Predator: Badlands’ MPA rating reignited the enduring debate over PG-13 horror and its effectiveness, at least when it comes to violence and gore. Luckily, PG-13 horror has proven time and time again throughout the decades that it’s more than capable of inducing chills. Sometimes it even finds clever ways around its rating, delivering on horror through potent scares or monster violence. This week’s streaming picks are dedicated to PG-13 horror movies that bring the intensity and make you forget all about the pesky rating debate.
As always, here’s where you can watch them this week.
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
Alien vs. Predator – Disney+, FX Now, Hulu
Predator: Badlands isn’t the first Predator movie to earn a PG-13 rating. The first crossover film between two juggernaut sci-fi horror franchises served as a sturdy example that you don’t need humans to deliver ultra-violent carnage. While sequel Requiem did push the series into R territory, director Paul W.S. Anderson infused his trademark action stylings with a plot reminiscent of At the Mountains of Madness as an archaeological expedition in Antarctica finds itself caught in a vicious battle. Anderson doles out some punishing demises in this irreverent but entertaining entry.
Drag Me to Hell – HBO Max, Peacock, Tubi
Loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) wants a promotion so severely that she ignores her instincts and the desperate pleas from elderly Sylvia Ganush (Lorna Raver) to extend her mortgage. It results in a curse that dooms Christine to three days of increasing supernatural torture by a Lamia and will end when she’s dragged to Hell. Drag Me to Hell showcases Sam Raimi’s trademark blend of physical comedy and horror that builds to an unforgettable, polarizing ending that’ll leave you pondering the morality of it all. Cakes ooze pus and Christine’s subjected to all manner of gross-out splatstick gags, but it’s still just PG-13.
The Ring – Hoopla, Paramount+, Peacock, Pluto TV, Tubi
In this remake of Hideo Nakata’s Ring, journalist Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) finds herself pulled into a nightmarish bid to survive a terrifying curse when she begins investigating the mysterious death of her niece. The shocking reveal of that death would earn a spot on this list alone, but director Gore Verbinski doesn’t stop there when it comes to packing in the scares or unsettling horror imagery. The cursed tape that causes death seven days after watching it unleashes the wrathful, haunting tactics of Samara, a long-haired, childlike entity that’s pure evil. Even worse is when Samara begins her slow crawl out of the well, then the TV, to claim her prey. When it comes to PG-13 horror, The Ring makes for requisite viewing.
Underwater – Disney+, FX Now, Hulu
Underwater is a grand spectacle film that feels explicitly tailored for the horror fan, one that doesn’t bother with pretension and dives straight into the horror. The inciting event that knocks out an entire underwater drilling station and leaves its handful of survivors scrambling across the ocean floor to safety happens within the first few minutes. From there, director William Eubank (2014’s The Signal) unfurls an intense, high-stakes survival thriller that sees Kristen Stewart and more trek across the bottom of the ocean floor while stalked by deep-sea creatures. It’s the type of creature feature that wears its cinematic influences on its sleeves and, because of the premise and setting, makes for a mostly bloodless but no less thrilling horror movie.
The Vigil – AMC+, Kanopy, Shudder
Writer/Director Keith Thomas brings a new perspective to a familiar setup without sacrificing any scares. The ominous atmosphere and unsettling moments in The Vigil deliver the chills. The filmmaker also takes significant measures to ensure that this story is told in an accessible way. A familiar tale of demonic possession becomes enriched by its subtext of inherited generational traumas, and its core themes of guilt and religious obligation are inherently relatable regardless of beliefs. They’re universal. An underexplored corner of religion and folklore finally gets explored excitingly and elicits goosebumps in the process.
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