Director Guillermo Del Toro thought he would avoid the restrictive rating from MPAA by excluding violence and profanity but the movie's scary element was too much.
- July 27, 2010
AceShowbiz - Guillermo Del Toro is convinced his new movie "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" will terrify cinema-goers because the scary picture has been given a restrictive adults-only rating even though it doesn't contain any "sex, gore or profanity".
The new film, a remake of a 1973 television feature, stars Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce and tells the story of a young woman who is stalked by monsters in the night. Director Del Toro reveals he deliberately left out scenes of sex or violence in a bid to secure a wide-ranging age-rating, but officials at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) have still classified the picture R.
And the moviemaker admits the decision has validated his plan to make the film as frightening as possible. He tells Deadline.com, "By agreement, we shot a movie with no sex, no gore or profanity, because we thought it was the way to avoid R. The MPAA came back and said, it didn't matter, that it would be rated R anyway, for 'pervasive scariness', which in a way is fantastic to hear."
"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" will be released on January 21, 2011 in the U.S.
