2 cents on PG-fking-13
Well once again this dreaded rating is at the center of much controvery in the horror movie world. A recent ghost film "Darkness" which IMO was one of the best under the radar horror movies of this year, was affected by the dreaded PG-13 rating, which made for a good movie, as opposed to an excellent one. Graphic Scenes giving more background on the occult, as well as 1 scene involving bleeding walls, was trimmed from the movie to appease who else, the MPAA. I think a character in an Australian slasher film entitled "Cut" said it best, art is art. A film, movie, etc, this includes horror, is ART, not a map for living your life by, nor is it a map for deciding what to do in life. A horror movie, is a 90 to 120 minute escape, for entertainment purposes. The MPAA has become so strict that people can't even be entertained anymore because the studios are having their movies hacked to pieces, thus some horror movies plot wise are incoherent or too softcore for their intended target audience, thus creating a negative reaction towards them. I'm not saying the studios aren't responsible for more than their share of bad horror flicks which they make just for the intention of cashing in, but theres also something to be said for them recycling the same old garbage mostly and sending it into theatres because they fear should they stray from that formula, the MPAA will come down hard on them, destroying what could've been a masterpiece because it's quote unquote too violent of intense from their standpoint. Next year, a werewolf film directed by Wes Craven entitled "Cursed" will be released. and Just a few months before the films release, Bob Weinstein, chairman of Dimension Films, wants to make the film PG-13. Thus this means they will have to perform cuts to the movie, thus ruining what has been moderately hyped as a very good werewolf movie. Craven as well as most horror fans, are adimately against it. No doubt, this has to do with the MPAA and profits. I'm sure the train of thought is this movie won't get through the MPAA guys without scoring an NC-17 rating, thus lets chop it up now to avoid that bump in the road. My train of though...ITS A FRIKKIN WEREWOLF MOVIE! Its supposed to be bloody, gory, and intense. People are supposed to be ripped apart, and dismembered. Why? Because the material deals with werewolves, beasts with sharp claws, and teeth who hunt and prey on humans who are weaker than they are at night during a fullmoon. Cutting all the gruesome scenes only takes from any sense of realism the film has. Thus, most horror fans will bash it to high hell. PG-13's meaning is that anyone under the age of 13, need parental guidance to get into the movie. Most horror fans are 15 and upwards to 30+ years of age. Thus, we pay our money to see R rated material because it appeals and is specifically designed for us, the target audience. Horror movies were never meant to appeal to preteens and kids in general. Thats what we have "Shrek" and other related movies for. When you take a movie made for horror fans, and reduce it to a movie for kids, everyone loses. Horror fans feel disenfranchised, thus they won't pay to see these softcore teeny bopper horror movies, and instead will take their chances with downloading them from many filesharing programs. By taking that path, they still get to see the movie, but the difference is, they don't feel robbed of their 10 bucks after seeing a horror movie which felt and seemed like it was geared more towards the teeny bopper crowd than older hardcore horror fans.
Thus they might be disappointed with the film, but at the same time, they didn't have to part with their cash to be disappointed. Thus the studios lose money, and pass on making any new horror movies since the current ones aren't exactly tearing it up at the box office. In conclusion, studios pass on horror movies sometimes because they think they won't make a large profit. The simple solution to this is, stop yeilding to the MPAA's lopsided and overall total BS rating system, and get hardcore horror movies out there in theatres. Stop gearing movies towards the Hillary Duff crowd, and start gearing them towards true horror movie fans. Take the Trey Parker and Matt Stone approach. Keep adding in more gore, more blood, until the MPAA decides to let the version of the movie you first presented to them pass with a solid 'R" rating. Once the studios grow some balls, and stop being the MPAA's b**ches, then you will see horror movies flourish at the box office. and Then maybe just maybe, the horror fans who have stopped paying their hard earned cash regularly to see horror movies because they feel disenfranchised, will return to theatres, and show their support for horror by shelling out the $$$$$.
Article written by Mr HoRrOr, posted on December 28th, 2004.
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