiance of any given movie. Young kids on a date want to take their girl for cheap thrills. Extra blood and gore keeps those under R age away from them. I really don't think that a PG-13 automaticlly means a film is crap. There is plenty of films that can do what they need to do to be entertaining, scary, and so forth with a PG-13 rating. It's all within the power of the film creator. You might have to ask Uwe why he can't make a good film even with his R ratings.

Besides that question should have been asked like this:
DG: "What do you think about your film career and body of work?"
Uwe Boll: "Shit."
Remember, More Blood + Gore does not mean it's a Better film
Old 01-31-05, 12:08 AM
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Personally I look at it as a spit in the face to horror movie fans. Yeah, I realize there some films, primarily Japanese remakes where the original was only PG or PG-13 to begin with. And that's fine because a lot of them didn't rely on gore, but rather suspense or cheap thrills.

But, the majority of American horror films these days are cut purely for financial reasons...to get as many kiddies in the theater as they can...even though it's not a kid's movie. Back in the day when I was a kid, you could easily get into any R-rated movie with no problem whatsoever...most ticket takers didn't give a shit and wouldn't even bother to check your age. Of course that's obviously not the case these days.

Honestly, what's the point of seeing a "watered down" horror movie (or any genre for that matter) in the theater when most films are released to DVD in 2 to 3 months, and get the "Unrated", "Director's Cut", "The Version Too Scary For Theater", etc. versions?

Not we wait for Jackskeleton to chime in.
Old 01-31-05, 12:37 AM
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Back in the day when I was a kid, you could easily get into any R-rated movie with no problem whatsoever...most ticket takers didn't give a shit and wouldn't even bother to check your age. Of course that's obviously not the case these days.
I agree completely. Back in the day no one cared about ID's or any of that. Now a days you have a stricter id checking and like chad said. Studios are happy to release a PG-13 in theaters and gladly release the Unrated and Directors cuts on dvd. You get people viewing it twice to see the difference.
Old 01-31-05, 12:44 AM
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Well, it's a money issue. But jsut because it's horror and pg-13 doesn't mean it's inherently bad. The first big blockbuster pg-13 that really kick started the trend I suspect was pg-13 because that's how it was written, not because of monetary needs (that being the Sixth Sense). Others were successful and didn't need to be R (The Ring, which I enjoyed, and The Grudge, which I did not enjoy but I guess some did). Then you have your other pg-13 flicks that, well, are pg-13 to make money: Darkness, Darkness Falls, White Noise, The Forgotten, Cursed, so on. I can't speak for Cursed, but those first four weren't going to be good no matter what rating you put on it. Not to mention, most of these pg-13 horror films are really more about suspense and atmosphere, and don't really call for R ratings. They weren't intended as gore films (and certainly cursing and nudity weren't really needed) so, who cares.

While yes, there is a rise in pg-13 horror, if you took notice there's also a lot more R rated horror too. Saw, Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Resident Evil 1 and 2, Cabin Fever, Wrong Turn, 28 Days Later, were all decently to very successful films that are heavy Rs. And take this weeks Hide and Seek, a film that very well could've been downgraded to pg-13 but is instead R rated. Or Freddy vs. Jason, which was as much a gorefest as anything. Since you're seeing successes in both realms, you're going to get horror films of both variety. Don't worry, some of the most violent, gore filled horror films will still be made and released. Land of the Dead and a US release of Haute Tension come to mind. Films like Alien vs. predator, where any person would logically assume it'd be an R rated film but is instead downgraded are, in general, a rarity. And the only reason I hated the fact that AVP was not a gory mess was because, well, I knew Paul Anderson was behind the camera, so I knew full well it wasn't going to be a good movie. Of course, Alien and Predator are in a different realm from your average horror film. They are higher regarded franchises (and bigger budget) films then most horror related films.

Don't take my mention of all these films as successes meaning they're all good. Let's be real, great horror films are a rarity, so seeing a bunch released at all is, at least for a horror fan like me, a great thing. For some reason, when it comes to horror, I'm far more lenient on things like logical plots and good acting. I'm not sure why, either.

Nonetheless, I find the argument that all the horror films are being cut down to pg-13 to be ridiculous. The real state of things is that, we're getting a LOT more horror films all around, many of which are pg-13 (which, in general, make more money so are often times the bigger budgeted ones) but also getting a crapload of R rated ones too.

Last edited by jaeufraser; 01-31-05 at 12:48 AM.
Old 01-31-05, 01:20 AM
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Nonetheless, I find the argument that all the horror films are being cut down to pg-13 to be ridiculous. The real state of things is that, we're getting a LOT more horror films all around, many of which are pg-13
Bravo. It's not a ratings fault that a film sucks. I mean shit. I still maintain that AVP sucked not because it was PG-13, but because it was just a stupid story and had a moron director behind it. The general idea of it Aliens fighting Predators could have flyed as it would be non human violence.

It comes to a point were quantity beats quality. Not enough time is being given to turn out a good film simply because they can mass produce the same concepts over and over again and still turn a profit quickly.
Old 01-31-05, 01:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Jackskeleton
I still maintain that AVP sucked not because it was PG-13, but because it was just a stupid story and had a moron director behind it. The general idea of it Aliens fighting Predators could have flyed as it would be non human violence.
Jack, I don't think anyone will argue with you that AVP sucked because it was a bad movie. We argued this a lot, but quite simply, and this goes back to my leniency on horror movies, had AVP had a lot of exploitative gore with spines being ripped out and chest bursters causing buckets of blood, I would've enjoyed it better, even with it's bad story and poor Paul Anderson direction. That, of course, was my whole argument. Paul Anderson is making this, at least give me a gory exploitation movie. Predator 2 is a shitfest too, at least it's got some fun gore. I can't speak for everyone else, but that was my position.

Had Ridley Scott been the director of AVP, I probably would've given him the benefit of the doubt regarding the rating (well, unless it was rated G).
Old 01-31-05, 01:40 AM
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Back in the '70s, quite a few Horror films were PG. You even got boobs sometimes for your PG. Just no intestines
Old 01-31-05, 02:08 AM
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Old 01-31-05, 02:31 AM
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People will see ANY horror film when it comes out.

ANY horror film.

Doesn't matter if it's bad or good. The scary movie gets the people in. If it wasn't for the fact that Hide & Seek came out this weekend, Alone In The Dark would be getting the punters in.

But the R rating? A sword that cuts both ways. True, the filmmaker is not as limited (though good filmmakers know how to work within the limits), but on the other hand, the audience is cut in half. Mama can't drop her kids off to see the R-rated flick. But a movie with a (meaningless) PG-13 rating? EVERYONE can see it! And everyone does!

If Hide & Seek had been cut to PG-13, it would have easily made 1.5 times, maybe twice, as much as it made this weekend. To be honest, I'm surprised it was left alone!

ALSO: horror movies have a much larger chance of sucking hard. Studios know this and, when given a really bad flick to sell, will cut the film into a PG-13 film that everyone will see on its first weekend (Darkness, Darkness Falls). At any rate... it'll bring in twice as many people than if it were R (Godsend).

Originally Posted by caligulathegod
Back in the '70s, quite a few Horror films were PG. You even got boobs sometimes for your PG. Just no intestines
I understand your point, but not really relevant, is this? You're talking about a completely different time, with a completely different way of thinking, and no PG-13.
Old 01-31-05, 02:50 AM
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My point was that PG doesn't automatically mean crappy. Some of the best horror films of the greatest period of horror films (the 70s) were PG. These PG/PG-13 Horror are kind of a throwback to those days. Other than the cheesy CGI (which back then was cheesy practical effects and Matte work), even the types of films are. None of that 80s Slasher crap. I'm not even counting the remakes.
Old 01-31-05, 03:05 AM
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Originally Posted by DonnachaOne


If Hide & Seek had been cut to PG-13, it would have easily made 1.5 times, maybe twice, as much as it made this weekend. To be honest, I'm surprised it was left alone!
Honestly, I doubt that. Otherwise you need to explain why White Noise and The Forgotten didn't have 35 plus million dollar openings. And why films like Texas Chainsaw and Dawn of the Dead and Freddy versus Jason and Saw do just as well or better than your average pg-13 horror film.

There's a lot more to a movie's success than just it's rating. Hide and Seek did very well, but I don't see it ever having a 35 plus million dollar opening, regardless of its rating. That would make it, the biggest January opener ever. This film just didn't have the buzz for that type of opening, regardless of its rating.

Last edited by jaeufraser; 01-31-05 at 03:11 AM.
Old 01-31-05, 09:43 AM
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Originally Posted by jaeufraser
Honestly, I doubt that. Otherwise you need to explain why White Noise and The Forgotten didn't have 35 plus million dollar openings. And why films like Texas Chainsaw and Dawn of the Dead and Freddy versus Jason and Saw do just as well or better than your average pg-13 horror film.
Well, some of that is explained by the fact that all three of those (Texas, Freddy, Dawn) are well established franchises with a built in fan base that will step over grandma to see them opening weekend.
Old 01-31-05, 10:14 AM
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To me, the rating only matters for certain horror subgenres. If it's a supernatural/ghost type movie (The Ring, The Sixth Sense, The Grudge, etc.) a PG-13 doesn't bother me. These movies don't *rely* on onscreen violence or nudity to get their point across. Yes, some movies in this realm do get R's, but that is more of a choice of style rather than a requirement for the subgenre. These types of films have been pretty big at the box office in recent years, so naturally studios will make more of them.

On the other hand, slasher movies and zombie movies had better damn well be R. Especially zombie movies. If I see a movie released in one of these areas as a PG-13, I'm going to assume it was cut to get the rating.

As for the rise in PG-13 horror... I don't necessarily think studios are cutting movies to get the rating. If anything, the studios are tailoring these movies to be PG-13 before they even start shooting. I could definitely imagine a script getting a rewrite to make it PG-13. As for the unrated (R-rated) DVD, they'd probably just shoot one meaningless gore (or nudity) scene to edit in to sell more DVDs.
Old 01-31-05, 10:26 AM
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thankfully all be forgiven when Lion's Gate releases it's NC-17 rated French splatter flick High Tension on February 14th

Gore hounds rejoice.
Old 01-31-05, 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Giles
thankfully all be forgiven when Lion's Gate releases it's NC-17 rated French splatter flick High Tension on February 14th
On JUNE 3rd, "all be forgiven."

But seriously, this PG-13 nonsense will be tested again next week with BOOGEYMAN.

If that film, starring Barry Watson, little to no early screenings for press, and a super bowl weekend to work with, can put up big numbers...the party is over. PG-13 will reign supreme.
Old 01-31-05, 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted by scott shelton
On JUNE 3rd, "all be forgiven."

But seriously, this PG-13 nonsense will be tested again next week with BOOGEYMAN.

If that film, starring Barry Watson, little to no early screenings for press, and a super bowl weekend to work with, can put up big numbers...the party is over. PG-13 will reign supreme.

did Lion's Gate move the release date? dang-it

god I hate reading my own typos

"all will be forgiven"
Old 01-31-05, 01:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Giles
thankfully all be forgiven when Lion's Gate releases it's NC-17 rated French splatter flick High Tension on February 14th

Gore hounds rejoice.

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