Most likely, suspicion comes to mind when hearing the terms horror movie and PG-13 in the same sentence. When a movie’s rating is just one notch higher than Scooby-Doo, how terrifying can it really be? There isn’t a lot of blood. hardly any profanity. No limbs were amputated. However, there are a tonne of movies that double down on the horrors to make up for their lack of R-rated horror cliches. You see, a horror movie’s PG-13 rating is not a death sentence. In reality, it provides a huge creative space for scares to be delivered without using the tried-and-true slice and dice method.
1408 (2007)
Gee, a cynical, sceptical writer who travels the world disproving purported supernatural events comes to New York from Los Angeles to spend one night in the supposedly cursed room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel. Nothing could possibly go wrong for author Mike Enslin (John Cusack)! Imagine his shock when there is absolutely no “reportedly” in the room and his horror at the realisation that he might not even survive till morning. 1408 is a scary movie that is based on a Stephen King short tale.
A Quiet Place (2018)
A Quiet Place is successful on several levels. The movie demonstrated John Krasinski’s versatility beyond his role as Jim from The Office. It’s yet another illustration of Emily Blunt’s unquestionable acting abilities, which is remarkable. Milicent Simmonds, a deaf actress, has a standout performance in the hardly spoken-of movie. Most significantly, it’s horrifying. Here, Krasinski goes above and beyond, every creak and whisper tinged with the fear of a monster hearing it. Two scenes in particular, both featuring Blunt’s Evelyn Abbott front and centre, make the movie an absolute must-see: the first is when Abbott suffers the misfortune of stepping directly onto a rusted nail while wearing bare feet, and the second is when Abbott gives birth in the bathtub while monsters are in the house. Blunt expresses her anguish and fear through her face and eyes, badly wanting to scream but realising she is powerless to do so. Blunt should have won more honours for her outstanding performance than the one Screen Actors Guild Award for supporting actor she did.
Arachnophobia (1990)
Ross Jennings, played by Jeff Daniels. John Goodman portrayed Delbert McClintock, an exterminator. A shitload of a brand-new variety of poisonous spiders with an unidentified lethal toxin have settled in the Californian town of Canaima, killing a number of residents and poised to murder more. Sincerely, weren’t you persuaded by the terrible spider?
Cloverfield (2008)
In 2008, Cloverfield, a movie that capitalised on the found-footage fad of the time, roared – literally – onto the scene with a revolutionary, game-changing promotional campaign. It was like to witnessing a Godzilla movie from the perspective of a local living in the city that Godzilla was destroying. Okay, are you happy, Tokyo resident? The use of found footage works exceptionally effectively, giving the movie’s events a sense of reality that is uncommon in the horror movie genre. Additionally, just catching a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty’s head rolling down the street is worth the entry charge.
Drag Me To Hell (2009)
Sam Raimi definitely does enjoy dragging the living about like they’re dead, huh? Old Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) faces the possibility of losing her home after Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), a bank loan officer, declines to extend a loan to her. Unwise move, Christine. Now that the old woman has cursed her, Christine will be carried to the very bottom of hell in a few days, leaving her to wait in horror. Seems a touch over the top. Why didn’t Ganush merely issue a severe letter?
Insidious (2010)
Insidious, directed by James Wan, serves as a showcase for his talent. It is a wonderfully original and unquestionably terrifying horror movie, on par with James Wan’s The Conjuring. After witnessing an evil thing, young Dalton Lambert (Ty Simpkins) goes into a coma for no apparent reason. Soon later, strange occurrences begin taking place all over the house, which forces the Lamberts to relocate. What else was in the moving van, you ask? Yes, the relocation doesn’t stop the eerie happenings, so a psychic named Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) is called in to assist. She tells the parents that Dalton has the ability to astral travel, but that he is currently trapped in a different dimension called “The Further,” where a number of tortured spirits wander aimlessly. Josh, the father (Patrick Wilson), is prompted to astral travel in order to save Dalton. Just a brilliant movie, with a fantastic climax that introduces the slightly superior (in the author’s opinion) Insidious 2.
Lights Out (2016)
The three-minute short film Lights Out was initially presented in 2013 and made good use of its time to reach a truly horrific conclusion. Hollywood was alerted to the short’s success on Vimeo and YouTube, and Warner Bros. and producer James Wan, a master of the horror genre, prevailed in their battle for the picture rights. It’s not surprising that a movie was based on a brief, popular video; after all, this is the same Hollywood that produced Machete from a fake trailer in Grindhouse. However, it is surprising that the movie is excellent, with a vengeful spirit that is somehow connected to their mother terrorising a young woman and her brother. By the way, the name comes from the fact that she can only be seen in the dark. If you’re wondering, “Why don’t they just turn on the lights then?” know that they did, but “Diana” cut the electricity to their home instead. Move on; there are no plot holes here.
Mama (2013)
You know it has to be good when even the radio commercials for the movie give you the goosebumps when you hear a child’s voice simply utter, “mom,” and Mama is. Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) take in his two nieces, Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lilly (Isabelle Nelisse), who spent that time alone in a remote cabin in the woods five years after his brother kills a lot of people, including his ex-wife. The word “alone” might not be appropriate here. How about spending that time at a remote cabin in the woods with the eerie spirit of a long-deceased mother. Even in death, Mama is taking care of the children she raised as her own and isn’t too happy about Victoria and Annabel becoming closer or about fun and games taking a backseat.
Poltergeist (1982)
They are present. Young Heather O’Rourke as Carol Anne speaks just two words to announce the arrival of the evil spirits in the Freeling residence. If, as said above, you found the term “mother” unsettling, these words will make you want to clean your drawers. Initially benign, the ghostly antics gradually develop into something much more terrible, and eventually Carol Anne is transported into a spiritual dimension. When combined with the 1990 IT miniseries, Poltergeist had prospective homeowners insist on background checks to ensure there wasn’t a graveyard on the property and caused thousands of kids to shun clowns. and grownups.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
The story of a girl named Stella (Zoe Colletti), who discovers a book of horror stories written by a woman named Sarah Bellows, who committed suicide years ago after being accused of witchcraft and using it to kill the town’s children, is interspersed with four stories from the anthology movie based on the Alvin Schwartz book series. The four tales, which are brand-new stories that are appearing on previously blank pages… and being used to eliminate Stella’s pals one by one, seem to indicate that Sarah is still composing stories, though. Given Guillermo del Toro’s participation as writer and producer, the film is stunningly terrifying, which is not surprising.
Signs (2002)
If you can believe it, Mel Gibson is in a movie that is scarier than his actions in real life. The character played by Gibson is Graham Hess, a widowed former minister who resides in a farm house with his brother Merrill (played by Joaquin Phoenix), son Morgan (played by Rory Culkin), and daughter Bo (Abigail Breslin). The Hess family discovers gigantic crop circles one day in their cornfield, which they initially blame to neighbourhood vandals but later realise is much scarier. Around the world, crop circles have started to form, along with what appear to be alien visitors. The claustrophobic sensation of the family in the basement, trapped against the aliens, is a master class in dread the unknown, demonstrating the director M. Night Shyamalan’s great talent for drawing terror from tension. The movie offers one or two fantastic jumps, but the conclusion is a tad convenient (unless you believe that the aliens are truly devils).
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
What transpires if the subject of the exorcism dies as a result of the exorcism? This occurs in The Exorcism of Emily Rose, a horror movie that transcends its genre to raise important issues like faith and demonic forces. Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter), a little girl, is subjected to an exorcism by Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson), which unfortunately results in Emily Rose’s death. The priest is detained on suspicion of murder, and Laura Linney’s attorney Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) defends her client in the face of his implausible denials of the charges.
