Classification of Similar Films

U Rated Film

The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari (1920)

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In my opinion, i don't think any horror films should be U or PG rated, as if they are classed within the genre of 'Horror' then theres a good chance it will include scene that aren't nice for younger viewers.
Saying this, The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari has maybe two or three small parts that the parents could either cover their child's eyes or go 'look, whats that over their?!' and put there attention elsewhere until the scene is over.
Because of this I can see why it would have been rated a U now. It was created in 1920, so the violence that they might have seen as rated 15 would be a U rating now as they were not aloud to show as many strong issues.
Apart from a couple of assaults, a stabbing shown in a silhouette and an attempted kidnapping, there are very few moments that might disturb or scar your children, i believe that this rating is very well chosen for this film. SO, to conclude, apart from the odd 'bugger' or 'damn' I see this as a suitable film for children to watch, provided their parents are next to them ready to jump if there is anything they don't want there little one seeing.

PG Rated Film

The Witches (1990)

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PG is a very suitable rating for this kind of Horror film. To start with it is based on a book by Roald Dahl, who is a heavily famous children's writer, and who's books are read by kids of all ages, all over the world.
There may be some scene that are graphic, including boys that have been turned into mice getting squished or killed by meat cleavers, BUT because of the mood of the film it is all done in light of laughter, and no blood or mice heads are shown, it only gives the impression. Also a witch is disintegrated into ash in one scene, but as the witch is one of the 'bad guys' there is a good chance that any of the younger audience would see it as a good laugh and be happy that the bad guy has been defeated.
However, it has been labelled a 'horror' for a reason. I still don't believe that any kind of Horror film can be rated U or PG as my knowledge of Horror films is that they can be psychological and gruesome. According to the British Board of Film Classification (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/pg), PG films can have some horror involved as long as it is only implied and it is in very little detail. In historical or fantasy (like The Witches settings, violence is a lot more acceptable, as it brings a distance to the violence and would entice young people to replicate the behaviour.  

12 Rated Film

Van Helsing (2004)

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Van Helsing is doubtfully a 12 rated film, or maybe higher. Just the description given by IMDb improves this; "The notorious monster hunter is sent to Transylvania to stop Count Dracula who is using Dr. Frankenstein's research and a werewolf for some sinister purpose. Rated 12 for nonstop creature action violence and frightening images, and for sensuality."
Not only does this film have some extremely violent and religious scenes that some people might find offencive, there is also a CGI created werewolf that may frighten or scar anyone of a younger audience.
There is also a lot of gore in this film too, but much of it is implied or only seen in shadows, which would be an argument for the 12 rating.
There is a lot of intense and violent scene in Van Helsing, and because of the supernatural creatures, within these include transformations and demonic vampire children that could frighten any younger audiences that might be watching.
Overall I think this film should be rated 15 as there is a lot more scenes that shouldn't be seen by younger people, and graphic creatures that could be scarring.
I do think though that the reason this film has been given a 12 rating is because this creates a bigger audience for it, which means more money for the company's that created Van Helsing.

12A Rated Film



Cry_Wolf (2005)

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With Cry_Wolf, i think that this should not be rated with the permission for people under the age of 12 to see this with an adult. There are lots of intense and disturbing scenes that could be very harmful to younger children, so I think this film should be at least rated 12 or 15.
Also this film is loosely based around a group of students that make games out of lying. If a younger audience saw this, that might see it as a good thing to lie and could promote bad behaviour. On the other hand if they were to watch the whole film it could show the kind of things that happen to people who lie too much, the old 'boy who cried wolf' phrase brought to life through film.
keying into this, there is also some beer drinking and implied drug use, and some slight nudity which is something a parent might not want there 10 year old child seeing, which is another reason the A should be taken out of the rating.
However there is only few scenes that include cuts and blood, unlike most horrors. I don't think that horror films are a lot worse when they are psychological, as they mess with your mind and that can be harming to younger children.
Like Van Helsing, I think that the reason the rating is so low is because the production company wanted a bigger audience. whats different about Cry_Wolf is that i think it NEEDED a bigger audience to get the profit it needed, as it isn't as popular a film as Van Helsing.

15 Rated Film

Abraham Lincoln; Vampire Hunter (2012)

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A 15 rating for this film seems pretty appropriate. this is because there is A LOT of violence throughout the film, from start to end. At the beginning a boy is shown being whipped, which could be hard to watch for younger audiences. After this there are a lot of'vampire vs human'style fights where most of the vampires end up losing, and losing graphically. there is also a lot of scene where vampires are biting humans throats.
One thing that could be quite disturbing is that when a vampire is about to be attacked, there facial features and expression looks very gruesome and this could be very distrubing and frightening.
Also sexual scenes and nudity could be a problem if there was a lower rating for this film, as there are a few scenes including a dead bare chested woman, a couple having sex in a bathtub and a scene of rape. These scenes would never be acceptable for a 12 or 12A as that kind of film are only aloud to imply that the film has scenes like this, or jumps ahead to seeing a couple laid in bed together the next morning. Abraham Lincoln; Vampire Hunter however, just blatantly shows this clips, even if they are just for a short moment.
Overall I think that beside a few highly gruesome scenes this film is perfectly rated 15, and is an excellent film all-round.

18 Rated Film

Se7en (1995)

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In my opinion, this film could probably pass for a 15, if a few slightly overly gruesome scenes are dimmed down a little, but i can see why the BBFC gave it a rating of 18.

Because this film is based around a serial killer that uses the seven deadly sins as his reason for killing, which means there is a different death for each one, most of which are very graphic, including; an obese man that has been forced to continue feeding, then another man kicks his stomach which explodes; a man is tied to a bed for a year, kept alive by an IV, who's brain is mush and has chewed off his own tongue, but still alive; a  man is forced to rape a prostitute with a large knife-like device (not shown, but described); the murderer also cuts off one of the detectives' wive's head, which then causes said detective to shoot the murderer in the head.

this horror is a very psychological horror and although there are no fight scenes or such like, there is a lot of gruesome deaths shown, and the murderer is constantly calm and seen as a complete nut-job.

als othere is a lot of mild and strong language that is frequently used, and this can also make a film an 18 as that kind of language is not supposed to be heard by younger ears.

Overall this Se7enhas got to be one of the most gruesome films i have ever seen, and even though only one murder is shown on screen and from a distance, the aftermath of the other six deaths are gruesome enough to be a big fat 18.