It has been a growing, sad trend in horror movies for the last few years. “Horror” movies that soften themselves up so much to the point they lose their edge for the sake of getting a PG-13 rating so more kiddies can get into the movie theaters. The results have not been great (with some exceptions for certain).
When we heard that Sam Raimi was going to be putting together a horror film called “Drag Me To Hell“, we all just assumed it would be of the hard “R” variety. Well it’s not. It’s a PG-13. Our friends over at Cinematical give us this:
I stood in line for more than two hours to see Sam Rami’s “work in progress” screening of Drag Me to Hell at SXSW last month. Raimi was there in person to introduce the film at Austin’s Paramount Theatre, and the packed house tore the roof off with a loud, raucous reaction. But will horror fans in general want to see it now that it’s been given the dreaded PG-13 rating? At least two versions of the film have been test-screened, according to Shock Til You Drop, but the version we saw in Austin was more PG-13 than R. As I wrote at the time, “Does that mean that Raimi has softened or compromised his vision?
It’s a fair question for Cinematical to ask. But they do go on to say that the film doesn’t feel compromised to them, which is a good thing. Still… I can’t help but think a HORROR movie that is still presentable to 12 year olds can’t have too much too it. Can it? Maybe, we’ll have to wait and see.
I can’t think of a single R rated horror movie that didn’t suck the big one that came out in the last ten years. They have all been boring tripe, relying on gore and torture to disgust and shock, rather than horrify. The lovers of Saw, Hostel, etc. are mainly boys who get off (literally) to these types of degenerate flicks. If the original “Halloween” came out today, it would be rated PG-13, and that would be ok with me. I don’t need to see a woman’s breast cut off to enjoy a movie, thank you.
If a horror movie doesn’t have an ‘R’ on it i don’t even bother, cause i love the old Boobs blood and gore horror movies, BTW they ruined Jason, and he can never recover from the latest piece of trash they made for him :(
I can’t think of a good PG-13 horror film since The Ring.
Drag Me to Hell is one of the scariest films I’ve ever seen, and I’m a huge horror fan (saw it at South by Southwest last month). The rating has not compromised it at all. This isn’t your typical “PG-13 Hollywood Horror Film”. It’s like a cross between Sam Raimi’s The Gift + Spiderman + Evil Dead 2.
This film is going to play like gangbusters to audiences. It’s one of those movies everyone talks about at work/school/etc. It’s an awesome roller-coaster that has everything you love about Sam Raimi’s style!
P.S. FACT: Sam Raimi sat directly behind me in the theater!
Horror teases, then delivers. In terms of horror, you can build suspense (tease) all sorts of ways. Naked girls are one way to do this.
With a set up, you have to deliver. So, if you see the axe coming down, you sort of want to see it cleave a skull with a solid THUNK! If you just have the sound effect, you feel cheated (or do you?). I do. So, while there are all sorts of ways to do this, working within the boundaries of ‘R’ makes it easier to satisfy a viewer. But hey, what do I know, right?
Mark
it looks like the creepshow movies to me.
very comic book stylized and over produced.
did anyone really think this would be in theaters as an R flick?
Well, this saddens me greatly. But it is Sam Raimi we’re talking about here, so I’ll give it the benefit of that dough. Who knows, he could do great things for PG-13 horror with this thing. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Raimi sucks and this movie will also suck. The trailer looks like a comedy more than a horror flick with the old gypsy woman in her bed.
i agree he does suck aside from the two spiderman films and the evil dead trilogy
A Simple Plan did not suck.
For Love Of The Game did not suck
Darkman did not suck. The DTV sequels did however…
This seems like a mistake both artisticly and commercially. It would seem to me that most people interested in something called “Drag Me to Hell” are expecting over the top graphic violence.
There have been some very good PG-13 horror movies. The problem comes when a movie definitely has the content that calls for an R rating but pulls punches to get the PG-13 and leaves the audience with a lame product.
BTW, “Jaws” came out way way before the PG-13 was invented.
T-Vo said:
“Actually contrary to what you say, PG-13 movies are probably scarier than R movies since they don’t rely on excessive violence and gore. PG-13 movies in the hands of a good director can bring the chills. (Spielberg, Raimi,)”
This is exactly right. Scary does NOT = more blood, swearing and nudity. Scary = scary. Doesn’t have to get an R certificate.
PG-13 horror movies can be scary but often aren’t. Actually, the same goes for R rated horror movies, which mostly offer up a couple of jumps, but aren’t really scary at all.
I think the filmmakers want to make movies that re genuinely scary, but don’t try hard enough to do so. It seems like a lot of horror movies spend more time giving shout outs to horror classics, while others go for the gross out routine. But a horror film that is truly suspenseful, and has the audience on the edge and plays with their minds and expectation, which often means not doing the same scare routine over and over again.
Often a lot of horror films are about sex and gore. The characters are all party hounds who supply the sex, the bad guys supply the gore and maybe a scare or two. But the sex isn’t necessarily need. Sure people love it, but then those people can always watch the direct to video sequels of Wild Things. And gore isn’t scary. It’s just gross. I’m not talking about blood. I’m talking about seeing people’s intestines ripped out. It’s not really the kill that is scary, it’s the build up. In fact, the audience should be on the edge the entire movie. They should be worried about whats coming next, and the filmmakers should work hard to keep them nervous, while making a genuinely good movie. Then, if someone doesn’t find it scary, they can always enjoy the movie itself.
I don’t find John Carpenter’s Halloween scary, but I love that movie.
Since I won’t be seeing this in the theater anyway I will see the unrated version on DVD. No biggie.
In an Aintitcool interview with Raimi he said there was only one cut that changed it from PG13 to an R. One Cut! so why is this even an issue?
Actualy T-VO FRIGHT NIGHT was rated R. Go to Amazon and it will verify that fact.
chuck
Watched Evil Dead for the first time in about a year yesterday. Missed it too much and talk about great low budget horror. I miss Raimi doing horror, I always forget that he has done other films than Spider-Man.
yea, Poltergeist was PG and that was pretty scary. I doesn’t need to be gory to be scary.
PG13 horror movies:
1408 (pretty friggen creepy)
One Missed Call
Fright Night (Just a fun movie!)
Stay Alive
The Orphanage
When a Stranger Calls
The Sixth Sense
The Others
The Ring
American Haunting
The Grudge 2
Jaws (scared 20 billion people out of the ocean)
Actually contrary to what you say, PG-13 movies are probably scarier than R movies since they don’t rely on excessive violence and gore. PG-13 movies in the hands of a good director can bring the chills. (Spielberg, Raimi,)
yea i agree, the ring, the others, yhe orphanage, and the others were some of my favorite modern horror movies that were pg-13.
it showed that atmosphere and actual fear can scare more than stupid random gore and slasher flicks. and they also told very good stories. as long as its good HORROR and not a gimmicky slasher flick im down. and this premise freaks the hell outta me
Actually Fright Night ( And I do agree a great summer movie!) and The Orphanage were rated R. And if I had to guess the Japanese version of the Ring might be R too had it been released in the states and that was a damn creepy movie…much better than the American version. Jaws I seem to remember being R at first and recut to a PG version. I’m not a 100% sure about that but I do recall reading something about that. But I could be wrong.
Fright Night was rated R, One Missed Call was scary when it was the ORIGINAL Asain R rated horror movie, When A Stranger Calls was another terrible remake from an original R rated movie, Stay Alive was horrible, the UNCUT version was good, The Orphanage rated R, The Ring another remake from Asia and originally rated R, The Grudge movies same ripped off from Asia and orignally R. All of the movies that you just listed are all remakes except for: 1408, 6th Sense, American Haunting (thats a stretch calling it original), Poltergeist, and Jaws. And correct me if Im wrong but Jaws definitely had some blood and gore in there. Not trying to bash but your list needs some updating.
I must say I’m not excited about this… but I’m still confident that the movie will be good.
I’ll be seeing it regardless of what rating is given to it.
John,
What are the exceptions of recent PG-13 horror movies that are “great”? I didn’t know there were any, but I’m not exactly up to date when it comes to watching new horror, so I’m very intrigued by your “with some exceptions for certain” comment.
Once upon a time, there was a little film called Poltergeist. Am I the only person still alive who remembers that film from 1982?
No? Yes? What?
So what does that have too do with Drag Me To Hell?
Poltergeist was a PG movie.
And it still had the chills and spills.
Not every horror film has to be an R film.
Does ‘Drag’ require fifty F bombs and a running brothel of blood in order for people to want go see it? That’s a rhetorical question…
Well in the case of Poltergeist, the PG-13 didn’t exist then. Red Dawn was the first movie to teeter too much between the line of “too much or not enough for R”. Also, you’re forgetting that horror was different back then too. Audiences weren’t spoiled like they are today. Horror movies back then built atmospheric chills and ambiance and unfortunately, you can’t do that today. If you tried to do that, you’ll have people complaining the movie was boring. I think one of the best horror films of the past 5 years was The Orphanage. It was the best mixture of overall creepy atmosphere and style, it wasn’t littered with pop up scares…which is what rules the market today. Everyone seems to find THIS!!!! really scary…
Even though that was rhetorical Im going to answer your question. Yes it does, not to the full extent of having fifty f-bombs but a horror movie needs blood, it needs those shocks and at times yes it does need coarse language. I am so fucking sick of all these PG-13 horror movie abortions and I know Im not the only one. When will the studios open their eyes and realize that Horror was meant to be scary, that its meant to be bloody. Its not meant to be all trimmed down so we see MAYBE a knife, or some blood. I want someones head being ripped off, I want blood spraying everywhere, and yes I do want someone to say FUCK!
Granted PG-13 Horror movies can be good. But it would have been nice to have seen a R rated Horror movie with the backing of a big name director of Raimi behind it.
It seems like of late R rated movies in general have taken a beating. I know studios want to be as wide as possible to appeal to many young teen fans but I wonder if R really is such a deterrent. I mean Teens get into movies if they want to see it. And R seems to attract teens because of it’s taboo appeal. At least it seemed like it when I was a kid, R was a definite go amongst my friends and I. The experience of seeing a R was definitely more fun especially when you are catching a horror movie!
OK, just my opinion but even though other PG-13 horror films have sucked, this one I don’t think will, I haven’t been freaked out by a trailer in a LONG time but honestly this one made me jump twice, so I don’t think it’ll be all that bad.
I am confident the movie will be good, I have read several things from people who saw test screenings and the reaction has been very positive, horror can be scary despite pg-13. Granted there has not been much pg-13 horror that has been scary, but I believe it can be done, and I think Raimi will come thru.