PG Horror

[Mario77]

Okay, the issue of MPAA ratings for horror movies is always topical amongst fans like us, particularly in the current Zeitgeist. With some recent high-profile horror being trimmed down from "hard" ratings to more "marketable" ratings, I thought this might be fun.

Going on the assumption that most of us will gladly take our horror served up raw and bloody as steak tartar (safe assumption?), we can sometimes forget the simple pleasures of horror sans the gore.

I've gotten some of the best movie scares of my life from the right PG fright film at the right age. Let's list some of our favorite PG horror movies from years gone by - the ones that really gave you a good scare. Because there seems such an overwhelming number of GP horrors from the pre-1969 period, let's begin by only naming those movies made from the inception of PG in '70 (maybe we'll expand out from there later.)

So, to begin, the two PG horror movies that first come to my mind as having scared the living shit out of me are:

SHOCK WAVES

and

ONE DARK NIGHT

...oh, and let's not go on the IMDB and do a search so we can just ramble a list of 1,000 PG-rated horror movies. Name the ones that impacted you personally.

[John Gargo]

The first movie that came to mind when I read this thread was POLTERGEIST... I remember it frightening me quite a bit when I was younger, and it still holds up well today.

[Mario77]

JAWS, an obvious one.

Pure PG terror.

[bigdaddyhorse]

Poltergiest is the only PG rating one I can think of.
Haven't seen it years though, so I can't comment on how well it holds up.

Oh yeah, and Jaws. :)

[Jimbo]

Judgement day /AKA - The Third Hand

Poltergeist

Storm of the century

Summer of fear

[mcchrist]

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things

Tourist Trap

Something Wicked This Way Comes

[Damin J. Toell]

I'm not sure it's scary, but I think Blacula is very entertaining.

There's also always The Bird With The Crystal Plumage.

DJ

[bigdaddyhorse]

Storm of the century



Wasn't that a tv mini-series? Not sure if it counts, but I agree it's really good.

[fceurich39]

Grizzly Was Pretty Gory For It Being Pg

[Mario77]

Storm of the century

Summer of fear

Both TV movies (domestically at least), and both subsequentlly rated PG-13


Good movies, though! ;)

[fceurich39]

Cool Avatar Mario77 A True Classic Of A Movie

[Mario77]

Thanks, fceurich39

I can't wait for the DVD! Let's hope Troma doesn't fuck it up too badly.

[fceurich39]

Thanks, fceurich39

I can't wait for the DVD! Let's hope Troma doesn't fuck it up too badly.
ONE LAST THING FANGORIA HAS REPORTED IT HAS BEEN DELAYED TIL JUNE 28TH SUCKS ASS BUT WHO KNOWS MAYBE IT WILL BE FOR THE BETTER

[allmessedup]

I liked POLTERGEIST and ONE DARK NIGHT, though I remember thinking that both of them probably should have been rated R, especially POLTERGEIST.

The INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS remake was always a favorite of mine growing up.

[speanroc]

poltergiest origionally got an R rating , but was appeled and later received a PG, and jaws could have gotten an R

[Erick H.]

You guys beat me to the punch,JAWS,POLTERGEIST,INVASION OF THE BODYSNATCHERS and SHOCK WAVES all came to mind.Odd how theres suddenly a rash of PG-13 horror films hitting the screen.Do you think it's a change in tone or just marketing demographics ?
Oh,does anyone know if two versions of GRIZZLY were released,I'd swear I'd seen it listed as both a PG and an R ?

[Cujo108]

Prophecy used to creep me out back in the day, and still does to a certain extent. That film had a classic trailer, but of course, Paramount failed to put it on the DVD.

[allmessedup]

I think it's both. The last couple of Matrix films didn't do as well as the first and were rated R--people probably figure PG-13 is more profitable. THE RING remake doing well is probably another big influence.

There just seems to be a more conservative tone these days as well, though it might also be that excessive gore in non-genre films [THE PASSION for example] has jaded audiences to the point where horror filmmakers decided "less is more."

[Crystal Plumage]

The only rating we have here is PG-6.Above that you're on your own :D
Most movies aren't rated anyway.My first Horror was Exorcist when it was shown on TV.My mother shut it off when Regan started about sucking cocks in hell....

[Wayne Manor]

Come on, folks - "Blood and Black Lace", one of the sickest films ever rated PG!

[maybrick]

Most movies mentioned would undoubtedly receive PG-13 ratings today, especially POLTERGEIST, which if I remember correctly was one of the movies cited as justification for the need of a new rating between PG and R. Times have definitely changed. It wasn't uncommon in the 70s to see an occasional flash of nudity, but you'll never see it happen now. Sort of on the same subject, back then there were tons of movies released with a 'G' rating, but how many do they make today? 3 a year?

[SaviniFan]

I'm with Cujo, I saw Prophecy in theaters when I was in my early teens and for the time that was pretty intense. The remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers pushed the PG rating to the limits too.

[wago70]

I'll add (but many have been mentioned already):
One Dark Night, Poltergeist, Shock Waves

[Mario77]

Come on, folks - "Blood and Black Lace", one of the sickest films ever rated PG!

Though an all-time classic, this came out almost six years before PG was created.

[Damin J. Toell]

Though an all-time classic, this came out almost six years before PG was created.

More importantly, it was never even given any rating whatsoever (GP, PG, or otherwise), even after the modern rating system was implemented.

DJ

[Hellbilly]

It's Alive was quite effective and bloody for a PG rated movie, same goes for Let's Scare Jessica To Death which was pretty intense also. Both gave me a good scare as a young one.

[MorallySound]

Poltergeist.

[booberrylives]

Come on, folks - "Blood and Black Lace", one of the sickest films ever rated PG!

I have a feeling Wayne may be referring to BLOOD AND LACE, not BLOOD AND BLACK LACE.

BLOOD AND LACE definitely fits the bill as one of the sickest PG movies. That final moment is a real kicker!

[Ash J. Williams]

Poltergeist, definately. And was Twilight Zone: The Movie rated PG? It could have been, but alot of the stuff in there is really warped and crazy. All hail Aykroid.

[allmessedup]

Yep, that was a PG.

I forgot about PROPHECY, that was another good one.

[Wayne Manor]

Though an all-time classic, this came out almost six years before PG was created.

Sorry, I actually meant "Blood and Lace": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066848/

[Jimbo]

Sorry, I actually meant "Blood and Lace": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066848/
I wish someone would put this out on dvd.

[Mario77]

I have a feeling Wayne may be referring to BLOOD AND LACE, not BLOOD AND BLACK LACE.

BLOOD AND LACE definitely fits the bill as one of the sickest PG movies. That final moment is a real kicker!


That's a real twisted one, particularly scary as a kid because of the whole foster home / torture stuff; and crazy Gloria Grahame, of course. Vic Tayback is also super freaky in that. I never looked at him the same in "Alice" after seeing this one. Great poster, too! I tried buying it on ebay a while back.

[VideoViolence]

Critters was PG-13. And Let's Scare Jessica To Death is a classic. Paramount, you listening? Release this fucking movie on dvd pronto, dammit!!

[eric_angelus]

The Hearse was premiered on HBO the very first time I was ever allowed to stay home alone at night...it scared the hell outta me at the tender age of 10. That was PG. I still really enjoy the movie...and have never quite forgotten that night!
Another really good PG title from this era is The Evictors, with Jessica Harper.

[KamuiX]

Many good ones listed, especially the Bava ones. I'll go with one that hasn't been mentioned though. Granted, it's unrated, but it IS a made-for-TV film, so in essence, it puts it in an almost PG rating type of bracket.

And that would be The Woman in Black, the British-made TV film from 1989. Forget that it's made-for-TV and has hardly any violence or gore to speak of. It's without a doubt one of the 5 scariest films of all time. I guage my "scariest ever" meter on things that creep me out now, at the age of 24, not when I was 10. I saw this film for the first time about 2 years ago, and it creeped me out to no end. It's WELL worth looking for if you haven't seen it. It is out of print in the states, but if you ever come across a copy, pick it up. If you're a fan of British horror, Asian horror (the scares are very Asian-like, as they REALLY build them up), or just being scared out of your wits, this film is for you. Vastly overlooked film.

[Mario77]

The Legend of Hell House is PG, and a very creepy, atmospheric one that scared me as a kid. Great cast and direction, if a little slow at times.

From director John Hough (Watcher in the Woods, the Witch Mountain movies, Incubus, and the awful Howling IV.)

[speanroc]

saturday the 14th

[KamuiX]

Another one that popped into my head is The Brotherhood of Satan. While I personally don't think it's a great film, it was decent, and for a PG rated film, it had some pretty nutty stuff in it. I can only imagine having seen this one as a kid because of it being rated PG...would have definitely freaked me out.