What bullshit the sticker attached to the DVD of the “Dawn of the Dead” Unrated Director’s Cut is. “Too Scary for Theaters” my ass. The stuff that has been added back in is cool … more blood, gore and character development. The sticker should read “Contains Scenes that the MPAA Deemed Too Violent & Gory for You to See.” Guess what? It’s a zombie film. We expect lots of gore. We expect heads exploding in messy glob of blood and brain matter. We want it no other way. That’s why we like horror films.

NC-17: No One 17 and Under Admitted
Signifies that the rating board believes that most American parents would feel that the film is patently adult and that children age 17 and under should not be admitted to it. The film may contain explicit sex scenes, an accumulation of sexually oriented language, and/or scenes of excessive violence. The NC-17 designation does not, however, signify that the rated film is obscene or pornographic in terms of sex, language or violence.

It’s a shame that the NC-17 rating has not fared any better than the X rating. Movie theaters and rental chains still shy away from carrying such films. I don’t suppose it helps most the NC-17 movies have not been all that good anyway. Maybe when “Haute Tension” hits theaters it will help ease that stigma … that NC-17 movies are just all about sex. That they can be about some hardcore killin’ as well.