The MPAA rating system is a crucial aspect of film production, and ultimately determines what type of an audience will be admitted to each new film. For the horror franchise, this can be an especially interesting process, as studios must debate if they want a larger demographic of moviegoers, or an unencumbered and terrifying flick. Blumhouse has had a ton of success in the horror genre lately, and the studio is now turning its head to one of the classics: Halloween. Jamie Lee Curtis is back as Laurie Strode, and the upcoming canon-breaking sequel has been officially rated R, but why?
Halloween's R-rating comes from the MPAA, which makes the ultimately judgment call. The official reasoning for this decision is as follows:
Horror violence and bloody images, language, brief drug use and nudity.
Looks like we're going to get all the tried and true tropes of the horror genre when Blumhouse's Halloween arrives this October. Michael Myers made history by hunting down horny babysitters, and it looks his MO is not going to change much when he arrives for the upcoming sequel. And the town Haddonfield will probably never be the same.
A hard R rating for Halloween will likely excite the hardcore fans out there, as well as horror enthusiasts in general. While there are plenty of quality slashers that are rated PG-13, the less extreme rating often means that the violence, scares, and language have to be edited. After three F-bombs an R-Rating is issues, which can be difficult considering that people swear when faced with life or death situations.
Halloween's R rating also makes sense given the franchise's history. Every single installment in the long running property has been rated R, allowing Michael Myers to murder his victims in a variety of gruesome ways. Fans are eager to see the iconic villain once again brandish a kitchen knife and attack Laurie Strode and the rest of the characters. Now Halloween can go HAM on the kills, and allow the teenagers of Haddonfield to make bad decisions before being promptly killed.
While the new Halloween may be rated R, it should be a lot less gory than the two most recent installments. Rob Zombie put his own spin on the franchise with two films in the 2000's, and brought up the violence and overall darkness to a ten. Danny McBride, writer of the new movie, has stressed how Blumhouse's version won't be nearly as gory. Instead, it will focus on suspense, just as John Carpenter did with his original 1978 classic.
We'll be able to see all the R-rated fun when Blumhouse's Halloween arrives on October 19th. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
