In a not-so-shocking announcement, Halloween Kills has officially been rated R. That’s exactly what we were expecting from the latest instalment in the iconic horror franchise, of course, which is not exactly known to cater to all the family, but the interesting thing is the description of why that rating’s been applied.
The MPAA’s official classification has just been turned in and it suggests that Kills is going to be even more brutal than the 2018 movie, as it’s been rated R for “strong bloody violence throughout, grisly images, language and some drug use.” Conversely, Blumhouse’s relaunch of the series achieved the same rating for “horror violence and bloody images, language, brief drug use and nudity.” Just as you’d expect from a horror sequel, then, it seems there’ll be more murder, mayhem and gore in the follow-up. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the kill count’s going up, though, as it’s kind of in the title.
Director David Gordon Green has also previously teased just this outcome as well, promising that the pic will feature “twice the thrills and ten times the kills” as the last outing. That makes sense, too, as the 2018 effort was a relatively stripped-back affair. There were multiple deaths, for sure, but it aimed for something closer to the scale of the original 1978 classic. This time around, however, the whole town of Haddonfield will be involved.
As well as the three Strode women, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis), Karen (Judy Greer) and Allyson (Andi Matichak), Kills is bringing back various familiar characters, including Sheriff Brackett (Charles Cyphers), Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards) and Marion Chambers (Nancy Stephens). Anthony Michael Hall is also on board as Tommy Doyle, a role previously played by Brian Andrews and Paul Rudd – who gave Hall his blessing.
Halloween Kills was forced to miss this year’s spooky season, but will eventually be with us in October 2021.