This list is part of a series looking at the weird world of film classifications. Check out the strangest films to be rated 12 and PG too.
18-rated films are few and far between nowadays – you've really gotta push the boundaries to get the dreaded red stamp in the corner of your DVD case in today's lax times. This is obviously a great shame, because as everyone knows, 18-rated films are better than 15-rated films, no matter the film – it's a steadfast rule that has no exceptions.
But hey, what if you want to watch an 18, but you're not 18 yet? Well, if you're a complete lightweight and you can't find a way to watch one, you're just going to have to watch a 15. Don't worry though, we've pulled up a list of the most 18-rated 15s out there, so you can lie to yourself as you watch them, if that makes any sense. Here we go:
ANY of the Final Destination series
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The first Final Destination was a pretty gory affair, and could easily have passed as an 18, but it's the sequels that follow that really stretch the certificate to breaking point. Each film in the series gets progressively more violent until it's almost unbelievable that what you're witnessing can be watched (and talked through) by any snotty teenager with a snapback. The last in the series is a gore fest of unimaginable proportions – I'm at least 16 and it made me want to puke.
The Equalizer
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This one is interesting, because it was actually cut by the BBFC to achieve a 15 rating. They needn't have bothered – it's still an ultraviolent slice of bloodthirsty revenge. This is as bad as the uncut version of Taken, and that was an 18. Our man Denz uses all manner of weapons to dispatch the bad guys, including in the most shocking scene, a wine corkscrew, which he duly shoves into some poor sod's mouth through the bottom of his chin. Liam Neeson has got some catching up to do, what with all this pansy 12A nonsense he's been knocking about with recently.
Sabotage
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Most of Arnie '80s movies were 18s (at least when they came out anyway – Terminator is a 15 now), but he hasn't made one during his post-governor days (unless you count The Expendables, which was available in an uncut, 18 version on DVD). However, that hasn't stopped the old-school killing-machine from making some violent movies – what was supposed to be his big comeback flick, The Last Stand, was pretty darn OTT for a 15. But it's his brilliant crime flick Sabotage which nabs the award here, with graphic shootouts, bad language, sex, drugs and gruesome murder – there's no way this would have passed as a 15, even ten years ago.
Saving Private Ryan
Jason X
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It's a sad fact that a lot of the Friday the 13th movies are now 15s. They were originally released in heavily-cut versions back in the '80s and '90s as 18s, but they've since been reclassified (most still in their cut versions) and some have been downgraded to a 15 certificate. One which was originally given a 15 straight off the bat, though, was Jason X, the tenth film in the franchise. That it's easily one of the most violent of the series made no difference to the BBFC, clearly. Maybe it's because it's set in space? Or because it's so stupid there's no way it could offend anyone? Probably the latter.
And when I say it's stupid, that doesn't mean it's not good, because it fucking is.
The Thing
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John Carpenter's original The Thing was, and still is, an 18. It's also a masterpiece. Its 'prequel' (it's a remake) was classified 15. It's also not a masterpiece, but it is surprisingly good. It's also surprisingly sodding horrendous once the creature starts mutating and splitting into two and exploding and whatnot – things go properly cray. What's interesting here is that I reckon it's the use of CGI that allowed it to get the lower certificate – the original (which was released in '82) still looks more realistic. With this one, the CGI sheen betrays its iMac roots, and it's less scary as a result. Still pretty scary, mind...
Society
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Once upon a time, this was the most disgusting film I'd ever seen – it was the holy grail of horror movie fanatics looking for a real slice of unadulterated gooey mayhem – it wore its 18 certificate with pride. And now it's a fucking 15. How times have changed eh? Not really sure how this has happened, because the climax of this film still remains one of the most shocking and vile things I've seen in a film. And I'm not going to ruin it here – just watch the trailer instead, and seek out the film, it's amazing.
Land of the Dead
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Once upon a time, George A. Romero was making brilliant, 18-rated zombie flicks – three, to be exact. Since then, the less said the better – Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead, were, erm, not exactly Oscar-worthy. Either way, in between, he chucked out Land of the Dead, and it was very enjoyable – it was also a 15. However, don't let that put you off, because it's most definitely gorier than Night, and it's pretty darn close to Dawn and Day. A word of warning though – it's actually an 18 on DVD, but don't let that make you think you're getting a juicier version. It's only an 18 because of one of the special features, which in itself is rather pointless, but still, thought you should know.
John Wick
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God this film is good. Keanu Reeves kicks so much arse you'd think his foot was sponsored by Andrex. Or something. Either way, it's a breakneck (literally, in a few cases) revenge flick that doesn't stop until the last bad guy has been floored by Reeves. And floor them he does – he's got one of those 'gun-fu' type things going on (think Equilibrium, another strong 15), and the pummelling is absolutely relentless. I cannot recommend this movie enough. Cannot believe it's a 15.
Ironclad
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We might be in educational territory again here, but it's so long ago, that nobody really knows what happened, so let's just cut people in half with big swords and be done with it. There's also one scene in this film that is so disgustingly torturous and overly-violent, that it's the kind of thing a film would've been banned for in the '80s. Still, it's a 15 now, so your stupid little brother can watch it and have nightmares for months. At least that's what our brother regretted saying when we woke him up at 3am because we couldn't sleep.
Next week: Ten films you won't believe are rated 12A
