Classification
- Natasha
Age Ratings
'Suitable for all.
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Parental guidance.
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Cinema release suitable for 12 years and over.
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Video release suitable for 12 years and over.
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Suitable for only 15 years and over.
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Suitable for only adults.
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Adult works for licensed premises only. '[16]
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Researched Films
Paranormal Activity - 15
Grave Encounters - 15
The Purge - 15
The Omen - 18
The Exorcist - 18
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - 18
The Conjuring - 15
Insidious - 15
The Amityville Horror - 15
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In conclusion, the majority of the researched trailers present an aged '15' movie, this allows for a larger target audience as the viewers are not restricted to just adults. In addition, the use of the aged 15 classification may be less likely to put people off of viewing due to the fear of extreme violence or terror being presented in the film.
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15
Text From Audio
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.
Discrimination:
The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language.
Drugs:
Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse (for example, through instructional detail). The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.
Imitable behaviour:
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting.
Language:
There may be strong language. Very strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification.
Nudity:
There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. There may be nudity in a sexual context but usually without strong detail.
Sex:
Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.
Threat:
There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to be acceptable.
Violence:
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context.'[17]
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Age Rating For A Trailer
'Issues in trailers and advertisements may be rated higher than equivalent material in a main feature because they are unbidden and contextual arguments are harder to make.
Audiences actively choose to see a full length feature based on expectations of the particular genre at the given classification and on the BBFCinsight. In contrast, they have no choice about the accompanying trailers or advertisements that they see and which may be very different in tone and content to the film the audience has chosen to view. In addition, because trailers and advertisements are short and self-contained, borderline material is less likely to be justified by context and more likely to cause offence.​'[18]
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'You need an R rating because without one, you can't advertise and the film won't get shown' - Tobe Hooper
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The British Board of Film Classification
'Historically, the BBFC has often treated horror as a special case and in the late 1930s actually introduced an H for 'Horror' rating to warn the public of the likely content of such works. Indeed, 'horror' films were banned from distribution in the latter years of the Second World War in case they damaged public morale, often not being released until several years later when their initial power to disturb had somewhat waned.
However, critical indifference or censorial intervention were the least of the genre's problems when it was claimed that the more extreme examples - particularly those which had never been submitted for theatrical certificates or may have required cuts - were seized by the police and often successfully prosecuted as obscene works when released on video in the early, unregulated 1980s.
Many of these films of the horror variety were subsequently labelled 'video nasties', a catch-all term later refined to mean works which had been successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act 1959. Although many of these works were not legally available in the UK for many years, some have now been classified on DVD, although the content of some of them (eg Cannibal Holocaust and I Spit On Your Grave, both resubmitted in 2011) means that cuts are still necessary.
In the 80s and 90s, the Friday 13th, Nightmare On Elm Street and Scream series, as well as recent 21st century remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, (the original having been rejected on film in 1975 before finally being rated 18 uncut on film in 1999), and Dawn Of The Dead have proved hugely successful with newer, younger audiences, restablishing the horror genre as a top box office draw. The successful Saw and Hostel series and other works which would now be described as 'torture porn' illustrate how horror film-makers have raised the bar with ever stronger horror and gory images.
Horror elements in films, especially those aimed at younger audiences, are treated with great caution. Many children enjoy the excitement of scary sequences, but where films are targeted at a younger audience, age rating 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. In 1993, the BBFC hosted a series of test screenings for the dinosaur movie The Lost World: Jurassic Park to which an audience of hundreds of children and their teachers were invited. After careful analysis of their reactions, (the vast majority loved the experience), the BBFC opted to rate the film PG with the condition that clear Consumer Advice (now known as BBFCinsight) was displayed on all film posters – the first time that this had ever happened.
Since then, some notable blockbusters aimed at younger audiences have all contained significant horror elements. Examples includeSpider-Man 2 (PG), Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (PG) and Harry Potter: The Chamber Of Secrets (PG) (the latter film's Consumer Advice (now known as BBFCinsight) contained a warning about a scene featuring some 'scary spiders'! More recently, horror has been an issue in PG rated children's films ranging from Monster House and Igor to Coraline and Paranorman.' [20]
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