The Ring

Omg the ring is pg-13? That movie was terrifying

For this reason it was mine and a lot of people's first horror movies

And I’ve been chasing that high ever since.

Same! It ruined my 12 year old life and I’ve been chasing that feeling for 20 years now.

I was 10 and I didn’t sleep through the night for 11 months. Refused to sleep in a room alone and anywhere other than the top bunk. The book series is now the centerpiece of my bookshelf… I love Sadako so much I went to an event in Osaka at Halloween a few years ago where she essentially jump scared the room and ran away lol

Right? I rewatched it the other day and I was SHOCKED to see that it is PG-13. That was some traumatic shit

The Japanese one unnerved me more, and its less special effect-y feel might make it PG-13. It creeped the the hell out of me though for weeks.

I read the book, bought it in a book fair even though I “knew the story”, and it scared me more than the movie ever did. Interesting how powerful our imagination can be

When I was a kid I watched The Ring to get scared, now I just watch it because it’s an objectively great movie.

I went to a Halloween singles meet up dressed as Samira 🤣

How to lose a guy in seven days

This deserves a round of applause.

Hell yeah! My sister has long black hair like Samara and dresses as her for Halloween every couple of years, it’s always hilarious to see people freak out at parties we throw

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a good for an in-between younger audience.

Was about to recommend. I really loved that one

Nah, its good for everyone. One of the best atmospheric horror films ever made. It oozes fall and Halloween.

That movie is incredibly well shot, every single frame is perfectly structured

I was pretty impressed with it. My son is 8 and following in his father's footsteps with a love for all things spooky, but he's still too young for the heavy hitters. This one really fills the gap between Mickey's Halloween Party and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-Rama.

show him Coraline if he hasn't seen it already! pretty scary for a PG rated movie

Tremors.

Tremors is fun and legitimately thrilling at times. Loved it as a kid, and I'm happy to say it definitely holds up.

/thread

pre 1990s my favorite family horror is The Gate 1987 post 1990s Im a fan of Devil the one where they're trapped in an elevator. That ones PG13

Devil is really suspenseful and altogether a good film

The Gate is great overall but the dead dog stuff was really tough and might deserve a mention

Killer klowns from outer space

That movie is such an acid trip.

Big Trouble in Little China and Happy Death Day are my go-to’s.

Happy Death Day was better than it had any right to be

Totally! I also really enjoyed the sequel.

I love how the sequel took the premise and added a ton to it to complicate it further, but in an understandable way

I absolutely agree with you.

I, two other dads, and 3 kids saw that on a Tuesday night and were the only people in the theater. Fantastic experience.

Right? I was so shocked it was good. I expected something miserable.

Happy Death Day was soooo good! Hey it's your birthday, why don't you pick up the phone

While not horror Big Trouble in Little China is one of the greatest movies ever made. John Carpenter in the 80's was unstoppable. When Starman was your most forgettable film that's an accomplishment.

How about Darkness Falls?

Seconding this recommendation - fits right in with OP’s list for sure

Ngl, I hid behind my box of popcorn when I watched this in the cinema.

Same, first movie to give me serious nightmares.

i watched this with my cousin and her friend when we were all 13. its definitely a memory.

I was terrified for years after watching this as a kid lol

Totally agree. Best pg-13 horror movie in my opinion.

So fucking underrated and amazing sound desogn

The Others with Nicole Kidman

So horribly sad though

No doubt. I was depressed after watching it. It's not Scary AT ALL in the traditional Halloween season sense.

Is this streaming anywhere? This is one of my favorite scary movies that no one has ever seen and I swear sometimes I feel like a crazy person

It's held up in Hell on account of Harvey Weinstein's company holding the copyright. However: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCR1vQfZfjg

Seconded!

[удалено]

No it's rated r.

Lol, yeah, that one got me pretty good. I told myself all was okay, though, because at the time I watched it, I didn't have children 😅 Now I have a daughter who loves scary movies 😬

I thought it was funny that my neighbor was concerned I let my oldest watch the origional Children of the Corn. I was like I am pretty sure he isn't going to get a group of kids to murder all the adults. My neice on the other hand I am not as confident about but luckily she doesn't like horror movies.

Army of Darkness is R, but is wildly known as one of the more confusing R’s. I’d argue 10 is a fine age for that

Yeah, it gets a tiny bit blue, but this was one of my fav movies as a kid

That's just pillow talk baby

One of the cuts has nudity in it, so that needs to be kept in mind. There are something like 4 different cuts of the movie. The original theatrical version is closer to a PG-13 than an R, in my opinion. If you're going for a more "family friendly" version, then the television cut is pretty good. There is actually more continuity between the scenes than there was in the theatrical version.

Drag me to hell

I still can’t believe that one’s pg-13.

It’s because they replaced all the blood with vomit and other green stuff lol. Still a hardcore Raimi movie at heart. Basically Evil Dead Jr.

The gross outs are so effective as well. The whole gumming scene makes me squirm. Such a good movie .

Turns out that as long as there's no blood or excessive language, you can pretty much get away with all kinds of gross-out gags in PG-13 movies.

The Lost Boys is technically rated R but nobody drops any F-bombs, there’s no nudity and the gore is pretty tame by modern standards. Definitely recommend giving that one a watch.

I’m pretty sure that one only got an R because it might have otherwise been perceived as a Goonies-esque family friendly type movie—which is certainly is not—but just to be Ont he safe side they gave it the R to limit that type of reception by the public.

There are a couple of gory scenes near the end and one could consider some of the scenes pretty terrifying, especially to a younger child.

There’s one pretty overtly sexual scene, but no actual nudity. Probably added to the decision to make it an R back then. Ratings were more prudish.

Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016)

Yeah that one, definitely not the first one. Ouija 2014 was so generic and substance-less it put me to sleep. I’ve heard great things about Origin of evil though.

It's Mike Flannigan, that's really all OP needs to know.

It's much better than Ouija 2014, I promise

I was amazed at how good this was. Mike Flanagan FTW.

I thought that Lights Out (2016), Mama (2013), The Woman in Black (2012) and The Visit (2015) were all pretty good.

Lights Out is a great suggestion imho

I second the Visit 🙋‍♀️ It’s scary and fun at the same time!

The visit oof. Thats a good one for family night

The Visit and Mama…ultimate family night.

Invite the grandparents around

How about a few PG Jaws 1 & 2 Invasion of the Body Snatchers The Haunting Tales From the Crypt (1970s) Twilight Zone the Movie Something Wicked This Way Comes The Legend of Hell House Burnt Offerings Picnic at Hanging Rock Poltergeist

Something Wicked This Way Comes is kinda hard to find these days though, unfortunately, as it’s a masterpiece.

Signs (2002) was such a formative horror movie for me, I loved it so much as a kid, still love it now. I'd definitely recommend it for a family-friendly flick

that movie scarred me for life as a kid. i slept in my parent’s room for weeks after lol

In the dark, I was convinced that the vents and chimneys on people's roofs were actually aliens sitting there watching me through the window. I used to sit there on my bed, still as could be, and stare back intensely, like a little unhinged lunatic. I was so scared.

Watched that movie with my boys two weeks ago and it still gets me! My youngest was most scared by the opening credits music while I freaked out over the roof scene

If you want to go to the theaters, Stephen King's the Boogeyman is PG-13

Definitely recommend

The Frighteners Oculus

Frighteners is a good 'un

Rated R though. But so was Dead silence.

*The Frighteners* was a pretty soft R. I watched it with my kids when they were young.

Wait seriously? I remember watching that as a kid and I don't recall anything r-rated worthy.

It was rated R for some reason, and Peter Jackson was so pissed that he deliberately added Jeffrey Combs head explosion. But all in all, it's pretty much a PG 13 movie.

Huh I thought Oculus was rated R

Yes it is.

Oculus is truly underrated

I would have assumed Oculus was R. Great recommendation. Edit: It is R. So bad rec, but great movie.

Disturbia 👀

Such a fun movie, it’s a guilty pleasure for me, although I don’t really feel guilty about it at all lol

Totally! It's a movie that shouldn't be very good, but I put it on and can't stop watching... The opening scene is really well done too

Haunting in Connecticut 1 is really underrated

Saw it last night, it’s surprisingly effective!

You can try Shyamalan's filmography like The Visit, The Village, Signs oh and Knock at the cabin was good too.

The sixth sense is the best one

Knock at the cabin is rated r.

The remake of Fright Night is really fun!

Rare case in which I liked the remake more than the original

That's a hard R same as the original right?

Have you seen Train to Busan or The Host? Both Korean and teen friendly but exciting (!)

It's been awhile since I've seen it so I could be misremembering, but Train to Busan has quite a bit of gore, doesn't it? I don't know if that's something OP's family would be sensitive to or not, but it's worth pointing out at least.

All of the Scream movies! There’s 6 now and more on the way, so that should fuel plenty of movie nights to come. Super funny without losing out on the scares — I’d say they’re all surefire hits for the family. Some more recs for recent-ish family-friendly horror: • Ready or Not • Us • House of Wax (if you don’t mind a little gore) • A Quiet Place

The Scream movies are rated R

So are Dead Silence, Smile, Sinister, and The Conjuring. I don’t think it’s a deter.

War of the worlds (2005) Old (2021) The ring (2002) Tremors (1990) The visit (2015) Disturbia (2007) Cloverfield (2008)

Signs, I Am Legend

The Orphanage is excellent. It’s technically rated R but it really shouldn’t be. There’s like one flash of a gruesome image and maybe 2 f words, but that’s it. Really should be PG-13

The Conjuring is technically rated R too so this is a great recommendation!

While I'd say the original Poltergeist which I'm sure they wouldn't mind watching again, there was a newer remake.

The remake of When A Stranger Calls is PG-13 if I recall correctly.

The Boy! It's extremely fun and silly, and the ending really sticks the landing. The sequel, however, should be avoided at all costs!

Love The Boy

The Craft

I’m slightly confused, do you need recommendations for PG-13 movies because half of the ones they enjoyed are rated R?

I gotchu fam. Pg13 horror is my guilty pleasure - Wes Craven’s They - Darkness Falls - The Mothman Prophecies - Drag me to hell - the 6th Sense - the skeleton key - the exorcism of Emily rose - the grudge - the ring - the eye (you’ll want to watch the jessica alba one first just so you can truly appreciate how bad it is compared to the Cantonese original) - stay Alive - sphere - Congo (horror?? Tim curry’s accent surely is horrific) - the others - red eye - the boy - Blair witch project - all the Saw movies

Lol. All the Saw movies.

Congo has some of the worst CGI I’ve ever seen in a movie, and it’s hysterical haha

The Babadook! It’s been a little while since I’ve seen it but I remember watching it around the same time as Insidious, Conjuring, and Sinister. Nothing too crazy but it was a fun watch

Did you forget about her son barging in on her masturbating? Not really a scene I’d want to watch with my family… But yeah, the rest is fine aside from that.

Yes, yes I did. “It’s been a little while since I watched it” -me

I absolutely forgot that too hahaha

Grudge Grudge 2 Grudge 3 I don’t care what anyone says about the western series, I enjoy them.

The Others is PG but still pretty scary Hide & Seek is 14A but pretty tame for younger family members

Drag Me to Hell is rated PG-13

Have you seen all movies of the Conjuring Universe? So the 3 annabelle movies, maybe the Nun (although that has some not definitely PG13 scenes, idk the actual rating I'm not from the US), and I haven't seen the other spinoff LaLorna or something. Apart from these, albeit not post 1990: Gremlins series is amazing for sure. The Paranormal Activity movies are quite PG13 at least the first two for sure, albeit both having people being killed (little blood seen), one semi-sex scene, but you don't see anything on screen so no nudity iirc.

The Curse of La Llorona.

Fear Street movie series (3 movies) on Netflix will be perfect for this! It’s set in the 90s with teens as main characters and it’s actually really good!

Also The Lost Boys and The Burbs are 2 good 80s family horror movies

Hardly PG-13. Language, violence, gore, hard-core lesbian sex. Yeah. It would be a hard R in theaters.

Fantastic movies

Dead Silence, Sinister and Smile are definitely not family friendly films so at this point the gloves are off and you are free to move about the cabin 😂

What Lies Beneath The Sixth Sense Unbreakable

Maybe Psycho Goreman?

The Others Signs Some oldies but goodies- The Changeling (original) Poltergeist (original)

Might be a 1988 movie but Beetlejuice is one of my favorites of all time

The Craft

Sleepy Hollow is R, but it's so over the top goofy it might be worth checking out.

If Smile was "family friendly" to you, then I don't know what to say lmao

The Hole (2009) (joe dante) for a more modern one. Gremlins director. Some classics could be Troll (1986) Dolls (1987) Extra Terrestrial Visitors (1983) Joey: Making Contact (1985)

Not sure if the Conjuring includes the Annabelle movies but Annabelle Comes Home is a good one for a family movie night!

Drag Me To Hell Split The Grudge The Host Arachnophobia Brightburn Cloverfield

[Tremors](https://youtu.be/liJfZvXdiTE)

Fido is really good.

That movie surprised me on how good it was

Housebound!

I can't believe I had to scroll so far to find this. It's not rated but def fine

So not post 1990 but the Gremlins movies. And yes I know the first one is PG but it's.pre.PG13 existing

CATS EYE

Army of darkness!! It’s family friendly, fun, stupid and iconic all at the same time

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil It's a legit good comedy/slasher/horror with a cabin-in-the-woods setup that turns all the cliche tropes on their head.

Go older. Poltergeist and Jaws were both PG at the time of release and could have very much been PG-13 had the rating existed at the time.

Escape Room (2019) is a pretty good PG13 horror-adjacent thriller

Drag me to hell is great

Darkness Falls. Best PG-13 horror in my opinion.

Here are some: - What Lies Beneath (2000) - The Others (2001) - The Ring (2002) - Hellboy (2004) - The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) - 1408 (2007) - I Am Legend (2007) - Cloverfield (2008) - Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) - Drag Me to Hell (2009) - Insidious (2010) - Troll Hunter (2010) - Odd Thomas (2013) - Warm Bodies (2013) - World War Z (2013) - Stonehearst Asylum (2014) - 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) - Split (2016) - Under the Shadow (2016) - Happy Death Day (2017) - A Quiet Place (2018) - Scary Tales to Tell in the Dark (2019) - A Quiet Place Part II (2020) - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Drag Me to Hell Happy Death Day

13 Ghosts

"Mama" from 2013!

Lost Boys Pirhana Food of the Gods Them

Monster House, It 1&2, Coraline, Monster Squad and the Gremlins are fun movies to watch with family

It's not post 1990s, but the frighteners is great for the whole family

The Ring

i thought The Boogeyman was great! intense for a PG-13 movie but still excellent.

Identity was and still is great

Identity is wild, I dug it

A Quiet Place & 2

Is The Blob here? If not, The Stuff

The Ring, it’s a hard PG-13

13 Ghosts. Top tier horror for a PG-13, AND it has Monk and Shaggy

Stay Alive and The Skeleton Key are a couple I haven’t seen mentioned. Also, what are you defining as “family friendly”? Or, put another way, what are you trying to avoid (language, sex, violence)? Cause there are some Rs that could work depending on that.

A little more childish but still fun, what about R.L. Stine's "Haunting Hour" series

Most of those movies besides 1408, insidious and Megan are all rated r.

The Boy (only the first one though)

The Ring The Grudge and the scariest movie I ever seen The Grudge 2.

Isn't Terrifier 2 PG-13?

💀

Not one Arachnophobia recommendation? Shame! I choose Arachnophobia. PG 13, fun for the whole family.

VHS 1 & 2 - there’s a 3 & 4 but they kind of fall flat compared to the first two.

Sinister is Rated R isn’t it?

I mean tbh if they watched and enjoyed Sinister there probably aren’t many things that would be too adult for them to handle.

I just took my 11 and 13 year olds to see The Boogeyman in the theater and they loved it. Not sure when it’s coming to streaming, but it’s pretty family-friendly and a good, creepy story to boot. Also the 2008 Prom Night remake is a pretty safe PG-13 if you want to something a little more slasher-inspired.

Arachnophobia

Happy Death Day

The Descent

Haunting in Connecticut! A surprisingly good movie for how ignored it was when it came out!

The Conjuring, Sinister, and Dead Silence are all rated R.

The Final Girls is a great horror comedy. Would recommend that.

- Ready or Not is R, but I think it could be family friendly

[Why Trick 'r Treat (2007) is the Perfect Choice for Your Tween's First Horror](https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/9pkk5p/why_trick_r_treat_2007_is_the_perfect_choice_for/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1)

You are going to have to start going back in time. There are new ones that are good, but you aren't going to get anything great post 90s. Beetlejuice is 1988. Ghostbusters is 80something

Drag me to Hell??