We all know at this stage that next weekend’s debutant Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is going to take the Marvel Cinematic Universe closer to horror than ever before, but the real question is how Sam Raimi and Kevin Feige are willing or able to push those boundaries in a PG-13 context.
As it turns out, the answer might be a great deal further than you think, based on a new listing. The British Board of Film Classification have unveiled an in-depth synopsis of why Multiverse of Madness was awarded the localized 12A rating, and it could even be interpreted as a touch on the spoilery side.
You can check out the blow-by-blow account of the horror-infused elements below if you’re okay with explanatory information detailing where the scares will come from and how they’ll happen.
“A large wound is seen in a man’s leg, and there is occasional sight of blood and cuts to faces. Occasional close ups on a dead body show some stages of decomposition.
Scenes of horror include demonic beings attacking people; a decomposing corpse being reanimated; people being burned by magical powers, leaving charred remains; and multiple ‘jump scares’. There are also frequent scenes of threat, in which people are pursued by demonic entities and monsters, or threatened with magical torture.
Sequences include superhuman beings battling with fantastical powers, as well as use of weapons and fistfights. Stronger moments include a person being impaled, magical powers devastating a man’s head, and the implication someone is cut in half.
Fantastical creatures are attacked using different magical powers, resulting in brief gory injuries. There is use of mild bad language (‘shit’, ‘crap’, ‘ass’) and a partial use of ‘son of a bitch’. Milder terms include ‘God’, ‘hell’, ‘butt’ and ‘damn’. There is also occasional rude humour, and characters dealing with grief.”
That’s hardly in keeping with the MCU’s family-friendly image, and sounds about as wild as we were hoping Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would be. Not only that, but it sounds awesome, and we can’t wait to see it unfold on the big screen.
