By Chris Kavan - 08/19/20 at 12:01 PM CT
Theaters are slowly re-opening so stay tuned for an actual weekend preview later this week - but there are still films that are wary of returning to the big screen. Case in point, this week's MPAA Ratings Bulletin features Antebellum, surely one of the year's most intriguing horror titles, and one that is skipping theaters to go straight to PVOD in September. It has also been announced that Run, another mid-range horror title, is also going straight to streaming (Hulu) and despite movies coming back to theaters, I don't think these two films are going to be the last - especially if Mulan performs well on Disney+ as a premium offering.
That being said, we still have ratings to get to - besides Antebellum there is also The Little Things - and a slew of other, smaller offerings.
Out of all the genres that has weathered the COVID storm, horror has by far fared the best with films like Relic, The Wretched, She Dies Tomorrow and Sputnik doing well both on VOD and limited (drive-in and other) theatrical debuts. It is still a bit of surprise, however, that Antebellum is skipping the re-opening theaters and is instead being positioned as a premium VOD release. Antebellum looks to be this year's Get Out (or Us if you will) featuring Janelle Monáe playing a successful author, Veronica Henley, who finds herself trapped in a new, twisted reality and must figure out how to escape before it's too late. The best part about Antebellum to me is still how mysterious the story has been kept. From what I can gather, Monáe is trapped in the past (but where elements of the present bleed over) during the Civil War era (perhaps pre-or-post - but certainly when slavery was still a factor). And it has plenty of creep factor as well. The film also stars Jena Malone, Eric Lange, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, Gabourey Sidibe and Lily Cowles among others. There is no doubt this would have been one of the big horror titles of the year but the uncertainty over theatrical openings was just too much to leave to chance, so the premium VOD route just made more sense in this case. Rated R for disturbing violent content, language, and sexual references.
On the other hand, The Little Things is (at the time of this blog) going to be released in theaters - even if it's a few months away. Written and directed by John Lee Hancock (known for feel-good films The Blind Side, The Founder and Saving Mr. Banks), the film follows a pair of police officers - burnt-out, rule-bending Deke Craven (Denzel Washington) and by-the-book crack Detective Baxter (Rami Malek) who are on the trail of a serial killer (Jared Leto) and who butt heads and face moral quandaries even as they get closer to capturing the killer. Natalie Morales, Sofia Vassilieva, Tom Hughes, Chris Bauer, Terry Kinney and Jason James Richter help round out the cast. Given the talent involved, I'm hoping this goes a bit deeper than your typical cop-out-of-water drama. Usually a January release would give me pause - but this is an unprecedented era, so January is not the death knell it usually implies. It's still not one I would be willing to brave theaters for at this time, but certainly worth watching at home. Rated R for violent/disturbing images, language and full nudity.
Those are the two big films from the board this week but be sure to check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
ALL MY LIFE
Rated PG-13 for brief language.
ANTEBELLUM
Rated R for disturbing violent content, language, and sexual references.
BLACK BEAR
Rated R for language throughout, sexual content, drug use and some nudity.
HUBIE HALLOWEEN
Rated PG-13 for crude and suggestive content, language and brief teen partying.
JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
Rated PG for some thematic elements and peril.
THE LITTLE THINGS
Rated R for violent/disturbing images, language and full nudity.
NO ESCAPE
Rated R for bloody violence, grisly images, pervasive language, some graphic nudity and brief drug use.
SEANCE
Rated R for bloody horror violence, language and some drug use.
SHITHOUSE
Rated R for language throughout, sexual content and drug/alcohol use.
WANDER DARKLY
Rated R for language and some sexual content/nudity.
