Sony’s Venom adaptation is in a peculiar place right now as there are reports that the studio wants it to be released with a PG-13 rating as to more align with the universe they’re creating. This makes a ton of sense for the company, but feels way off-brand for the character who is known for eating brains and biting off people’s heads. With the release only a month away, there’s still no clarity, although the film’s director assures us he pushed the film’s violence as far as he could.
“We’re curious to see where it’ll land,” says Ruben Fleischer, the film’s director in an interview with Total Film magazine. “But we pushed the envelope as far as we possibly could in terms of just making it the most true to the comics version of the film that we could. He’s a character that goes around biting people’s heads off and eating brains. So we tried to respect that as much as we could.”
The use of the word “tried” isn’t comforting, but everything in the film’s trailer (below) is indicative of respect and looks honest to the source material.
Tom Hardy, who plays Eddie Brock and the title character (“we are one”) is looking at it from a business perspective, and seems at peace with whatever direction it ends up going.
“You want to reach as big an audience as possible with one of these movies, because they’re good fun,” he tells the magazine. “My son steered me onto Venom. There would be things I would probably cover his eyes for. It depends how sensitive a nine-year-old’s parents are. It’s not my place to say. I don’t really know what [rating] they’re going to give it. But, it can pivot to either/or, if that makes sense. The IP lends itself to gore, and it also lends itself to a black comedy action thriller, as well.”
From the sounds of it, they filmed enough violence and gore to placate the fans, but who knows what will end up on screen Oct. 5, especially after the same studio castrated Slender Man just weeks before its release.
There’s also another fun bit in the editorial, which offers an explanation as to why the trailer’s comedy feels so perfect. You see, there’s a huge difference between a comedy and a horror film with elements of comedy. One should take itself seriously, and that’s what Venom appears to do. The character, too, takes himself very, very seriously. Fleischer reveals to Total Film his inspirations, which completely align with the tone of the Venom trailers.
“I think, you know, we’ve taken inspiration from An American Werewolf in London. The tonality of that, and the humour in An American Werewolf in London, and the violence and aggression.
“I remember, also, when I was a kid, the original Ghostbusters. I’d also think about Beverly Hills Cop…God, I’m giving away my age. well, I remember if from the ’80s. I don’t know if it’s dated now, but there was a certain edginess to the comedy as well.”
Here’s the latest trailer in which you can see what I’m referring to:
[H/T] CBM
