Film Certificates

Before creating a film you must first decide what rating to give it, this way you can make sure that the material that you produce is acceptable for the target audience, for example, you wouldn't put a graphic sex scene in a film that was rated a 12. In Great Britain, film certificates are decided by The British Board of Film Classification (The BBFC) Film certificates vary from country, for example, a PG film in America may be rated as a 12A or 12 in the UK

The BBFC were set up in 1912 and have helped to make sure that children, especially under 12's are not watching material that is unsuitable for their age range.

Film Ratings



Films rated 'U' are suitable for audiences over 4 years of age, but the BBFC suggest that parental guidance may be needed for more sensitive children under 4

Our film - we have not rated our film a 'U' because it would prohibit the entire nature of both horror and thriller films, because films rated 'U' are normally cartoons or films for children.

'PG' rated movies are suitable for most people, but some scenes may not be suitable for younger children, and children of around 8+ can watch alone but the BBFC tell parents that parental guidance may be needed for children under 8, or particularly sensitive children.

Our film - we have not rated our film a PG because it would be hard to create a genuinely scary horror/thriller film at such a low certificate.

Films that are given the rating '12' are only suitable for people over 12 years of age. They may contain language that is unsuitable for children under 12, and mild sex  or soft drug references, horror must be moderate and infrequent.

Our film - It is possible that a horror/thriller film could be created for a younger audience, but the plot may have to be changed for younger audiences to understand, this certificate would still be considered inappropriate for our film as we would like to include more horror aspects such as violence and ore that would be unsuitable for this age range

'15' rated films are only to be shown to people over 15 years of age. This rating allows drug taking, strong violence, imitable behaviour such as suicide and sex scenes to be shown. Horror can be shown at a moderate/high level and strong language such as 'fuck' is permitted, as long as it is infrequent and in context.

Our film - We have chosen to rate our film a '15' because it allows all the necessary components of a horror/thriller film such as violence, threat, horror and gore to be shown. By rating it a 15, we have increased the target audience which should make it seem more appealing to viewers, so anyone who is 15+ can watch the film, and adults with older, teenage children can watch it too,hopefully this will     increase its popularity.

'18' rated films are only suitable for adults over the age of 18. These movies allow:

• All language
• All amounts of violence and gore, which can be frequent
• Detailed shots of drug taking
• Sex scenes of any nature, as long as they are not seen as pornographic

Our film - We haven't chosen to rate our movie as an '18' because it would restrict the target audience, but, if target audience wasn't an issue, for example, if the film was a sequel, then an 18 rating would be considered