Horror certificates

Most horror films are 15s which includes:

• The conjuring
• The Babadook
• Insidious
• Annabelle
• Zombieland
• Ouija 

Each of these films contain some violence and gore with a moderate scare which is suitable for people aged 15 and over.  Age 15 certificated films would contain:  

•   strong violence
•   frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').
•   portrayals of sexual activity
•   strong verbal references to sex
•   sexual nudity
•   brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
•   discriminatory language or behaviour
•   drug taking

In comparison to 15 rated films, 18 rated would have:   

•   very strong violence
•   frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and / or very strong language (e.g. ‘c***’)
•   strong portrayals of sexual activity
•   scenes of sexual violence
•   strong horror
•   strong blood and gore
•   real sex (in some circumstances)
•   discriminatory language and behaviour

By making these films the producers want to make a profit and the film certificate helps do this. People between the age of 15-17 have a limited range of entertainment and have a low income of money which can usually only be used in forms of entertainment such as cinema. If the films were to be rates as an 18 then they would lose a large number of their audience meaning that they wouldn't be able to make much of a profit.

Furthermore, the rating is also there in order to guide the audience of how suitable (or in this case, scary) it will be for them or others. For example, and 18 rated film would usually be extremely gory or possibly uneasy for some viewers whereas a 12a horror film would have little/no gore with some jump moments and a building of atmosphere to keep the audience on the edge of their seats without harming the audience.
Our film would aim to be a 15 certificated film as our story would include mild gore (eg. blood), some acts of strong violence and strong language.