Film Certificate Examples

U	PG	12/12A	15	18
	Comedy and peril	Exposition less	Psychological	Gore
PeeWee’s Big Adventure Hotel Transylvania Scooby Doo	Corpse Bride Gremlins Ghostbusters Edward Scissorhands The Nightmare Before Christmas Coraline	The Woman in Black Warm Bodies Dark Shadows The Hole	Mirrors Paranormal Activity Unborn Silent Hill The Devil Inside The Possession Chernobyl Diaries	Texas Chainsaw Massacre Saw My Bloody Valentine Exorcist Friday 13th Nightmare on Elm street Carrie Halloween The Descent

Subgenres

Subgenres

Just saying that a movie is a horror doesn’t narrow it down enough it just cuts out any mistakes of people thinking it’s a romance, comedy or a western etc… subgenres break a movie down give the audience more of an idea to the type of movie they are going to watch when talking about horror movies there are many different subgenres. The subgenre supernatural includes things like ghosts, monsters, dark forces, and zombies pretty much anything scary that cannot be found in the world as we know it. Secondly dark fantasy would include fantasy elements with a horror twist, or horror with a fantasy setting. Sci-fi horror a mixture between science fiction and horror usually including; aliens, robots or space travel are used to contribute to feeling of horror. Psychological Horror driven by characters’ fears and dedicated more on psychological fear than on murder, mutilation, and gore. Could be supernatural, but is more often associated with those twists where the protagonist turns out to be insane .Erotic Horror/Paranormal Romance there’s plenty of erotica involving horrifying situations/the supernatural and paranormal romance has gotten huge among the success like Twilight. Suspense/Thriller does not involve any supernatural or otherworldly aspects, instead relying on real-life situations to create horror through serial killers, deadly situations, natural disasters, and psychopaths.

Questionarre summaries

Questionare summaries.
	YES	NO
Does it sound interesting?	10	0
Would you be interested in watching the rest of the film?	9	1
	Thriller	Horror	Other
What type of genre do you think this is?	7	3	0
Where would you expect to see it?	DVD	Cinema	Online
	4	3	3
	Wide	Niche
Wide or niche audience?	8	2
	Mystery	Suspense	Gore	Creative	intriguing
What is most liked about the storyline?	1	2	0	4	3
What is disliked about the storyline?	Nothing	Predictable	Boring	gore	lack of detail
	5	2	0	1	2
Who is thought to be the target audience?	Children	Teens	Adults	Elderly
	0	9	1	0
What certificate would be expected for this film?	PG	12a	15	18
	0	1	8	1
How could the storyline be improved?	Nothing	Add detail	More gore	Unsure
	1	5	2	2

History of horror

Horror movies have been around since the time movies started being made. Before viewing any horror film, it might be a good idea to take a look into the literature that is behind it. It always helps to look into the literature behind a film because this way, we get a better sense of the movie and the story behind it.

The horror movies we see now owe a lot to the horror literature of the past and the legacy that it left behind.  There exist a ton of horror movies with all sorts of plots and stories, mainly because of the rich literature that started this entire genre. Horace Walpole’s classic tale filled with the supernatural called The Castle of Otranto first coined the term horror in 1764. Following this in succeeding centuries, other literary giants like Edgar Allan Poe also wrote stories, one of them being The Raven. Today, some of the great horror movies that we enjoy are still carrying themes from masterpieces from the past such as Frankenstein and Dracula, which were both written in the 1800′s.

At the infant stages of the horror movie genre, stories about the supernatural were what one could usually see being featured in films. Horror movies began in the 1890′s with silent short films. The short silent film of Georges Melies called Le Manior du diable has always been thought to be the first real horror film. It was also around this time that the Japanese started making their own short silent films with Bake Jizo and shinin no Sosei.

The adaptation of the Hunchback of Notre Dame was probably the first full length horror film to be created. The creation of the early horror movies in the early 1900′s also came with German expressionist films, which abounded during that time. Horror movie filmmakers such as Tim Burton were highly inspired by these early films. Lon Chaney Sr. became America’s first horror star, when they began tinkering with horror films and the genre in the 1920′s.

The efforts from Hollywood in the 1930′s brought about greater popularity and recognition for the horror film genre. it was around this time that Gothic horror films that dealt with supernatural themes were also created, alongside the stories of Dracula and Frankenstein. Follow the link for more information on horror movies. In 1940, Universal Studios created the iconic classic The Wolfman. It was also around this time that other B movies, which were recreations of older classics, were also created.

There were a lot of innovations in film technology in the 1950′s which improved and evolved film making in general. Certain social ideas and fears were starting to be injected into films, but not in such a way that was too direct. Alfred Hitchcock’s works in the 1960′s were also a hug step in the horror film making industry.

Film classification for horror

Film classification for horror

The use of frightening elements which might scare or unsettle an audience is part of a long tradition of story telling and film making. Many children enjoy the excitement of scary sequences, but, where films are targeted at a younger audience, classification decisions will take into account such factors as the frequency, length and detail of scary scenes as well as horror effects, including music and sound, and whether there is a swift and reassuring outcome.

Older audiences often pay to see horror films because they like being frightened or shocked and such works are classified at an appropriate category to ensure that the young and vulnerable are protected from too intense an experience.

Scary sequences should be mild, brief and unlikely to cause undue anxiety to young children. The outcome should be reassuring.

Frightening sequences should not be prolonged or intense. Fantasy settings may be a mitigating factor.

Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not frequent or sustained.

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

The strongest horror works are passed at 18, they may contain strong horror, gore or sustained threat and menace which exceeds the boundaries of 15.

History of Horror

History of horror

The genre horror seeks to bring out a negative emotional reaction from their target audience by playing on the target audience’s most common fears. They often have scenes in them that startle the audience through the means of gruesome effects. Many horror movies overlap with other genres most commonly thriller but can be any really for example scary movie is a horror movie but overlaps with comedy. The first representations of supernatural events appear in several silent short films created by directors in the late 1890s such as Georges Melies his most notable being Le Manoir du diable “the house of the devil” which is sometimes credited as being the first horror film. It was in the 1930s that American film producers, particularly Universal Pictures Co. Inc. made the genre horror very popular bringing to the cinema a series of successful movies such as Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) which also overlapped science fiction films with gothic horror such as James Whale’s the invisible man (1933). With the rapid pace of new technologies been developed that occurred around the 1950s the tone of horror film shifted from gothic toward concerns that some saw as being more relevant to the late-centenary audience. The horror film was seen to fall into two subgenres: the horror of Armageddon film and the horror of demonic film. A flurry of low budget productions featured humanity overcoming threats from “outside”: alien invasions and deadly mutations to people, plants and insects most notably in films imported from japan, whos society had first-hand knowledge of the effects of nuclear radiation. In 1964, the financial successes of low budget gore films, and the critical and popular success of Rosemary’s baby (1968), led to the release of more films with occult themes in the 1970s, such as The Exorcist (1973).  The first half of the 1990s, the genre continued many of the themes from the 1980s. Sequels from the Childs play and leprechaun series enjoyed some commercial success. The slasher films. A nightmare on elm street and Friday the 13^th all sequels in the 1990s, most of which met with varied amount of success at the box office. The start of the 100s saw a quiet period for the genre. Franchise films such as Freddy vs Jason made a stand in cinemas. Final destination (2000) marked a successful revival of teen-centred horror and spawned many sequels.

Film classification research

 

In the UK Films are regulated by the BBFC (British board of Film classification). They are an independent, self-financing and not-for-profit media content regulator who formed in 1912. They aim to protect the public from content which might raise harm risks, empower the public to make informed viewing choices, recognise and respect adult freedom of choice within the law, provide a cost-effective, efficient classification service within their statutory remit, work in partnership with the industry to develop innovative service models to provide content advice which support emerging media delivery systems and to provide an effective service to enforcement agencies.

BBFC examines and age rates films and videos before they are released. This ensures the highest possible level of protection and empowerment. They watch films all the way through and award an age rating and insight into each one, then they reach an age rating by applying the standards and criteria contained in their Classification Guidelines. In order for them to rate the film they look at issues such as discrimination, drugs, horror, dangerous and easily imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex and violence, as well as considering the context, tone and likely impact of a work on the potential audience.

                                                                                                                                     

There are seven different certificates given to films, these are: U, PG, 12, 12A, 15, 18 and R18.

	Universal – Suitable for all It is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child. But a ‘U’ film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. ‘U’ films should be set within a positive moral framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror. If a work is particularly suitable for a pre-school child to view alone, this will be indicated in the Consumer Advice.
	PG - Parental Guidance General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A ‘PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older.  However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.
	12A/12 Suitable for 12 years and over exactly the same criteria are used to classify works at ‘12A’ and ‘12’. These categories are awarded where the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works classified at these categories may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them. The ‘12A’ category exists only for cinema films. No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult, and films classified ‘12A’ are not recommended for a child below 12. An adult may take a younger child if, in their judgement, the film is suitable for that particular child. In such circumstances, responsibility for allowing a child under 12 to view lies with the accompanying adult. The ‘12’ category exists only for video works. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a ‘12’ rated video work.
	15 Suitable only for 15 years and over. No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.
	18 Suitable only for adults No-one younger than 18 may see an ‘18’ film in a cinema. No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an ‘18’ rated video.
	R18 To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults of not less than 18 years. The ‘R18’ category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. ‘R18’ video works may not be supplied by mail order.