BBFC research

Age Certificate

 

The BBFC (British board of film certification) has six different age certifcates, which are awarded to a film based on what audience they are suitable for.

 

U or Uc – These films are suitable for everyone (Uc meaning they are particularly good for preschool children). They are very restricted to what they are able to contain. For instance they are allowed only very mild bad language, no direct sexual content or nudity and no drug references. Only mild violence is allowed and only ‘occasional mild threat or menace only,’ meaning that this certificate would be unsuitable for a horror film, and therefore unsuitable for my film.

 

PG – PG Films are still aimed to be mostly child friendly, meaning that the certificate still carries many of the confines of U, in particular the restrictions on violence and horror, making it unsuitable for my film.

 

12/12A – 12’s are allowed a slightly more mature theme than the lower certificates, allowing more nudity, violence and horror. Swearing is also allowed, but must be infrequent. Whilst the guidelines allow some horror elements to be implemented, it is hard to make a complete horror film that can be certificated as a 12, due to the fact that ‘Violence must not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood.

 

15 – 15 is a popular certificate for modern horror films. It holds little constraint for horror content, except for large amounts of gore. For my film I will try to use psychological horror elements rather than excessive gore, much like ‘The Grudge’ and ‘The Ring’, which were two popular horror films that were certified 15’s. The advantage of my film being a 15 over being an 18 is that 15’s are available to a wider audience, and therefore should make a higher profit in the box office.

 

18 – 18 is the highest age certificate given to commercial films. There are little restrictions on 18’s apart from with certain sexual themes, or where the content is deemed to risk harm to individuals. I do not believe that my film will contain enough explicit content to be awarded an 18 certificate, as I do not feel it is necessary for my story, and also it will be better commercially to be awarded a 15 certificate.

 

I have decided to aim for a 15 certificate, as I believe this will allow me to do everything I want within the film without restrictions, whilst also appealing to a wide market. Some examples of successful horrors with a 15 certificate are;

 

‘The Grudge’ (2004) – Grossed $187,281,115

‘The Ring’ (2002) – Grossed $249,348,933

‘Mirrors’ (2008) – Grossed $72,436,439 (so far)