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Crime Prevention
There are a lot of different flavours of crime prevention PSAs - some of them are aimed at dissuading people from committing crimes, some are intended to raise awareness of types of crime, and some are information on resources for reporting crime. These can be some of the most disturbing PSAs full stop, since they deal with some very heavy topics, but as a scary-PSA-enjoyer, it means it's ripe for harvesting. From gun crime, to knife crime, to sexual violence, there's a wide variety of horror on display in this category.
The Conference, 2008
The Conference is a PSA from the UK Home Office, aimed at preventing knife crime. It was apparently web-based only, which does make some amount of sense with how graphic the images it shows are - real stab wounds, blood and guts included (literally). It's a fascinating video, with some legitimately good advice and information in it, but I could definitely see it being very shocking and even frightening if it were to pop up unexpectedly for you.
Cartoon, 2002
This PSA has apparently been praised for making its point while not being too graphic. I argue that this is actually plenty graphic - the child might be a cartoon for the majority of the vido, but the father being a real human man is still scary and offputting with the things he's saying and doing. The reveal of the real child at the end, and the silent tagline on top of that, just top it all off as being pretty disturbing.
Can't Look, 1999
The NSPCC definitely have some scary, creepy PSAs. This one is almost entirely implication and audio - but in a way that almost makes it worse. The one that sticks with me is the squeal of the baby in the very first clip. The child alone in the house sends chills through me too - there's something so threatening about the looming door. Very effective, and very unsettling. There's a few different versions too, which I managed to find all compiled together here.
Sunday Lunch, 2006
I still remember how hard this one hit me the first time I saw it. You really don't know what's coming. A domestic scene, a mother setting out dinner fr her kids as they joke and banter - and then she pulls out a gun and shoots her youngest son point-blank in the head. It's graphic, it's sudden. The blood spatter over the walls and table - and the kids - the reactions of everyone else at the table; it's all very visceral and very, very hard-hitting.
Back-To-School Essentials, 2019
Now this one is hard hitting. Obviously everyone knows about the masses of school shootings that happen in the US every year, but personally, I'd never really seen any PSAs on the topic until coming across this one. The way the bright back to school vibe slowly deteriorates, the gradually climbing volume of the screams, more and more terror being shown... until finally, the girl in the bathroom, sending a last message to her mother as the shooter enters. The way her shaky breathing continues over the ending text just leaves you with a harrowing feeling. As someone from the UK, I think this PSA is brilliant at driving home the terrible reality of a situation we usually hear about in statistics and numbers.
Red Banana, 2004
I did not expect this one to get me as badly as it did. A small child walks innocently into a room full of toys - well, of course, in the world of PSAs, this can only end badly. The soft soundscape of the room being broken by an explosion is a little shock, but is about what is expected - but then the PSA continues, showing a toy train rolling across a blood-spattered floor, and past a dismembered foot. It's so understated, but I think that is what makes it hit. Placed into crime prevention because I think this is implying a war crime by using mines specifically intended to attract children? Just seemed like the right place.
Open Your Eyes, 2000
NSPCC have a few really hard-hitting adverts. I remember that this one used to freak me out when I was little - the desaturated colours, dark settings, and frightened children all used to set me on edge. Not to mention the neglect and abuse being discussed in the voiceover - while technically this PSA isn't anything graphic or particularly scary, as a child, I definitely remember being frightened of it.
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