...to make a really scary movie with less than an "R" rating? I just watched the turd-sandwich also known as Boogeyman (2005) the other night, and it got me thinking - I had to put the brain cells to work somehow so that Boogeyman didn't drop my IQ any further!

How many times have you said to yourself, "Man, that movie could have been so much better if they didn't go for the $$$ and sanitize it down for a PG-13!" Not that Boogeyman was one of those! I don't think an NC-17 could have saved it - unless it was for 30 additional minutes of gratuitous lesbian nudity. Maybe.

Well, to me it's not the gore that makes a movie scary, it's atmosphere. A movie without gore could be scary, but then it might be rated for 'scariness' or something.
But what's the problem? Does rating really matter? I don't give a shit about the rating of a movie, it's more about cuts they made.

Gore is one factor the MPAA uses in their ratings, as is language, nudity, drug use, violence, etc. I wasn't implying that gore alone solves all ills.

Just as you said, cuts, scene/sequence intensity, tension & release, it all adds to the terror. I was just saying that perhaps some of these movies could have all those elements to make for a really good horror flick, but they decided not to include them so they could appeal to the larger (and thus more profitable) audience that goes to PG-13 movies.

I seriously don't know what's supposed to be scarey these days Some films I like are less than 18. The original child's play is a 15, Dog Soldiers is a 15 despite abundances of swearing and a decent amount of gore... the classic horror movies are all pgs now. Poltergiest is a 15, The Birds and Psycho are 15s.

Anything "modern horror" (ie. the same basic premise of any new horror venture, ie. these new horror PG13), suck not because of rating because of lack of effort, purpose and point. They just aim to hit certain targets, that's all they seem to have in mind. Hell, its just the Labour government of movies

Despite Ringu being a MUCH better movie, I'd have to say that The Ring is the only non-R horror movie that has freaked me out that comes to mind right away.

The current definition of "scary" seems to be: quick cuts to pale, sunken faces, screeching violins and contra-basses, and what I've been calling "creepy-walk" (like Samara Morgan).

Now that I'm thinking about it, 13 Ghosts had a lot of potential. I remember watching the special features on the DVD thinking, "They should have incorporated all the ghosts' backstories into the movie!" Plus, I've hated F. Murray Abraham since By The Sword. Ugh.