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The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has slapped Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness with a PG-13 rating, citing ‘multiple jump scares’ and other horror elements.
A section labeled ‘threat and horror’ states that the new movie includes several “scenes of horror” including “demonic beings attacking people; a decomposing corpse being reanimated (a potential nod to Marvel Zombies which we caught a glimpse of in the new trailer); leaving charred remains; and multiple ‘jump scares.'” The BBFC goes on to mention ‘frequent scenes of threat’ in which people are “pursued by demonic entities and monsters, or threatened with magical torture.”
The BBFC describes Doctor Strange 2 as a “fantasy horror adventure” in which a sorcerer comes to the aid of a young woman who can traverse different universes and is being hunted for her power.
This all makes perfect sense seeing as the film is directed by none other than Sam Rami who, despite being well-known in the superhero world for directing all three Tobey Maguire-led Spider-Man movies, has quite the history when it comes to the horror genre. Raimi wrote and directed supernatural possession horror The Evil Dead and its sequel, as well as its third fantasy comedy-style installment Army of Darkness. He also helmed 2009’s Drag Me to Hell, his last horror flick before returning to Marvel Cinematic Universe. Way back when, he produced The Grudge, the 2004 remake of the Japanese supernatural horror flick Ju-On. The first Doctor Strange was helmed by another horror director, Scott Derrickson, who is responsible for the Ethan Hawke-led Sinister – which was reportedly named the scariest film of all time.
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness is out May 4 in the US and May 5 in the UK. For more, check out our guide to Marvel Phase 4 and get up to speed before heading to the theater with our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order
Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent’s Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more. Her first collection of poetry, “FINAL GIRL,” sold out of print. Her second collection, “Sad Sexy Catholic,” is forthcoming in 2023.
