20 Best PG-13 Horror Movies of All Time (Ranked)

PG-13 horror has delivered inventive scares to huge audiences without pushing into R-rated territory. These films span ghost stories, supernatural thrillers, creature features, and found footage hits that proved tense ideas and smart execution can be just as effective as graphic content. Below is a countdown of standout PG-13 horror movies. Each entry includes clear details on what it is, who made it, and how it fits into the larger horror landscape.

‘Krampus’ (2015)

This holiday horror comedy follows a suburban family that accidentally summons a horned figure from European folklore after a disastrous celebration. Director Michael Dougherty combines practical creature effects with extensive puppetry and costuming. Legendary Pictures backed the production and shot large portions on soundstages to build snowbound sets. The film’s release close to winter helped it become a seasonal cult staple for viewers who want darker festive fare.

‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ (2019)

Adapted from the classic short story collections, this film weaves several tales into one narrative about teens who discover a book that writes new horrors on its own. André Øvredal directs from a story produced by Guillermo del Toro. The production uses creature designs that faithfully echo the iconic illustrations that defined the books. The release introduced a new generation to those anthology scares while preserving the original’s eerie tone.

‘Lights Out’ (2016)

Based on David F. Sandberg’s viral short, this feature expands the idea of a presence that can only move in darkness. The film uses quick power cuts, hall lights, and blinking bulbs as key visual cues for tension. New Line Cinema produced with James Wan among the producers. The movie’s concise runtime and contained locations help the premise stay focused on the fear of lights switching off.

‘The Mothman Prophecies’ (2002)

Inspired by reported sightings and a nonfiction book, a journalist is drawn to strange events in a small town visited by a winged figure. The film blends supernatural mystery with elements of urban legend investigation. It uses muted color grading and winter settings to create a stark look. The story culminates in a large-scale set piece based on a real bridge disaster that anchors the narrative in a specific place and event.

‘M3GAN’ (2022)

A roboticist gifts her niece an advanced doll designed to protect and befriend its owner, only for the AI to take that directive too far. The production mixes animatronics, digital effects, and a performer in a mask to portray the doll’s movements. Blumhouse and Atomic Monster collaborated on the project before expanding the concept across marketing and viral clips. The film’s tone balances tech anxiety with a sleek consumer gadget aesthetic.

‘The Woman in Black’ (2012)

A young solicitor travels to a remote village to settle an estate and encounters a vengeful presence tied to a child’s death. Hammer Films revived its gothic brand with this atmospheric ghost story set in an isolated manor house and surrounding marshes. Production emphasized practical fog, period costumes, and candlelit interiors. The narrative draws heavily on classic British haunted house traditions.

‘The Skeleton Key’ (2005)

A hospice nurse accepts a job in a decaying Louisiana mansion and confronts the legacy of hoodoo and hidden rituals. The film uses New Orleans and bayou locations to root the story in regional folklore. Set design highlights peeling wallpaper, trap doors, and attics filled with relics. Its twist-heavy script builds around household rules and symbols that gain meaning as the plot unfolds.

‘The Village’ (2004)

An isolated community maintains strict rules to keep supposed creatures in the surrounding woods at bay. Writer director M. Night Shyamalan structures the story around codes of color and ritual that define the settlement’s daily life. Cinematography by Roger Deakins emphasizes candlelit spaces and natural light. The score by James Newton Howard and prominent use of strings underscore the film’s atmosphere.

‘Happy Death Day’ (2017)

A college student is murdered and wakes up to relive the same day until she unmasks her killer. The film applies the time loop device to a masked-slasher framework. It tracks clues through repeated sequences of classes, parties, and campus routes. The structure allows the investigation to reset, building a trail of evidence across each iteration.

‘Drag Me to Hell’ (2009)

A bank employee denies a loan extension and becomes the target of a powerful curse. Director Sam Raimi returns to high-energy camera work, startling sound design, and sudden visual gags. The production uses elaborate prosthetics, goo effects, and set-piece gags that echo the director’s earlier work. The curse’s countdown drives the story from séances to graveyards as the deadline approaches.

‘1408’ (2007)

A skeptical writer specializes in debunking hauntings and checks into a notorious hotel room with a deadly reputation. The movie confines most of its runtime to a single space that transforms through shifting temperatures, spectral calls, and impossible architecture. Production design turns one room into multiple states to mirror the character’s unraveling. The premise builds from a Stephen King short story and expands its psychological angle.

‘Signs’ (2002)

Crop circles appear on a rural farm while strange events escalate around the family living there. The film centers on a former minister, his brother, and two children as they monitor noises, radio reports, and movement on rooftop edges. Small-scale clues like a baby monitor and pantry doors become key to tracking the invaders. The story keeps attention on one household while news broadcasts fill in the wider picture.

‘World War Z’ (2013)

A former investigator moves across countries to trace the source and spread of a fast-moving zombie pandemic. The production features large crowd sequences with digital swarms and on-location shoots in multiple cities. Reshoots reworked the third act into a contained infiltration sequence set inside a research facility. The narrative uses incremental discoveries to map transmission, immunity, and response strategies.

‘Cloverfield’ (2008)

Told through recovered handheld footage, this story follows friends trying to escape a city during a sudden monster attack. The movie introduces the creature through partial views, street-level chaos, and static from a consumer camcorder. Viral marketing seeded bits of lore across fake sites and video clips before release. The limited perspective keeps the action close to alleys, bridges, and subway tunnels.

‘The Ring’ (2002)

A journalist investigates a videotape that predicts the viewer’s death unless specific rules are followed. The film imports the premise from a Japanese hit and adapts its central ghost and curse mythology. Its images of wells, static, and a figure climbing from a screen became instantly recognizable. The investigation structure moves through archives, coastal cabins, and records rooms to reconstruct the origin of the tape.

’10 Cloverfield Lane’ (2016)

After a car accident, a young woman wakes up in an underground shelter with two strangers who claim the surface is unsafe. The film confines action to a bunker with locked doors, air filtration systems, and a strict set of rules. Tension builds through survival routines, escape planning, and conflicting explanations about the outside. Connections to the wider franchise appear late while the contained thriller mechanics stay front and center.

‘A Quiet Place Part II’ (2021)

This sequel follows survivors navigating a world where sound-hunting creatures have devastated society. The film expands the map with new locations including an island community and a radio station. Flashback sequences show the initial invasion with crowded streets and little warning. The story continues to use sign language, sand paths, and improvised sound control as core survival tactics.

‘A Quiet Place’ (2018)

A family lives in near silence to avoid predators that track even the smallest noise. The production relies on careful sound design, sign language dialogue, and minimal spoken lines. Farm sets are modified with quiet alarms, corn silos, and marked paths. The creature concept combines hypersensitive hearing with armored bodies to shape every decision the characters make.

‘The Others’ (2001)

A mother and her children live in a fogbound mansion while strict household rules keep rooms dark and doors locked. Photos, piano music, and whispers signal the presence of unseen guests. The narrative uses limited power sources and blackout curtains as practical reasons for shadows and hush. The story’s structure depends on careful attention to who is present in each room and what has been touched.

‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999)

A child psychologist treats a boy who claims to see people who do not realize they are dead. The film builds its mystery through soft-spoken therapy sessions, household routines, and quiet intrusions. Visual cues like temperature drops and breath in the air signal approaching phenomena. Careful editing plants details that reframe earlier scenes once the final revelations arrive.

Share your picks for the best PG-13 horror in the comments and tell us which ones you would add to the list.