Independent horror cinema has always been on the fringes of the movie industry. For a long time in the seventies and eighties, horror always surfed on the edge of the censorship debate and to this day many of the horror classics we've come to love have constantly been at the edges of either banning of complete ostracizing from the film community. "Cannibal Holocaust" remains a film that requires immense inspection and debate before even being re-released to the public among collectors, and even then it's a tough find at the local video outlet online. There have also been films like "I Spit on Your Grave" and "The Last House on The Left" that continue riding the thin line between complete and total obscenity and freedom of expression among film enthusiasts that the MPAA has often scoffed and raised a brow towards. For a better portion of the late nineties to the first decade of the new millennium, the tag of "Unrated" was relegated to direct to DVD releases of horror films and action films. Basically anything that was a genre film not fit to enter theaters and wanted to inspire some interest from potential buyers, the term "Unrated" was slapped on to literally anything from an independent filmmaker looking to grab some potential buyers.
Beyond that, the "Unrated" moniker was also given to any major release as something of a key to a gate that was closed by the restrictions of the MPAA. Often times whenever a film entered the theaters movies were spliced and sliced to prevent an NC-17 rating, so the DVD format became the sanctuary of the mainstream filmmakers looking to let their fans in on something they didn't see in theaters. "Unrated" often carries with it a stigma and sense of caution to even the most open minded cineaste mainly because the DVD format allowed for its creators to do whatever they pleased without the guidelines of the MPAA to keep their artistic vision from blossoming for movie goers. But with the rise of the horror genre in movie theaters and the increasing power of the independent film circuit, the MPAA may soon prove to be something of an antiquated dictatorship, something that will be gradually phased out. There's no denying today that the underground and independent film influence has seen something of an impact on the formats available for movie goers.
DVD's are still a medium where indie filmmakers can flesh out their vision without worry, DVD distributors such as Cinema Epoch and Cinema Libre have strived in devoting their time and energy to films that we'd normally not see on video shelves or theaters for their unadulterated and often unflinching horror films that challenged the conventions of fare you'd find in theaters, and now we're reaching a crescendo where the influence from independent filmmakers are taking back the movies. The seventies are notorious for being stomping grounds for filmmakers to operate however they chose and do whatever they pleased, and after the decade ended, the MPAA took hold of the film world yet again where they could often confine the visions of filmmakers far and wide, but with the need for original content growing among film buffs, the independent filmmakers are turning the theaters in to their domain again and, in the process, reviving the theatrical experience inspiring folks to go to the movies again, in spite of their prices. Alexandre Aja is most recently a man who has been praised for directing a truly gory splatterfest remake of "Piranha" and releasing it in theaters with barely a backlash to be had, while Ti West managed to conduct his own campaign for his film "The House of the Devil" that involved midnight screenings for his satanic thriller with a gory finisher, and even went as far as releasing a vintage VHS for respective collectors.
The wave seems to be spreading like dominoes as now independent filmmakers are creating something of a new renaissance where original fare will slowly be accepted in all of its gory and bloody fashion brining back a more innocent time where movies were more artistic visions and not products. And this horror fan approves big time. This echo is spreading more and more beyond the control of the MPAA who are now sitting back unable to do anything in the face of struggling theatrical franchises who are going over their heads and allowing a forum for edgy filmmakers to share their vision and attract movie-goers to rake in the cash. At a time where the economy is crumbling and opening up the doors for a new depression, businesses are doing whatever it takes and this could be a window for the independent filmmaker to enter and share their world for new generations of movie goers.
Steven R. Monroe most recently managed to side step the MPAA with his 2010 remake of "I Spit on Your Grave" which was a hit with festival goers around the country and is basically on the verge of prompting a theatrical release that is unrated and will likely be touted to many potential movie lovers, all the while filmmaker Adam Green has proven himself a mainstay in horror, and likely making his mark in the history books releasing his sequel to his hit horror film "Hatchet." AMC, always the supporter of indie film and likely doing it in an effort to grab the horror buffs will team with Green, with the help of Dark Sky films to open "Hatchet II" as unrated on October 1st, and will release it as the widest opening film of all time (in 25 Markets) that isn't branded with an MPAA rating and restriction. Whatever you think of Green or the "Hatchet" movies, as a horror buff you can not ignore this brutally influential and gutsy move by Green who will likely garner a hit even bigger than the first "Hatchet" standing as the independent filmmaker who stuck his nose out at the MPAA and will surely inspire other aspiring indie filmmakers to seek ways to undermine the MPAA committee and still garner immense success and support from distributors and theater chains. Dark Sky Films has always been a film distributor on the fringes of the film industry and teamed with Green, "Hatchet II" could prove to be a gory horror film that will hit it big at the box-office and likely press the reset button on a genre now polluted with sequels, remakes, and reboots.
Everyone across the board from studio heads, producers, and even folks who don't even enjoy horror movies are feeling changing of the tides that will probably be a shock to the system of the horror genre that we haven't felt since 1968 when George A. Romero released his infamous "Night of the Living Dead." Are you feeling it? Because I sure am. It's an exciting time to be a horror fan and we have the indie filmmakers to thank for it who will show once and for all that "Unrated" does not mean poisonous.
