When Venom was released in 2018, fans were a little off-put by the film’s PG-13 rating. They wondered if the spirit of Venom could be captured while keeping a PG-13 rating. After all, it is a film about a symbiote invading a human body and thirsting for other humans.
The film went over well with audiences, however, and they were impressed with the storyline and the film as a whole, the rating being PG-13 didn’t take away too much. When the announcement that Venom: Let There Be Carnage would also be PG-13 happened, fans wondered, again, if it would live up to the true story of Venom without the gore.
Director Andy Serkis says fans have absolutely nothing to worry about, however, and that the rating is actually done with good reason. Serkis says they want the audience to be a wide one, they wanted fans of Venom to be able to experience the movie so they had to follow the rules.
In a chat with IGN, Serkis talked more about the rating including more audiences and the fact that the suggestion alone (of the violence and gore) can be incredibly powerful.
“You could go down an R-rated adult version of this. Of course, you could. You could have done that with the last film. But we wanted to reach a big audience with this and… there are several rules you have to abide by. However, having said that, I think we have pushed to the very limits [with] the danger and darkness and the threat and the menace of Carnage. Just because you don’t see so much gore — perhaps there’s not so much blood or… seeing heads being bitten off — you can still suggest that. The suggestion, leaving it to the audience’s imagination, can be just as powerful. I think that’s just what we managed to do. It’s certainly not shying away from the darkness.”
Fans don’t have to worry about the tone of the film if the first opinions on social media are anything to go by. Many fans are toying with the idea that Venom: Let There Be Carnage is even better than the first one.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage hits theaters on October 1st.