Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell Gets a PG-13 Rating Too
Here’s a somewhat surprising bit of news that’s probably going to disappoint more than a few people out there. The latest batch of MPAA ratings have been released this week, and it looks like some of the fears surrounding Sam Raimi’s upcoming horror film Drag Me to Hell have proven to be well-founded: the movie received a PG-13 rating, for “sequences of horror violence, terror, disturbing images and language”.
There were rumours floating around a couple of months ago that Rogue Pictures had been screening both a PG-13 cut and a potential R cut for test audiences. While we don’t know the details of what was submitted to the MPAA, it certainly seems to prove that this will not have quite the same level of blood-soaked mayhem as The Evil Dead series.
Last week some fans also expressed concern over the PG-13 ratings for both Terminator Salvation and Year One, and while I’m getting a little sick of hearing the same complaints time and time again, this is one case where I do think it’s a pretty big deal. I’m not going to assume that Drag Me To Hell will be completely neutered because of it, but it seems that the movie will probably have to rely on suspense and creepy imagery over graphic violence. I know some people already felt let down by the trailer, and this announcement may end up lowering expectations further. What do you think, can Sam Raimi truly return to his horror roots without the benefit of an R-rating?
Comments (7)
Before hearing this I was pretty excited to give this a chance, but not anymore. If the reviews are really, really, really good, I might give it a chance, otherwise I’m not going. I’m sick of rewarding sell-out studios with my money.
This seems retarded from a marketing standpoint anyway, who wants to see a movie called “Drag Me to Hell” without the promise of senseless violence? That makes about as much sense as puting out a PG rated porno movie.
Posted by TheMovieVampire on April 17th, 2009This is really bad news. It’s starting to look like Drag Me to Hell will just end up being another shitty PG13 horror film aimed at kids that we completely forget about a few weeks after it hits theaters.
Posted by Steven C. on April 17th, 2009I am a little more hopeful than the two previous commenters as when i sat down to watch Crank 2, the second trailer was for Drag Me To Hell and it just looks so brilliant that I currently cannot fathom it being a disappointment. There were also quotes stuck in there from reviews saying it was a great film but you cannot always trust early buzz. Still hopeful, though.
Posted by CastleKnight on April 18th, 2009I’m confident Raimi can make a good film. If this was the version he intended, I don’t know, but if it isn’t, I’m sure we’ll see his cut on DVD.
Eh, I’m still waiting on Evil Dead 4.
Posted by Alex on April 18th, 2009While I hope that this will bring back Raimi as we first knew him, nothing about this film has me excited.
Posted by swarez on April 18th, 2009But early buzz from an unfinished work print screened in Austin had dudes jizzing in their pants with excitement.
We’ll see.
hm.. its weird that so many comedies are fine with rated R but when it comes to action they are all aiming for PG-13
Posted by Niklas on April 19th, 2009RE: the above comment
Comedie probably get away with it becasue they’re extremely cheap to make, at least when compared to action blockbusters. When comedies get to be more highly budgeted they do tend to go PG-13 (E.G. Year One)
I don’t know why the same isn’t true of horror films, as I donbt Drag Me to Hell was overly expensive.
Posted by TheMovieVampire on April 19th, 2009Leave a Reply