Plenty of great horror movies would have been even more frightening, unnerving, and effective had they received the strict adult-only R-rating. While PG-13 movies have 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 that film 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 horrors represent some of the best 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.

10

The 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 Stephen King, The Boogeyman is the тιтular 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 Boogeyman featured plenty of frights but would have been much more effective with an R-rating.

A stricter rating would have allowed The Boogeyman to 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 that The Boogeyman just played it too safe to capture the unique chills of King’s early work fully.

9

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson

It’s no secret that both the Alien and Predator franchises have had varying quality throughout their long history, and sadly, the crossover film Alien vs. Predator failed to live up to the best versions of entries in either series. Both the original Alien and Predator movies were rated R, and the decision to try and gain more mainstream viewership with a PG-13 rating here was a bad move. This meant Alien vs. Predator could 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, and Alien vs. Predator never 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. While Anderson excelled with incredible R-rated releases like Event Horizon, he was never allowed the freedom to make Alien vs. Predator all that it could be.

8

Happy 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 in Groundhog Day, so it only made sense that an adult-oriented horror spin on this premise would have been rated R. However, Happy Death Day maintained a PG-13 rating, which held it back from truly going to hell for leather when it came to gory scares.

As a satirical genre-bending experience that exhibited aspects of comedy, rom-com, sci-fi, and outright horror, Happy Death Day had a campy energy that could have pushed things even further in an R-rated environment. While the sequel Happy Death Day 2U had 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 a Freaky Friday crossover.

7

The 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 Visit had engrossingly sinister undertones as two young siblings went to visit the eccentric elderly couple that they initially believed to be their grandparents.

While The Visit had 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 allowed The Visit to 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 that The Visit could have pushed things even further.

6

1408 (2007)

Directed by Mikael Håfström

The Stephen King adaptation 1408 was 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 H๏τel room, 1408 valued slow-building psychological tension as a skeptical supernatural investigator sought to debunk the belief that the H๏τel room was cursed. However, Mike wished to prove the room was safe, despite the H๏τel 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.

1408 was 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. 1408 was 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 as The Shining.

5

Insidious (2010)

Directed by James Wan

Insidious was 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, Insidious was directed by James Wan and starred Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne as a couple whose comatose child becomes a vessel for demonic enтιтies from another realm. As a haunted house story that managed to do something genuinely original with its well-worn premise, Insidious truly lived up to its тιтle.

With an R rating, Insidious could 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 enтιтies possess the young boy Dalton was restricted by its mild age classification. Insidious has 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.

4

Drag 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 original Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ movies, and it’s hard to shake the feeling that his return to the genre with Drag Me to Hell wouldn’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 Hell could have upped its psychological tension with more exaggerated visuals and an unwieldy chaotic energy. Drag Me to Hell blended 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.

3

The Ring (2002)

Directed by Gore Verbinski

One PG-13 horror movie that definitely would have benefited from an R-rating was The Ring, whose mild age classification meant it paled in comparison to the Japanese movie it was based on. As a lesser remake, The Ring maintained its eerie atmosphere yet couldn’t quite explore the same levels of psychological trauma as Hideo Nakata’s 1998 film Ring. From director Gore Verbinski, The Ring highlighted how American remakes of Japanese horror movies always dilute the fear and gore at the heart of the story.

The Ring was 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 meant The Ring was a major hit at the box office and took in $249 million against its $48 million budget (via Box Office Mojo.) Although this milder age classification may have disappointed hardcore horror fans, it also acted as the inception point for a successful franchise.

2

M3GAN (2022)

Directed by Gerard Johnstone

From Annabelle to Child’s Play, there have been plenty of iconic R-rated killer doll movies. However, the campy satire M3GAN was not one of them, as this tongue-in-cheek exploration of grief and technology had a PG-13 rating. While M3GAN’s unique 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.

M3GAN tells 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. M3GAN was scary, but a stricter age restriction could have pushed things into truly heinous territory.

1

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

While an R-rated version of The Sixth Sense likely 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 ᴅᴇᴀᴅ people, the notorious twist that Bruce Willis’s character was ᴅᴇᴀᴅ 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 Sense has rightfully become a modern classic.

However, the PG-13 rating of The Sixth Sense meant 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 this horror movie, and this astounding success allowed Shyamalan to break through in Hollywood and carve out an impressive career that continues to this day.

Source: Box Office Mojo