Summary

  • Some PG-13 movies, such as Poltergeist and Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom, contained dark and scary elements that were too intense for young audiences.
  • Beowulf, an animated film for adults, managed to dodge an R-rating despite featuring violent and sexual content.
  • Movies like Jaws and The Ring used clever editing and filmmaking techniques to create a terrifying atmosphere, earning their scares within the confines of a PG rating.

The MPAA is the organization that gives movies their ratings based on their content; however, some brutal movies that should arguably have been R-rated snuck by with a lower rating. It makes sense that filmmakers and studios would want their movies to have lower ratings, as it means more people are allowed to go see the movie, but this can often lead to frightened children and upset parents. Whether it's dark subject matter or frightening imagery, some PG-13 movies feel like they are getting away with a lot.

From horror movies to intense action movies, to even an animated film about talking rabbits, these movies have left huge imprints on audiences who were potentially too young to be watching. These movies snuck dark and intense art past the MPAA. Here are 10 brutal movies that somehow avoided being R-rated.

Related: 10 PG-13 Movies That Would Have Been Much Better R-Rated

10 Poltergeist (1982)

David Lindsay-Abaire writing the Sam Raimi-produced Poltergeist remake

When Poltergeist was released in 1982, the PG-13 rating hadn't been invented yet, so the horror film received a PG. That, plus the association of producer Steven Spielberg, meant a lot of children got to watch this classic ghost movie at a very young age. While Poltergeist isn't the most intense horror film of all time, the imagery of a man tearing his face off and a pool filled with corpses is far too frightening for small children. To this day kids are still getting nightmares from this "family" horror movie, and most of the other films in the Poltergeist franchise have been rated PG-13.

9 Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom

Temple_Of_Doom_Violence

Raiders of the Lost Arc was a giant success and was beloved by most who saw it, including children. While the movie had its fair share of violence and intense action, it was seen as a film that could be enjoyed by most ages. So many people were shocked when the sequel featured chilling imagery of the occult, and a man's beating heart being pulled from his chest. Temple of Doom is by far the darkest and scariest Indiana Jones movie and left many parents upset that a PG movie could include so many scary elements. People at the time were so upset that this movie, along with Gremlins, led to the creation of the PG-13 rating.

8 Beowulf (2007)

Beowulf ITV

When Robert Zemeckis was experimenting with motion capture technology in the 2000s, he made two holiday-themed movies for children and Beowulf, a violent, sexual, and intense action movie aimed squarely at adults. The movie features a practically naked Angelina Jolie, horrific monsters, bloody stabbings, and people being burned alive, yet somehow managed to walk away with a PG-13 rating. Being animated, Beowulf was able to get away with a lot more than a live-action film ever could. However, the animation is meant to look realistic, and it is still baffling that it dodged an R-rating.

7 Watership Down (1978)

Woundwort and Bigwig fight in Watership Down.

Watership Down is an animated film about a colony of rabbits looking for a new home. It holds a PG rating and seems like a wholesome enough time, but it is one of the most violent PG movies ever made. It features brutal violence toward the rabbits, including one rabbit ripping out the throat of another. Watership Down has become notorious for how many children were absolutely scared senseless by it, and in the UK, enough people complained that the British Board of Film Classification had to change their rating from a U to a PG.

6 Jaws

The shark attacks Brody in Jaws 1975

Steven Spielberg's Jaws practically invented the summer blockbuster and changed the way movies are made and marketed. Its cultural legacy is so large that it is easy to forget just how scary the film actually is. Spielberg is a master of pacing and building tension, and Jaws' use of blood and violence is genuinely affecting and bone-chilling. The movie manages to get away with a lot, considering that it holds a PG rating. Through clever editing and movie magic, Spielberg manages to make the audience think they are seeing more than they actually are. It is a film that uses PG-level visuals to an R-rating effect.

5 Sucker Punch

Emily Browning ready for battle as Babydoll in Sucker Punch.

Zack Snyder is a filmmaker who often pushes the limit in terms of what can be shown in a PG-13 movie. Much like Batman v. Superman, Sucker Punch had to be cut down in order to receive a PG-13 rating. However, the theatrical cut of the movie still manages to be pretty brutal. The violence, while fantastical and over the top, is still quite intense for younger viewers, and the film's dark subject matter of women being abused in a mental asylum leads to many upsetting scenes. Snyder has recently teased an R-rated director's cut of Sucker Punch, so hopefully, curious audiences will be able to see his original vision for the film.

4 Batman Returns

Danny DeVito as The Penguin in Batman Returns pic

Tim Burton's Batman Returns is one of the best Batman movies, but it is also arguably the darkest and most upsetting. Instead of the harsh realism of The Dark Knight, Batman Returns is dark in a gothic, campy way. The Penguin is portrayed as a grotesque monster who bites people's noses off, and the imagery surrounding him is often frightening and funny at the same time. While this makes for a compelling film that pleased Burton fans, it also upset parents who were outraged that such dark content made its way into a PG-13 superhero film. The backlash was so intense that McDonald's pulled the Happy Meal toys associated with the film.

3 The Ring (2002)

The cursed video tape in The Ring

The American remake of Ringu managed to shock audiences not only with how good of an adaptation it was, but in how genuinely scary it was. Many would consider Gore Verbinski's remake to be one of the scariest movies of all time and for good reason. The film contains striking images that haunt the audience long after the film is over, and managed to do so with a PG-13 rating. Like Jaws, The Ring uses implications and smart editing to trick the audience into thinking they saw more than they did. It is a genuinely scary film because of the filmmaking, and not because of cheap elements that would earn it an R-rating.

2 Insidious

The demon appears behind Patrick Wilson in Insidious

The Insidious movie franchise has been delivering terrifying PG-13 horror films for over a decade, but the first one still takes the cake for feeling like it stole that rating. Insidious doesn't have the gore of Saw or the non-stop intensity of The Conjuring, but it does have genuinely well-crafted terror that would scare an audience of any age, let alone those allowed at a PG-13 movie. While the series has continued to mixed results, it's great that they can serve as gateway movies, letting younger audiences discover and get into the horror genre.

1 Drag Me to Hell

Christine staring at the ghost in her bed in Drag Me To Hell

With the Evil Dead films, Sam Raimi proved he was a master of over-the-top violent horror movies. Films of that genre often set records for the amount of fake blood being used, so it was surprising when Drag Me to Hell, his return to the horror game, received a PG-13 rating. Drag Me to Hell is not as violent as the Evil Dead films, but it is still a classic Raimi horror movie that gets away with as much as it possibly can with its rating. The film never feels like it is holding back in terms of gore or scares, and the only reason it managed to avoid the R-rating is that most of it is too over the top to take seriously. That, however, is what makes the movie a blast regardless of the rating.