Blumhouse Productions is a titan in the horror genre, but the release of 2020 slasher/horror-comedy, Freaky, could prove that an R rating is their best bet for future movies, and end the trend of PG-13 releases.
Freaky hails from director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) and is reportedly set in the same universe as Happy Death Day and Happy Death Day 2U. The movie sees high school student Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton) facing off against a serial killer (Vince Vaughn) in an unexpected way after they swap bodies. The Butcher, in Millie's body, starts to pick off her classmates during Homecoming, and she—using his body—has to stop him and switch back before it's too late. Landon has proven that he can make entertaining, fun slasher movies with unique premises with his other movies under the Blumhouse Productions label, and while Happy Death Day and its sequel managed to garner a massive amount of success with a PG-13, they're the exception, not the rule.
While some PG-13 horror movies can be good, the sub-genre matters just as much as the content. Supernatural horror movies and other sub-genres that don't rely as much on gore, language, and sexual content can more easily find success with a PG-13 rating, but when it comes to the slasher movie, an R rating is all but a requirement to be considered good. Originating with movies like Halloween and Friday the 13th, there's a certain expectation for slasher movies and other "teen screams", which was similarly proven by the poor reception that came from Blumhouse horror movies in late 2019 and early 2020. Others, such as Truth or Dare (2018) and Countdown (2019) managed to make some money at the box office, but didn't go over well with audiences or critics. Fantasy Island and Black Christmas flopped.
Fantasy Island turned a classic TV show into young adult-oriented slasher fare that was largely bloodless, which was part of why audience and critical reception was so negative. While the 2020 horror movie was one among many other PG-13 offerings that released in the early months of the year, it didn't bode well for future Blumhouse ventures. Black Christmas was a second remake of the 1974 original movie, but its political correctness was harshly criticized before the movie even released. While perhaps unrelated to the controversy, Black Christmas had a sub-par box office as well as largely negative reviews. Though Black Christmas was released first, it's also possible that this trend of PG-13 horror kept audiences at home for Fantasy Island.
Most of Blumhouse's movies tend to succeed financially because they rely on micro-budgets, and thus can achieve greater returns even if the movies aren't popular or well-liked. Blumhouse is typically massively successful because of this. However, the biggest returns in both box office sales and critical/audience reception are traditionally with their R rated endeavors. Also releasing in 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down movie theaters across the world, The Invisible Man was a major hit, grossing $134.9 million on a $7 million budget. Although The Invisible Man had built-in interest, as it's based off one of Universal's classic monsters, it shows what can be done with not only minimal budget, but also how horror audiences and fans will respond more positively to an R rating.
Especially since Freaky is a slasher movie, it's important to keep up the sub-genre's tropes and traditions and put a fresh spin on them rather than trying to play to a younger demographic and toning down violence and scares as a result. Freaky's release model will be difficult to pin down in terms of box office returns, given the fact that theaters are still struggling to open safely—and it's advised they don't open at all. However, if critical and audience reception is largely positive, this could prove certain movies will only be watered down by a lesser rating. Freaky is set to have its world premiere at Beyond Fest on October 8, 2020, and will release in theaters in the United States on November 13, 2020.
