Happy Alien Day indeed.

Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant has officially been rated “R” by the MPAA for “sci-fi violence, bloody images, language and some sexuality/nudity.” You see, violence isn’t violence in 2017, it’s defined by a subgenre, apparently. So, you won’t be seeing any actual real world violence, just “sci-fi violence”. Can’t. Stop. Laughing.

Also, I’m pretty stoked to see that A24’s It Comes at Night has also been given an “R” rating, this one for “violence, disturbing images, and language.” This is a big deal, to me at least, being that distributors typical force a PG-13 rating for marketing purposes. All of the recent successes have given them confidence in horror and being able to release “R”-rated films in this climate. The Trey Edward Shults-directed horror film looks dope, starring Joel Edgerton and centering on a civilization-destroying pandemic. First details were released earlier this week.

This is cause for celebration, even though all good things must come to an end. Thanks to films like Deadpool and Logan, not to mention Get Out, studios and distributors feel comfortable and safe taking a chance pushing out something with an “R” rating. Different classifications change how a film can be promoted, which makes the rating system a form of censorship whether we want to admit it or not. When a movie can be organic to the filmmaker’s vision, we’re all rewarded. I think we can all agree that there’s nothing worse than a film being watered down for release and then put on home video as an “unrated director’s cut.” Fuck that noise.

Thanks to @owslajosh for the heads up.