Blumhouse's slasher film, and slashers are especially known for pushing the R-rating's limits.
That said, this conversation isn't new. Every time a high profile horror film is rated PG-13, there's a certain amount of complaining about it. While it's true that most of history's best horror movies are rated R, that doesn't mean a PG-13 rating is some kind of death sentence for the genre. In fact, there have been some really great horror films with ratings less than R, and that's not even counting classics released prior to the PG-13 rating's creation in 1984.
There are a large amount of PG-13 horror movies worth watching, and it's important to note that the examples discussed below are by no means exhaustive. Still, they should serve to make clear that a PG-13 rating is nothing for horror fans to be scared of.
There Are Many Great PG-13 Horror Films
For a relatively recent example of good PG-13 horror, one doesn't even need to look outside Blumhouse's own catalog. 2010's Happy Death Day. Even within the content limitations of PG-13, Happy Death Day managed to feature creative kills, likeable characters, and an engaging story.
Horror Doesn't Need Gore & Profanity to be Good
While the overall trend in mainstream horror filmmaking is a lack of nudity - much to the consternation of some - what still sets apart R-rated horror from PG-13 is more blood, gore, and swearing. The thing is though, while those things can certainly add fun to a film, they aren't required for a horror movie to be scary or entertaining. For example, look at 2002's Blumhouse's Black Christmas remake suck? It might, but if it does, it won't be because it's PG-13.
