When people tend to think of the horror genre, an R-rating is typically what comes to mind. After all, the vast majority of the biggest hits tend to feature plenty of blood, guts and gore, but there’s also been a surprisingly large number of great films that have been capable of scaring audiences out of their seats which remained PG-13.
A Quiet Place and its sequel, Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, James Wan’s Insidious, David F. Sandberg’s Lights Out, Stephen King adaptation 1408 and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark are just some titles to have received enthusiastic reviews from critics and fans, without having to trouble the censorship board.
However, Scream producer Chad Villella has now confirmed that next year’s fifth installment will come carrying an R-rating, which is exactly the news fans were hoping for, after the entire series so far dating back over a quarter of a century has been skewed towards the older crowd.
Scream is looking to hit that sweet spot between nostalgia and furthering the story of Ghostface and his many iterations. In fact, co-director Tyler Gillett explained why the movie was a sequel and not a reboot, while Courtney Cox said it isn’t a sequel, reboot or remake, but an entirely new franchise, so even some of the key players can’t seem to agree exactly which boxes it ticks.
The cast boasts returning trio Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell alongside a fresh-faced batch of newcomers who may or may not be little more than cannon fodder in the long run, but the idea of legacy is going to be all over the finished product. That’s fitting when it’s been over a decade since the fourth entry, and 2022’s Scream marks the first to arrive following the passing of creator and director Wes Craven.
