Back in April, producer and The Shape of Water director Guillermo del Toro said he planned on director André Øvredal's upcoming horror flick Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark to snag a PG-13 rating. I thought that seemed a little far-fetched at the time, but today we have word that Del Toro and crew have managed to score just that. Yes, the MPAA has just announced that Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has officially been rated PG-13 for "terror/violence, disturbing images, thematic elements, language including racial epithets, and brief sexual references."
"Racial epithets"? Huh. Anyway, once again, Guillermo del Toro told us back in April that this family-friendly rating is what he was aiming for, saying this.
"The anticipated rating is PG-13. I wanted to have standees that said, 'You have to be this tall to see this movie,' but somebody beat us to it, so what can we do [laughs]? But the idea is the books are a favorite among young readers, and I think that there are two or three generations of parents that know the books, too. So, it's really going to be a ride, but there is a safety bar in it."
Fair enough. But I'm still not sure, from the looks of the recently released Scary Stories trailer, that this is going to a be a movie I take my kids to see anytime soon. Maybe when they're 13.
While we're here, it's also worth mentioning that The Turning, Universal's upcoming take on Henry James's classic ghost story novella The Turn of the Screw, has also snagged a PG-13 rating. This time the rating is for "terror, violence, disturbing images, brief strong language, and some suggestive content." For those that might not know, this new take on James' scary-ass mini-novel will feature Terminator: Dark Fate star Mackenzie Davis along with Stranger Things and IT breakout Finn Wolfhard, and The Florida Project young actress Brooklynn Prince. The Turning is scheduled to be released by Universal Pictures on January 24, 2020.
Meanwhile, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark will be unleashed by Lionsgate on August 9, 2019. Troll Hunter and The Autopsy of Jane Doe director André Øvredal takes the helm of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark from a screenplay written by John August and Dan and Kevin Hageman based on a story by Guillermo del Toro, Patrick Melton, and Marcus Dunstan based on the kid's horror book series by Alvin Schwartz. Del Toro also produces this teenage nightmare along with Sean Daniel, Jason F. Brown, J. Miles Dale, and Elizabeth Grave.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark stars Zoe Colletti as Stella Nicholls along with Michael Garza as Ramón Morales, Gabriel Rush as Auggie Hilderbrandt, and Austin Abrams as Tommy Milner. Breaking Bad star Dean Norris joins them as Deputy Roy Nicholls, along with Gil Bellows as Police Chief Turner, Lorraine Toussaint as Lou Lou, Austin Zajur as Chuck Steinberg, and Natalie Ganzhorn as Ruth Steinberg. The monsters set to be featured in the film include The Jangly Man, The Pale Lady, Harold the Scarecrow, and The Toe Monster played by Javier Botet. This update comes to us via the MPAA.