With the horror genre getting a surge in popularity over the past year, the first movie to keep the momentum going is Blumhouse’sM3GAN, an electrifying take on the classic killer doll subgenre. Directed by Gerard Johnstone and due to release this Friday, the studio has gone above and beyond with one of the most exciting marketing campaigns yet. However, Johnstone has now revealed how reshoots forPG-13 ratingmade horror moments in the film “so much worse.”
After having previously directedHousebound,Gerard Johnstonerevealed that he was able to take inspiration from Sam Raimi’sDrag Me to Helland convert those concepts into something we could all experience with a PG-13 rating. He spoke with Total Film andGamesRadarabout the challenge of toning down certain sequences and elaborated on how, even in doing so, he found ways to maintain an atmosphere of fear thanks to his creativity when it came to the scares.
“Making it PG-13 was something that happened after the fact, but it was always so close to PG-13 anyway. It seemed kind of a mistake not to embrace it. I even remember thinking early on, ‘This could be PG-13, and some of my favorite films like Drag Me to Hell are PG-13.’ So we made the decision to go PG-13 and actually reshot a couple of things. What I was really stoked about is that when we reshot those scenes, they were more effective. It’s like ‘Yes, you do have to cut away at certain times’ but it’s fun having to rely on sound and suggestion so much.”
In one particular case, Johnstone thought the final PG-13 result was better and scarier than what they had previously.
“I remember turning to my sound designer after a re-do and just saying, ‘Holy shit, that’s worse. We were trying to get this PG-13 rating and I was like, ‘That is so much worse than what we had before.'”
RELATED:M3GAN Teaches a School Bully Some Manners in New Clip
M3GAN Set to Prove That Scary Doesn’t Always Mean Gore
Allison Williamsand Violet McGraw star in M3GAN, a thrilling new horror movie about a gifted roboticist, Gemma, who invents a robotic mate for her young niece Cady after the sudden death of her sister and brother-in-law. Unfortunately, programming the machine to “protect Cady from physical and emotional harm” backfires spectacularly. In its mission to keep Cady safe, M3GAN takes increasingly extreme measures to wipe out any threats it perceives - resulting in nightmare consequences that no one could have predicted.
While it may be assumed that the scarier a horror film is, the higher its rating will be, this is certainly not the case. In fact, in recent years some of the best horror films have been given a PG-13 rating due to their clever ability to frighten an audience without relying on gore.A Quiet PlaceandSplitshowed that suspenseful storytelling can create horrific atmospheres with few special effects. Meanwhile,Get Outwas widely lauded as an intelligent social thriller that merged intense terror with complex characters.
Blumhouse Productions has become particularly well known for its masterful take on PG-13 horror. Their success in producing gripping stories without having to resort to excessive violence or jump scares has made them one of the leading producers in the industry. Filmmakers are proving time and time again that you don’t need buckets of blood and guts for big scares.
M3GANhits theaters in the United States on January 6 and in the United Kingdom on January 13.
