Remy – Poltergeist (1982)
Ah, the great game changer. Did you know Poltergeist is one of the reasons we have PG-13 movies now? Yup, when I was a kid, that flick was PG. That and Spielberg’s name was enough to get my parents to take me see this movie. Let me tell you, they went on to regret that decision for a long, long time. I realize putting this film on a family friendly horror list is a bit extreme when it has men ripping their faces off, but let us not forget – that’s why Spielberg made it. He wanted to scare the shit out of families. Think of Jaws and the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark for more proof. Plus, Matt snagged Gremlins, and that’s another gem from the man who produced numerous tales of pseudo-terror.
So as I was hinting, enough families were scarred for life by this film and they wrote enough angry letters that the first seeds of the idea of a rating between PG and R came into play. Ugh, screw them. As far as I am concerned, PG-13 films desire only to achieve a mass-marketed rating in order to make the most money, ruining good films in the process.
Yup, I just took it from killer clown toys to being angry at the failing genre of cinema because of conservative parents.
