Oh David, with a comment like that, you might just get your ass recruited:

https://halloweenlove.com/open-invitation-to-anyone-who-wants-to-write-for-hl/

Seriously though, “A Look at Retro Ratings” would make for a great article. :)

Jaws (1975) – rated PG (should be R)
Poltergeist (1982) – rated PG (should be R)
One Dark Night (1982/1983) – rated PG (should be R)
Critters (1986) – rated PG-13 (should be R)
The Fog (1979/1980) – rated R (should be PG…PG-13 didn’t exist yet)
Gremlins (1984) – rated PG (should be R…PG-13 still didn’t exist yet)
Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) – rated PG (should be R)
Temple Of Doom (1984) – rated PG (should be R)
Slugs: The Movie (1987/1988) – rated R (should be X…NC-17 didn’t exist yet)

*Note — Movies with two years mean I’m not sure which year it was released.

While this isn’t the full list, this should give you an idea how many movies have the wrong ratings. Many films from the 1970s and 1980s have a lot of violence and gore, despite having “family-friendly” ratings, rather than “restricted” ratings. Are they seriously trying to say that young kids can watch movies that show violent and gory content? Kids can scare easily and have nightmares. I know because I was a kid once in the 1980s and I’ve had nightmares after watching violent movies.

On the subject of Insidious, that movie was for sure heavily inspired by Poltergeist, though I can’t agree that it “sucked.”

Also, for the record, when I say “Intentionally unrealistic” I don’t mean that the effect was purposely made to look poor, but rather that it’s a moment that clearly isn’t grounded in reality. It’s cartoonish gore, rather than a realistic depiction of violence that a parent would want to shield their child from.