Best PG-13 Horror Movies for Halloween + Movie Review: The Guilty + Should 'Joker' Get A Sequel?

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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Movie mis Movie Podcast, your go to source for all things movies, and I'm your host, movie Mike, and over the next few weeks leading up to Halloween, I'm diving into a bunch of horror and scary movie topics. So today breaking down the best PG thirteen rated horror movies for Halloween. Some of these are a little more scary than others, but we'll get into that. Plus a movie review of a new Netflix movie called The Guilty with Jake Jillen Hall. And in movie news, i'll get into Joaquim Phoenix talking for the very first time at a possible Joker sequel. So much to talk about on this week's episode. Appreciate you being here being subscribed to the podcast. Without any further ado, let's get started. In a world where everyone and their mother has a podcast, one man stands to infiltrate the ears of listeners like never before in a movie podcast, A man with so much movie knowledge, he's basically like a walking on mtvt with classes from the Nashville Podcast Network. Movie Movie So, I love Halloween, I love horror movies. I love the feeling of being scared while watching a movie. And I honestly think the horror genre is really the one that kind of cemented my love for watching and reviewing movies, because as a kid, there were always just something about them that made a more cinematic, that made me want to watch them to maybe sometimes want to go behind my parents back to watch them. And originally, like when I kind of wanted to be a director or a writer as a kid for movies, I was always writing horror movies. And as a kid, I remember the hardest thing was being able to watch our rated horror movies. Every movie that I wanted to watch that was a horror movie was rated R. I would see the trailer come on TV and be so let down at the very end when the big movie voice comes on and says rated are now admitted without a parent. That always kind of like, oh man, I can't go watch that movie. And then I remember in my small town of Watsing Hatchie, the thing to do on Friday night was to go to our movie theater, and the coolest thing was the who would sneak into our rated movies and then come back on Monday and tell us about them. And I never got to see an R rated movie in theaters until I was actually like seventeen years old. So that's why I wanted to talk about the best PG thirteen rated horror movies. That movies that are still scary and you can watch maybe with your kids, or if you're not really super into horror movies. It's kind of that fine line in between. I think this is the question I get probably the most right now, is Hey, I'm trying to watch some movies with my kids. I want something that's appropriate for them, but also that's genuinely a scary movie and something we can both watch and enjoy. So I think there's a very fine line when it comes to PG thirteen and rated are basically what would make a movie PG thirteen is there's a little bit less just straight on blood and gore. Violence also has to do with language. I think you're allowed maybe an one F word in a PG thirteen rated movie and a handful of S words, and of course the sexual content. There is no nudity in a PG thirteen rated movie, obviously, and the interesting thing about PG thirteen is it wasn't even invented until n that's kind of when they adapted, all right, we need a different system, and before then it was either PG or rated R. There was no one between. It was either you're gonna watch it with the entire family it's okay for kids to watch, or no kids can watch it, it's only for adults. And it's actually credited to a couple of movies. Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom came out in four back in May of that year, and even Steven Spielberg said, you know, there's some parts of this movie that I wouldn't really want kids to see. And then the following month, in June, Gremlins came out and that proved to not be as kid friendly as the PG rating would say. So then they finally came to the decision to make a PG thirteen rating, and Red Dawn was the very first PG thirteen rated movie to ever come out on July one, four and since then we've been able to decide, all right, is this okay for teenagers to watch? You got the PG thirteen rated movie, and I feel like sometimes you think, oh, it's PG thirteen, couldn't really be that scary. So I decided to pick some movies that, yes, they do in fact end up being that scary. They don't need the violence, they don't need the language to have that message come across. So I have five that I picked that I think everybody would enjoy and they're great to watch right now in October, right around Halloween. Also, just have a bunch of honorable mentions because I think there's a bunch that can make this list. So let's start it off with number five, The Exorcism of Emily Rose from two thousand and five. And there's something about exorcism movies that just get me. Maybe it's because sometimes they're based on true stories. Sometimes just the things and images depicted are just so scary. And I remember this movie in particular. I had nightmares after watching this movie. And it's a PG thirteen rated movie. But the movie is about a lawyer investigating a priest exorcism that ended in a girl's death. That's not a spoiler, that's what the entire movie is about. And overall there's just a bunch of just kind of frightening, very intense scenes, very mild swearing, So that keeps that PG thirteen rating. But I would say the rising action is just really great in this movie, and once it gets to that climax, it's a very intense scene. It's a very intense moment that, of all the horror movies I've seen in the last twenty years, still stays with me to this day. There's a specific phrase that Emily Rose says while she's being possessed that'll stick in your head. You won't be able to count to six after this movie, I'll tell you that. So I'll put that one at number five. At number four is a movie from called Devil and m Night. Shamalan wrote the story for this movie. He didn't direct it, but it's about five people who are trapped in the elevator and one of them is the Devil. I think that's the greatest elevator pitch for all the movies on this list, probably because elevator is in the description to that but played and symbol. That's what this movie is about. They're trying to figure out who in the elevator is the Devil. I think out of all the ones on this list, this one probably plays with the line of PG. Thirteen two our rating the most mainly because of the violence in this It is pretty blood but apparently not bloody enough to get an R rating, so all the scenes and all the movie basically takes place entirely in one location, so it's a good mix of horror and also suspense and mystery. If you're into that, I think you will enjoy this one. So I put that one at number four. At number three. Is one of my favorite horror movies, not even it just makes this list, but out of all the horror movies in the last fifteen years or so, I really loved Insidious came out back in It's about this couple moves into a brand new house, discovers that it's haunted, and then it appears that their son is possessed by whatever is living in this house. And I think this is a really great example of how you don't really need a whole lot of violence, you don't really need a whole lot of blood to make something scary. There's just such great suspense in this movie, and it does what I love when it comes to horror movies is not revealing the monsters, not revealing the demons too early, so you're not just saturated with like, oh, there's these scary creatures throughout the entire movie. They're very kind of particular way, and they do show the demons and I think that just has such a bigger weight to it. When you actually get to see them, actually experienced that moment for the first time on the screen, you're genuinely scared. There's one scene in particular that the image kind of stays in my mind. It reminds me of when I first saw Signs in theaters, which I don't really consider a horror movie, but there's a moment where the alien walks across for the very first time you see them, and even now to this day, I remember the feeling that I had while watching that in a theater and how scary that was. I think Insidious was the next movie to kind of do that to me. So this one has some mild gore, not a whole lot of blood, moderate profanity, but overall, what I think gives it the rating of a PG three teen movie is it just pretty intense and just kind of disturbing because it is dealing with demons. So I'd say it feels more like a kind of a classic R rated movie without the gore. At Number two is a more recent movie from that. I feel like a lot of people have probably watched, and some people kind of debate whether or not this is a horror movie or not. I'd it has a little bit less of a horror movie feel, more just of a monster movie feel, But when it comes to the amount of suspense that it's able to create through the tension, through the acting, and through the basically no other sound than just movements and gestures in this movie, I myself do consider this a horror movie. I think it's a modern day classic. And the movie I'm talking about is A Quiet Place from if you haven't seen it, it's a movie about these creatures who are hunting humans and they pray by sound, so this family is forced to live their entire life in silence, and out of all the movies on this list, it's the only one without any sex scenes, no nudity or no swearing. Just straight up big monsters, big action, intense scenes. That's what you get out of this movie. Just kind of a classic monster movie feel, but done in a way that I felt hasn't been done before, and was able to make a pretty good formula out of a movie. So much so that A Quiet Place to basically took what A Quiet Place One was and kind of did it again. So I didn't love that one as much. But if you end up watching A Quiet Place that you haven't seen it yet, I think you could go on to watch a Quiet Place too and get a lot of the same, a little bit more ramped up action, in a little bit more violence, I would say, But it's basically takes place right after the first one, goes into the second one, and kind of followed the same plot. So that's not a bad thing because you're already taking a great movie and kind of doing it again. Even though I didn't love it as much, it's still a much better movie than a lot of other horror movies right now, and definitely a movie you would not feel awkward watching it with your entire family, which is always hard for horror movies. I think that's mainly the reason I wanted to do this list is because as a kid, I remember watching like sometimes my parents would let me watch an R rated movie because I had an older brother, older sister. They were teenagers and already watching them no matter what, and for me I would the youngest. So I kind of got lucky to be able to do that. But when you watch to horror movie with your entire family, you're always waiting for that new scene, that sex scene, you're like, oh my gosh, it's gonna be self hawker. This is gonna be so weird. So the great thing about a quiet place, you won't have to worry about that at all. Before I get to number one, I do have a bunch of honorable mentions. My first one is The Others, which was pretty close to making this list with Nicole Kidman. It's her living in basically this remote mansion with their two children. They suffer from this rare disease and they soon kind of discovered these others that are with them as well. Mild profanity, no gore, and an implied sex scene. But I think when I was talking earlier about movie trailers, there's a scene where Nicole Kidman goes up to what's supposed to be your daughter. She thinks it's not her daughter. The daughter applies, but I am your daughter. That moment still freaks me out. And if a movie trailer is able to give you that feeling, it's probably gonna be a pretty good scary movie. So that one's back for out from two thousand and one. You also have The Six Cents, from which I think is a classic child psychologist aid by none other than Bruce Willis trying to treat this eight year old boy. That one's PG thirteen basically because of some violence and occasional profanity. And then you also have some other classics, and like I was talking about earlier, that PG thirteen came to be in four and before that, Jaws has a PG rating, which is kind of crazy to see, but that's a classic. And along those same lines, Poulter Guys has a PG rating, another Halloween horror classic. Watch the original, though don't watch the remake. And then Grimlin's also rated PG, and even though it is set around Christmas, I still feel like it has that horror movie Halloween vibe. I'd rather watch that one around Halloween that I would Christmas. You also have the original Tremors from nine, which is rated PG thirteen. And there's a movie on Netflix called a Lie which came out last year, and it's a zombie movie from South Korea. And even though on Netflix it doesn't have a rating, I feel like that one. It's no more intense violence that you would find on like The Walking Dead, even less severe than Game of Thrones. Basically, if you think you can handle zombie violence and zombies eating humans and people getting torn apart. I think you would be fine with that one, and I really enjoyed that one. So those are the honorable mentions, and at number one. I feel like this was the scariest movie that came out when I was a kid, from two thousand Into the Ring. Several reasons why I put this movie at number one. I think the first reason is because when this movie came out, it had such a pop culture impact where everybody knew the plot of this movie. And a thing that's great about horror movies is when you're able to pull apart elements from a horror movie and just be scared by it. And the thing in this movie is you watch a tape and then you get a phone call that you have seven days to live. And I think everybody remembers that part of it. And after you watch this movie, your heart probably sank every single time your phone ring, especially people like right after you're watching the movie or during you were watching the MOVI movie. I think we all kind of remember that from this movie. The second reason is because it's just a great mystery movie, and it's one of the movies while you're watching it, while you're watching the main character in this try to figure out, you know, the mysterious reason behind the tape. It's a movie that while you watch it, you're yelling at the screen. You're like, why are you doing that? Like why are you trying to do this? Get out of their stop? And I think that's the other great element of this movie is when you feel involved with it invokes an emotion while you're watching it, especially if you're able to see this in the theater, which I wasn't, but I think that's totally captured this period of time. And the third reason is I just think it has a very iconic and memorable moment that was not only parodied later in Scary Movie, but I think the scene that we all remember is when the girl from the film actually walks out of that TV screen, and it's just a great intense moment, great visual effects, and with a PG thirteen ray eating, it was able to scare so many people without the need of all the violence. It's mainly just terror that it invokes in you, the fear of this could actually happen in real life. And I think we all kind of questioned after we watched this movie, like what you would do if you watch that tape. And this movie is also going on twenty years old, so I think maybe it's a movie that some people forget about. We all kind of remember it, but maybe haven't seen it in a while. So I think it's a movie I'm going to revisit now that it's Halloween time, and it's a movie that I think if your kids are wanting to watch something scary, like really be scared, I think this is a great one. So I put that one at number one, the scariest PG thirteen rated movie. There you go. Time now for a spoiler free movie review. This has been the number one movie on Netflix for a while, maybe falling out of the top spot now, but a movie I've been wanting to talk about, and I think last week with kind of the overshadow of Squid Game on Netflix, I think now is the time to check out this movie if you haven't seen it yet. It's called The Guilty with Jake Jillen Home. He plays a police detective who has been demoted to working in the operating center because of its troubled past. That's the overall plot of this movie. I'll get into my feelings about it very unique concept for a movie. It is a remake, so don't be fooled by that. Before I get into the review, here's just a little bit of the trailer with you. Is the person would know you called us? What do they think you called? Job? Does the person who with have a weapon? Yes? I need the color of the car? Okay? When I say the right one, say it's fine? Right? White? Is it a car? No? Man? No? Just yes or no? Just yes or no? Answers. I'm sorry, I have a woman who's been abducted. What are we looking for? A white van? That's not enough? Come on. So Jake Jillenhall plays this character that you're learning about why you watch the movie, And I really like when movies do this, when they don't put everything up front at the start of the movie, like, oh, here's why he's in this situation. You learn it as it goes alone. You learn the backstory and the most captivating thing about this movie that you want to know before going into it, and the reason it is so different is that this movie takes place entirely in one location. It's what's known as a bottle movie. Sometimes you hear this reference on TV episodes where it's called a bottle episode where they try to keep all the main characters into one location. And this type of episode is usually done to save money. It's at a point of the season where they can't really stretch out with the budget. They don't have all the expenses to be put towards a bunch of different sets and location, so they're like, all right, let's write a plot where everything can take place in this one single room. And you've seen other movies like this before, maybe something like Phone Booth or even earlier I was talking about Devil. It's all in one location. And why that is important to know is that it's basically just Jake Jillen Hall's face throughout the entire movie. It's him at a computer with a headset on taking calls. So I think what I really kind of took away from this movie is that Jake Jillen Hall can really act. I feel like he's a very underrated actor, and this movie really puts on display just how good his acting abilities are. Because when you're just one actor on the screen the entire time, really have no interactions with any other characters. There's a few like side basically extras in the room around him that have maybe a few lines, but everybody he interacts with his voice acting, they're all phone calls that come in. You don't see them at all. You only see Jake Jillen Hall and hear their voice. So for it to be so captivating and entertaining, there was a lot of things is going into this. It just had a really great story, which it is a remake of eighteen Danish film with the same name, So they took that great story and just made basically an American version of it. I'm okay with that. I feel like some people have problems with that of why will we take a movie that was successful in another country, in another language and just americanize it, Like, go watch that version. But I think in this version it really works. And if you ended up watching this one and you really like it, go back and watch the original. I think that's the kind of attention that should bring. I think when something is so good and you want to buy the rights to it and make your own version of it, why not. I would rather see this than just, you know, an American movie getting remade twenty years later. I have no problem with that concept. And the other thing I loved about this that I was talking about just a moment ago, is that you learned the backstory of his character and kind of the dark past that keeps coming up again and again, and you are really kind of put in the center of the action, being there and you're seeing all the things go down and hearing it. It was just such a unique perspective as a viewer to enjoy and I like when movies do this. I think, when done right, it's a really powerful way to make a movie. It's also a very cheap way to make a movie. Netflix one who paid thirty million dollars for the rights of this movie to put it on their streaming service. And the other great thing about this one it was made during the pandemic back in with such a small cast, such a small need for production. It really lent itself to being made during that time. And I think I even read that the director was exposed to somebody with COVID before going into film this movie, so the director was in a van outside of the location, looking at screens and directing from a van. So so many cool things about this movie, how it was made, and I just love when a movie with such a low budget is able to make something so much bigger because of the concept, and I think that's exactly what this movie does, and that's greatly due to the story already being gray. But really the Jake Jillen Hall too be able to be fully on display interacting with these calls, which I bet was a pretty hard task to do as an actor. You're not seeing anybody face to face, you're not interacting with anybody. He's only being fed these lines of dialogue that he needs to react to, and that's what acting is, it's reacting. So I think all the voice acting for that reason was very important, and you'll hear some other famous voices to Ethan Hawk, Bill Burr, Paul Dano, Peter scars Guard all played characters on the other lines of these conversations, some pretty intense moments, and you really just see Jake Jillen Hall get rattled and get more and more intense. So if you're looking for a great crime drama thriller movie, I think it's the perfect thing to watch on Netflix right now. I give it four out of five calls. Watch it, let me know what you think. It is. Rated are no crazy violence in it. It's mainly due because of language and the beautiful thing about it. It's only an hour and a half ninety minutes, greatly due to the reason that it takes place in one location and the plot really doesn't lend itself to be able to be explored into anything more than ninety minutes. This is the second movie I've seen in the last two weeks that have been at that ninety minute mark, and I'm really kind of loving it right now. I think when you're able to trim all the fat, take out all those unnecessary extra scenes, take out any unnecessary backstory, and get straight into it, the movie itself has more power to it. And I think that's what this one did. So that's what I think about The Guilty on Netflix all right, about to get him do some movie news. I was just thinking listening to that Jake Jillenhall trailer though, for the movie that Guilty is. I really like it in trailers when they use that big, like drone sound effect to make it seem more cinematic, you know that that sound. I feel like if I could have that in real life to make things seem more intense, just the normal things in life, if I could just hit that, It's like, well, I was thinking of going to the grocery store, but I can't find my keys. I don't know. I just feel like sound effects and movie trailers can be a little bit misleading. I feel like that I don't know something about when I watch a movie trailer, I don't love when it keeps that same exact formula when it has, you know, the big stages to make everything seem just more dramatic. But also this whole trend of like taking a popular like nineties pop song or nineties alternative song, or just a random pop song and doing a dramatic, slowed down version of it. Some reason, all movie trailers do that a couple of reasons. I know why. One because it's cheaper to get the rights to a cover than it is to the original song. But I think it just became this kind of fat and this kind of trend of like, okay, to make our movies seem better than it is, we get a song everybody knows, but it's sung really low. It's like a little bit of Monica in my life, a little bit of you makes me, oh man Like, for some reason, all movie trailers to do that when they're big cinematic, blockbuster movies, so let's get away from that trend. Anyway. I was getting into movie news when I got distracted by that. But first up in movie news is what Keen Phoenix talked about a possible Joker sequel, And this is really the first time I've ever heard him talk about it to where he was actually interested in the idea. He was doing an interview, and he didn't say like that they're working on one, or any clues as to win it would happen. He said, quote, there are some things we could do with this guy and could explore further. But as to whether we actually will, I don't know. I really think he does want to do another Joker movie. I think one because he want to freak an Oscar for it, But too I think he genuinely thinks there was more story there to dive into. There's more parts of the Joker's brain. I think he's willing to explore. For me, as a fan of the first one, I think it's a perfect movie, and I almost wouldn't want to diminish that value of having such a perfect movie for me loving that one so much. But I do think if they had Todd Phillips back directing it, what Keen Phoenix back, and they really just take place right after the first one ends and get right into it. I think a joke or two could be very successful. I always worry about sequels, though, because sometimes they just take away from a movie that you love and you'd rather it, you know, just not be done than it kind of diminished that, or just not do any justice to the first one. But I think creating such a great world that the Joker movie lives in, to see that go even further, you get even more intense. You don't need any backstory on them anymore. You just get right into the action. I actually think would be amazing and I would love to see it next. Up in movie dues, if you have Disney Plus and you haven't noticed, Black Widow is on there now. The movie Black Widow is available now on Disney Plus. You don't need to pay the thirty bucks for it, is just up there for free if you want to watch it. Because when it first hit theaters and Disney Plus back in July, it was that hybrid release of you either had to go see it in theaters or pay thirty bucks at home. Now it's available for free, which I really liked. Black Widow. I felt like it was worth the weight where it rings up on my favorite Marvel movies. I don't think it's one of my favorite of all time, but I think it was the last good little piece kind of closing out that chapter of Marvel in a way. So if you haven't seen that one yet, it's available for free now on Disney Plus. Also in Marvel News, Michael B. Jordan's is back as kill Monger in Black Panther Too. And how is that happening exactly? Well, they don't really know. They think it will either be a rebirth of the character or some kind of flashbacks or maybe something else. But I'm excited to see how they pull that one off. And then, finally, in movie news, Netflix dropped a trailer for a new lin Manuel Miranda movie, making his directorial debut in a movie called Tick Take Boom. It stars Andrew Garfield and he's playing the Rent creator Jonathan Larson. Here's a little bit of that trailer that I have spent the last eight years of my life. He's getting out, You're going to be rich and famous and rewriting and rewriting. Can I hear it any day? Now? Eight years and the time keeps taking you need to ask are you letting yourself be led by fear or by love? Fear fear? So that movie comes out in theaters and on Netflix on November nineteen. I think if you're a fan of Rent, if you're a fan of musicals, you'll probably love this movie. The trailer alone doesn't really get me interested in wanting to watch that one. I have trouble with musicals, and I really loved the film adaptation of Hamilton's, which is basically just taking the play and putting it into kind of a movie format. I still consider that one to be a movie. I like Lynn Manuel Mirando when it comes to him making music for movies. I really like Mowanna. I didn't really get a whole lot into In the Heights when it came out earlier this year. For me, when it comes to just like big Broadway style musicals, there's something about it. It just takes me a little bit out of it because I'm not really able to get into the plot as much when it's all being sung to me just me personally. But I think if you're into those kind of movies, I am interested to see how Andrew Garfield kind of plays into that, because he's a really great actor, and I think he's the main thing that would make me want to watch this movie. And the fact that it's also coming out in theaters and on Netflix. I think they're probably chasing some kind of Oscar here for either Andrew Garfield or just for the movie to be nominated, because to be nominated for an Oscar you do have to have at least a limited theater run. So there you go. That's your movie news. And before I hop out of here, every single week I give a shout out to one of you guys who sends me a d M on Instagram, tweets me at Mike Destro, comments over on my Facebook page, which is just Facebook dot com slash Mike Destro. But this one this week is coming to me for my emails movie Mike d at gmail dot com. And it was actually one of the inspirations behind this entire top. Like this week PG thirteen Rated horror movies, I got an email from someone who signs it clueless and p A said, Mike, I recently just started listening to your movie podcast and I love it. Hoping you can help me. My eleven year old daughter is interested in watching horror movies. Neither my husband nor I like those type of movies. I don't want to discourage her, but I'm not sure what I should let her watch or not let her watch. She said she had watch Hush with her cousin and she loved it. Please help me navigate this movie world with my daughter. Sincerely, clueless in p A, so coolest in p A. I think you have five solid picks to pick from to watch with your daughter again. They are rated PG thirteen. I feel like those lines are kind of more based on your discretion, based on how I described those movies, what you think would be appropriate for your kids. But if she already watched the movie Hush, which is rated R, I felt like those probably won't be much of a stretch from that. Hush It is actually a really great horror movie. It's about this deaf writer who lives out in the woods and then this mass killer dude appears at her window. I think why that movie is so scary is it because it's something we all kind of worry about of being home alone and somebody coming to mess with us or invade our house. Kind of along the same lines of the Strangers. So it's a movie you probably don't want to watch alone at night and then go to sleep, because that one will probably make you turn every light on in the house and question every single movement going on at night. But if you're eleven year old daughter watched that movie was able to sleep at night, I think you should have no problem with all the other movies on the list this week. So appreciate that email. Appreciate everybody for listening. I love all the messages that you guys send me throughout the week, especially if you listen on Monday, which is released or the podcast that's the Monday Movie Crew. Love all you guys. I hope you have a great rest of your week and until next week will continue the horror theme. I will talk to you all later