R-rated superhero films aren't a new phenomenon, but their sudden increase (and success) has provided new opportunities to different studios working in that genre.
Deadpool and Logan, the two most recent and critically lauded 'R' comic book features, have opened the floodgates for these kinds of films. And Venom, a character tailor-made for this kind of style, is set to benefit.
The most interesting thing about Venom's production hasn't just been how much it's flown beneath the radar, but also the comments from the film's producers. Back in July, the president of Columbia Pictures - Sanford Panitch - said that the Venom film would be gunning for a horror-like tone, inspired by the filmographies of John Carpenter and David Cronenberg. The difference, Panitch went on to say, was that Venom would have "pop and fun", but to many, the comparisons to Carpenter and Cronenberg will inevitably stick out the most.
Both Hellboy and Blade have straddled the line between horror and hero, but without the freedom of an R-rating. Neil Marshall's Hellboy reboot will be the next to tread down this path, but for now, it looks like Venom's leading the way.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
