The Ruination of Horror? A Look at the PG-13 Rating
Steve Barton
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Since the PG-13 rating’s inception, it has been the source of much controversy. Is it the big monster in the closet most horror fans fear? Does it ruin our genre and other genres? Honestly, it depends on how it’s used, and this video takes a look at that.
Blip.TV has just brought a great examination of the rating online. Probably the most comprehensive examination of this rating ever made. It’s entitled WTF Happened to PG-13?, and you’re bound to learn something and be a little enraged at the same time.
For our money a horror film doesn’t have to be rated R to be good. Some of the most horrific films out there, including the original Texas Chain Saw Masscare, barely have a single bloody moment.
The Legend of Hell House, Jaws, Poltergeist… I can go on and on. You know when PG-13 fails? When the movie stops being about being a good movie and starts being about getting a particular rating. Filmmakers have a habit of letting the studios be so pushy that they end up gimping themselves. That’s not totally their fault either because unless you’re a Hollywood golden boy like Quentin Tarantino who can make his movies as violent and over-the-top as he wants, you’re pretty much crucified by the ratings board for every little thing.
Look at Kill Bill and Hatchet. Kill Bill is human-on-human violence featuring swords, guns, and anything else laying around. Rated R. Hatchet is a goofy little throwback movie about a friggin’ swamp ghost with a magic-powered belt sander that needed to be cut to shreds for an R rating. It doesn’t make any sense. Hell… it never made any sense.
Check out the video below, and voice your opinion.
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