Long ago, getting an NC-17 was the kiss of death for any film. In fact, today it still can be. Theaters won't play the movie; papers won't run ads for it. It is very rare for an NC-17 film to ever make money. But now it seems something else has moved into that place of box office poison: R, restricted, no one under 17 allowed in without parent or guardian.
Lately when it comes to horror films, studios are opting for a more family friendly PG-13 rating. Those who know me, or know my rants, know I have complained about this forever, but as it continues to become more rampant among studios. I have concluded that the R rating is being treated like NC-17. Studios want more teen-friendly horror films. No boobs. No blood. Now I am not saying a film cannot be scary at PG-13, but there are times when a film needs its "guts" so to speak. Cursed is a prime example of studio intervention. It did poorly at the box office, even with its PG-13 rating, only to be released later on an Unrated DVD which added back the werewolfy gore needed to make a good film. Provided the film was still a let down, but the principal remains the same. Horror is horror, and sometimes it needs to be R to get the job done. I shudder to think what the 80's would have been like with this kind of mentality. Imagine Freddy and Jason sliced and diced to a mere PG-13. It's too horrible to even imagine.
It seems more and more films are going to be edited down to allow the teeny-boppers to actually pay for a ticket. Instead of sneaking in like they should be doing, like we all had to do. In the wake will be more and more Unrated DVD releases.
I am thinking a little radically, what if I skipped the whole theatre experience and just wait for the DVD, what would the box office receipts look like then? Horror fans are the most loyal fans I know (along with those damn Trekkies) and we have weathered through years of bad sequels, bad movies period, and even times when no horror films were being made except direct to video. We will weather this storm too, and hopefully will stand victorious when studios realize when you put two bad-ass aliens in a movie together, you better have them be scary and kill people....but then again, maybe it's just me.
Hyde has spoken.
Originally Published on Horror-Web by Hyde 7.7.05
Lately when it comes to horror films, studios are opting for a more family friendly PG-13 rating. Those who know me, or know my rants, know I have complained about this forever, but as it continues to become more rampant among studios. I have concluded that the R rating is being treated like NC-17. Studios want more teen-friendly horror films. No boobs. No blood. Now I am not saying a film cannot be scary at PG-13, but there are times when a film needs its "guts" so to speak. Cursed is a prime example of studio intervention. It did poorly at the box office, even with its PG-13 rating, only to be released later on an Unrated DVD which added back the werewolfy gore needed to make a good film. Provided the film was still a let down, but the principal remains the same. Horror is horror, and sometimes it needs to be R to get the job done. I shudder to think what the 80's would have been like with this kind of mentality. Imagine Freddy and Jason sliced and diced to a mere PG-13. It's too horrible to even imagine.
It seems more and more films are going to be edited down to allow the teeny-boppers to actually pay for a ticket. Instead of sneaking in like they should be doing, like we all had to do. In the wake will be more and more Unrated DVD releases.
I am thinking a little radically, what if I skipped the whole theatre experience and just wait for the DVD, what would the box office receipts look like then? Horror fans are the most loyal fans I know (along with those damn Trekkies) and we have weathered through years of bad sequels, bad movies period, and even times when no horror films were being made except direct to video. We will weather this storm too, and hopefully will stand victorious when studios realize when you put two bad-ass aliens in a movie together, you better have them be scary and kill people....but then again, maybe it's just me.
Hyde has spoken.
Originally Published on Horror-Web by Hyde 7.7.05
