Halloween is just a few days away, so a website put together a list of the 10 scariest G-rated movies in modern history.
For the most part, they stuck with movies that came out after the PG-13 rating was established in 1984, but there are a few exceptions. (Interesting Fact: The first PG-13 movie was “Red Dawn” with Patrick Swayze.)
Here’s the list, along with some of the rationale:
1. “The Secret of Nimh”, 1982 . . . Haunting imagery, near-death experiences, and a darkness that can stay with you.
2. “Monsters, Inc.”, 2001 . . . It relies on the concept that the monsters under your bed are real, and they terrify you in your sleep because it’s the sole thing that keeps their economy going.
3. “The Brave Little Toaster”, 1987 . . . It’s about a group of derelict appliances seeking to find purpose by finding the person who abandoned them decades ago. Along the way, they almost get crushed at a scrap yard.
4. “A Little Princess”, 1995 . . . A morality tale about a privileged girl who’s forced into a life of indentured service after her father dies in World War One. Her story is bleak and laden with trauma until the last five minutes.
5. “Pinocchio”, 1940 . . . Mostly for the “Pleasure Island” sequence, where young boys are transformed into donkeys and sold into slavery.
6. “The Princess and the Frog”, 2009 . . . One of the most traumatic villain deaths in Disney history. Dr. Facilier is dragged clawing and screaming to the depths of, well, something.
7. “The Andromeda Strain”, 1971 (???) . . . It’s about a biological weapon (with extraterrestrial origins) that kills everyone in its path. Of course, that hits especially close to home in 2020.
8. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, 1996 . . . It explores the evils of fanaticism, persecution, and obsession . . . and is, quote, “one of the darkest animated films in history.”
9. “Toy Story 3”, 2010 . . . The toys outgrow their usefulness . . . and it comes to a point where they’re all on the brink of destruction, so they hold hands and welcome the end.
10. “The Adventures of Milo and Otis”, 1986 . . . This one is apparently tongue-in-cheek. The site says, quote, “The scariest thing about this movie is that it exists in the first place.”
