Something kind of amazing is happening this October and it’s happening in a theater near you. Two horror movies are being released, without ratings.
That might not sound like a big deal, after all unrated DVDs are fairly commonplace, a marketing gimmick used to lure in teenage boys hoping for nip-slips. But it’s a big deal when it comes to theatrical releases because in the past, movie theaters simply wouldn’t carry them. Movies with anything other than an MPAA rating of G, PG, PG-13, or R were automatically turned down by most of the nation’s major theater chains. It’s why the NC-17 rating has for so long, been considered the kiss of death for any filmmaker hoping to show his movie to a wider audience. Major chains won’t show NC-17 movies, and while you could release the movie without a rating, that doesn’t help because in the past they wouldn’t show those either. Until October 1st that is.
On October 1st Hatchet II will be released Unrated. It’ll be followed a week later on October 8th by I Spit On Your Grave, also Unrated. It’s unclear right now exactly how many theaters I Spit On Your Grave will be in, but thanks to Script To Screen we now know that Hatchet II will indeed get a pretty big theatrical release, a release in which it’s carried not just by sketchy indie theaters with questionable moral standards but by major theater chains. Theater chains like AMC.
Hatchet II will play Unrated in more than 60 AMC theaters alone, on screens all across the country. They have a complete list right here.
I’ll be honest. I have less than zero interest in seeing Hatchet II, but if it shows up in Vancouver, WA I may buy a ticket anyway. If you’d like to see more movie theaters willing to step outside the MPAA’s constraints, consider doing the same.
