Plenty of greathorror movieswould have been even more frightening, unnerving, and effective had they received the strict adult-only R-rating. WhilePG-13 movieshave the potential to explore some gruesome and terrifying concepts, filmmakers are limited in how much gore they show or how depraved the psychological torment their characters experience can be. Although all these horror movies had their scary moments, an R rating would have allowed them to take extra steps in the realm of overwhelming terror.
While it’s understandable thatfilm studios often wish to pursue a PG-13 rating wherever possible, as this allows for tickets to be purchased by more consumers, horror movies are often more effective with an R-rating. Whether it’s through more intense visuals or a deeper adult-oriented exploration of characters,R-rated horrorsrepresent some of thebest scary movies ever made. Although all these horror movies have value, it’s hard not to wonder if they would have benefited from a stricter age classification.
10The Boogeyman (2023)
Directed by Rob Savage
The terrifying mythical creature known as the Boogeyman has sent chills down the spines of fearful children for centuries and acted as the basis for this spooky PG-13 horror.Based on a 1973 short story by StephenKing,The Boogeymanis the titular creature haunting a family after a disturbing man whose children were killed by the monster arrives and unwittingly allows it to latch onto a new family. With a foreboding atmosphere and an eerie concept,The Boogeymanfeatured plenty of frights but would have been much more effective with an R-rating.
A stricter rating would have allowedThe Boogeymanto more effectively capture the dark nature of its source material and delve deeper into the psychological terror of the creature. While director Rob Savage made liberal use of jump scares and thunderous sound effects, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the build-up was more frightening than the actual reveal, and more freedom to lean into the scares would have made the movie better. The harsh reality was thatThe Boogeymanjust played it too safe to capture the unique chills of King’s early work fully.
The Boogeyman
Cast
The Boogeyman is a 2023 film directed by Rob Savage and starring Madison Hu, Vivien Lyra Blair, and Sophie Thatcher. The release is based heavily on Stephen King’s short story of the same name. The director intends to warp the story enough to be somewhat different from the 1973 release.
9Alien vs. Predator (2004)
Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson
It’s no secret that both theAlienandPredatorfranchises have had varying quality throughout their long history, and sadly, the crossover filmAlien vs. Predatorfailed to live up to the best versions of entries in either series. Both the originalAlienandPredatormovies were rated R, and the decision to try and gain more mainstream viewership with a PG-13 rating here was a bad move. This meantAlien vs. Predatorcould never fully embrace the true horror of either creature, and the results were noticeably mild.
The Xenomorph and Yautja creatures have the capability of brutally killing their victims, andAlien vs. Predatornever quite managed to capture the gory realities of these monsters. Without any compelling characters of note and a lack of any really gory kills, director Paul W. S. Anderson was curtailed in what he could achieve in this lackluster franchise crossover. WhileAnderson excelled with incredible R-rated releases likeEvent Horizon, he was never allowed the freedom to makeAlien vs. Predatorall that it could be.
AVP: Alien vs. Predator
AVP: Alien vs. Predator, released in 2004, follows a research team’s expedition to the Arctic, where they discover a buried pyramid. Unbeknownst to them, the site serves as a battleground where the Predators hunt Aliens, thrusting the team into a deadly interspecies conflict.
8Happy Death Day (2017)
Directed by Christopher Landon
Audiences already have had the definitive family-friendly depiction of someone caught up in an endless time loop through Bill Murray’s iconic role inGroundhog Day, so it only made sense that an adult-oriented horror spin on this premise would have been rated R. However,Happy Death Daymaintained a PG-13 rating, which held it back from truly going to hell for leather when it came to gory scares.
Happy Death Day Director Has A Threequel Plan And Freaky Crossover Ideas
Exclusive: Director Christopher Landon discusses Happy Death Day 3 and why he wants to make a Happy Death Day and Freaky crossover movie.
As a satirical genre-bending experience that exhibited aspects of comedy, rom-com, sci-fi, and outright horror,Happy Death Dayhad a campy energy that could have pushed things even further in an R-rated environment. While the sequelHappy Death Day 2Uhad the opportunity to explore these darker themes, rather than more thoroughly embracing its horror movie stylings, the follow-up had a more sci-fi-adjacent tone. However, director Christopher Landon appears happy to maintain this franchise’s PG-13 style as he’s hinted at not just a third installment but also aFreaky Fridaycrossover.
Happy Death Day
Happy Death Day is a horror-comedy film directed by Christopher Landon. Released in 2017, it follows college student Tree Gelbman, played by Jessica Rothe, who is forced to relive the day of her murder repeatedly until she can identify her killer and stop her death. The film blends elements of slasher horror with dark humor, creating a unique entry in the genre.
7The Visit (2015)
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Director M. Night Shyamalan is known for his dark horror movies that feature shocking, unexpected twists. While this filmmaker had several disappointing releases in a row, Shyamalan returned to form in 2015 with a back-to-basics found footage horror movie that was as unnerving as it was surprising.The Visithad engrossingly sinister undertones as two young siblings went to visit the eccentric elderly couple that they initially believed to be their grandparents.
10 Most Disturbing Scenes In The Visit, Ranked
M. Night Shyamalan’s found-footage horror The Visit was full of so many creepy and disturbing moments, including jump scares and gross-out attacks.
WhileThe Visithad some truly disturbing scenes, such as the gross-out moment when the kid Tyler came face-to-face with the soiled diapers of his so-called grandpa Pop Pop, the movie could have gone even further with an R rating. A more stern age restriction would have allowedThe Visitto more thoroughly explore the deranged psychologies of its elderly villains and delivered a far more frightening, unfiltered experience. While Shyamalan still managed to write and direct an enjoyable comeback film, it’s hard to shake the feeling thatThe Visitcould have pushed things even further.
The Visit
From director M. Night Shyamalan, The Visit follows two siblings who are sent to stay with their estranged grandparents while their mother is out of town on vacation. Realizing that all isn’t what it seems during their stay, the siblings set out to find out what is really going on at their grandparents' home. Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould star as Becca and Tyler, with Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, and Kathryn Hahn making up the rest of the main cast.
61408 (2007)
Directed by Mikael Håfström
The Stephen King adaptation1408was a psychological horror whose success was dependent on the power of its visuals. Starring John Cusack as Mike Enslin, an author trapped in a haunted hotel room,1408valued slow-building psychological tensionas a skeptical supernatural investigator sought to debunk the belief that the hotel room was cursed. However, Mike wished to prove the room was safe, despite the hotel manager trying to dissuade him from spending the night, as nobody had lasted more than an hour inside in 95 years, and the death count was at 56.
1408was a PG-13 movie whose grotesque visuals and unnerving supernatural presence were hindered by its relatively mild age restriction. While Mike encounters frightening figures like his own doppelgänger and gets brought into the depths of his own psychological traumas, an R-rated edition could have been bloodier and more visceral as the inescapable nature of his supernatural situation came to a head.1408was a spooky movie that maintained King’s humor and satirical wit, yet it couldn’t live up to the true horror of its R-rated counterparts, such asThe Shining.
1408
1408 follows a man who debunks paranormal phenomena, as he checks into the infamous room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel. His skepticism is put to the test when he encounters real horror within its walls.
5Insidious (2010)
Directed by James Wan
Insidiouswas already an impressively eerie film with a PG-13 rating, although a stricter classification could have turned it into an all-time great scary movie. As the first in a major franchise,Insidiouswas directed by James Wan and starred Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne as a couple whose comatose child becomes a vessel for demonic entities from another realm. As a haunted house story that managed to do something genuinely original with its well-worn premise,Insidioustruly lived up to its title.
With an R rating,Insidiouscould have heightened the dread and dark implications of its supernatural story. While the psychological toll that this unusual haunting takes on the Lambert family felt deeply unnerving, how the sinister entities possess the young boy Dalton was restricted by its mild age classification.Insidioushas truly dark implications when it comes to family, parenthood, and the destruction of a child’s psychological welfare, and its PG-13 rating meant the true horror of its narrative was never fully embraced.
Insidious
When Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) move into a new home, their son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) explores the attic and discovers a malevolent entity. After Dalton slips into an unexplained coma, Josh and Renai enlist the help of spiritual medium Elise (Lin Shaye) to enter the spirit world and recover Dalton’s consciousness, which they believe is being held by an unknown hostile force.
4Drag Me To Hell (2009)
Directed by Sam Raimi
The icon of horror movies Sam Raimi got his start with truly groundbreaking R-rated releases like the originalEvil Deadmovies, and it’s hard to shake the feeling that his return to the genre withDrag Me to Hellwouldn’t have benefited from a stricter age classification. This supernatural story, which focused on a loan officer refusing to extend an elderly woman’s mortgage, had clever social and political implications that resonate far more with adult viewers than a 13-year-old horror fan.
Considering the adult themes of this delightfully camp movie,Drag Me to Hellcould have upped its psychological tension with more exaggerated visuals and an unwieldy chaotic energy.Drag Me to Hellblended comedy and horror in a way that suited a PG-13 release, although its more unnerving sense of hopelessness and dread makes it feel like there’s an even better R-rated version hiding below the surface.
Drag Me To Hell
Drag Me To Hell is a supernatural horror movie directed by Sam Raimi where loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is cursed by the elderly Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) after refusing to extend the lady’s mortgage. Christine must find a way to escape Lamia, the demon who tries to literally drag her to the depths of Hell.
3The Ring (2002)
Directed by Gore Verbinski
One PG-13 horror movie that definitely would have benefited from an R-rating wasThe Ring, whose mild age classification meant it paled in comparison to the Japanese movie it was based on. As a lesser remake,The Ringmaintained its eerie atmosphere yet couldn’t quite explore the same levels of psychological trauma as Hideo Nakata’s 1998 filmRing. From director Gore Verbinski,The Ringhighlighted how American remakes of Japanese horror movies always dilute the fear and gore at the heart of the story.
The Ringwas released by DreamWorks Pictures, and it’s no surprise such a major studio opted to embrace a wider audience pool rather than try and make the film as scary as possible. While this led to a less intense movie, it also meantThe Ringwas a major hit at the box office andtook in $249 million against its $48 million budget(viaBox Office Mojo.) Although this milder age classification may have disappointed hardcore horror fans, it also acted as the inception point for a successful franchise.
The Ring
An American remake of the original Japanese supernatural horror film, Ring, The Ring follows a journalist who discovers she has seven days to live after watching a cursed videotape. Attending the funeral of a girl who dies under mysterious circumstances, the victim’s mother asks Seattle journalist Rachel to investigate the death. After learning about the urban legend behind the video tape the girl watched, Rachel views the tape in the hopes of finding a lead - only to find herself succumbing to the same curse.
2M3GAN (2022)
Directed by Gerard Johnstone
FromAnnabelletoChild’s Play, there have been plenty of iconic R-rated killer doll movies. However, the campy satireM3GANwas not one of them, as this tongue-in-cheek exploration of grief and technology had a PG-13 rating. WhileM3GAN’sunique sense of humor and engaging exploration of artificial intelligence made it a surprise hit, it’s hard to shake the feeling that an R-rated version would have been more unnerving, threatening, and emotionally destructive.
M3GANtells the story of a self-aware AI doll who becomes worryingly close to her orphaned eight-year-old human companion, Cady, who was grieving the loss of her parents, who died in a car accident. While the sinister actions the doll was willing to enact to protect Cady were frightening, an R-rated movie could have shown this psychological manipulation in far more stern and shocking ways.M3GANwas scary, but a stricter age restriction could have pushed things into truly heinous territory.
M3GAN
M3GAN follows a toy company roboticist who creates an AI doll designed to emotionally bond with her orphaned niece. As the doll’s programming becomes excessively protective, it leads to unforeseen and alarming consequences. The film explores themes of artificial intelligence and emotional connections.
1The Sixth Sense (1999)
While an R-rated version ofThe Sixth Senselikely wouldn’t have become the astounding worldwide success that it was for director M. Night Shyamalan, this unnerving ghost story still would have benefited from a stricter rating. As the story of a child psychologist whose child patients can see dead people, the notorious twist that Bruce Willis’s character was dead all along left viewers' jaws on the floor back in 1999. With an eerie atmosphere that brought to mind Hollywood’s greatest ghost stories,The Sixth Sensehas rightfully become a modern classic.
However, the PG-13 rating ofThe Sixth Sensemeant that the impact of Cole Sear’s (Haley Joel Osment) interactions with spirits was limited. An R-rated version could have given more insight into the graphic nature of the poltergeist’s demises and provided Shyamalan with more freedom to spook viewers. Despite the benefits of an R-rating, the PG-13 classification also meant a much broader audience had access to thishorror movie, and this astounding success allowed Shyamalan to break through in Hollywood and carve out an impressive career that continues to this day.
The Sixth Sense
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense is a psychological thriller about a young boy who can see and communicate with ghosts. Bruce Willis as Dr. Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist who tries to help Cole, played by Haley Joel Osment, while grappling with his own personal demons. The movie features a twist ending that has become iconic in pop culture.
