I’ve been reading this conversation online, where this guy was saying a horror film can’t be good if it’s rated PG-13. I don’t agree with that statement at all. But, rather than get into an unnecessary argument with the guy, I wanted to post my point of view on the whole ratings subject.

First off, I’m just going to say that when I grew up watching movies, I’ve never focused on ratings. I focused on whether or not the film was good! Now, let’s go back in time to where the PG-13 rating didn’t even exist yet. A film would either be PG or R, there was no in-between. That was changed in the 1980s when people realized Jaws and Poltergeist had the same rating as A Christmas Story and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. That just wasn’t right.

Jaws is probably the most famous suspense-horror film in history! But with people’s mentality nowadays, they wouldn’t even give it a chance because of its PG rating. People don’t realize that when they refuse to see a film solely because of that rating, they are depriving themselves on enjoying a potentially fantastic horror film!

When it comes to toning down horror films for a PG-13 rating, I don’t believe filmmakers do that for a younger audience. I believe filmmakers do that simply for a wider audience. Does a PG-13 rating mean a horror film can’t be scary? Absolutely not! A good example of this is James Wan’s film, Insidious. It’s PG-13 and it still managed to scare the hell out of its audience.
Also, the guy said that The Ring was made for little kids because of the rating. When I was a little kid and I watched The Ring, I had to turn it off after the first scene! That movie is definitely  NOT for kids!

Now truthfully I’m not sure how a rating for a horror film is decided, when it comes to gore, violence, cussing, or nudity. However, if that’s all the stuff you look for in a horror film, there’s nothing wrong with that! Just don’t disregard a horror film that doesn’t have those things and actually focuses on telling a good story!

I guess the whole point of this post is that ratings shouldn’t and don’t matter. If a horror film is good, a horror film is good! Don’t miss out on a fantastic horror film because of a messed up ratings system!