Benedict Cumberbatch calls Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness “genuinely scary”
The spooky, scary, Marvel multiverse madness officially heads to theaters on May 6
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Benedict Cumberbatch thinks that Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is “genuinely scary.” In fact, he thinks it just might be the “most frightening” Marvel movie ever, which doesn’t mean that much considering previous MCU releases—but then again this particular film was directed by Evil Dead creator himself, Sam Raimi, so maybe Cumberbatch has a point.
“I think almost definitely it is the most frightening Marvel film of all time,” Cumberbatch tells Esquire Middle East in a new interview. “But I know that doesn’t necessarily put it in the same league as The Shining or of The Exorcism Of Emily Rose.”
Cumberbatch continues, “I would say in [the] compound sense of what little I know is it’s definitely darker in tone, and in terms of advice for taking kids of a certain age, it’s going to be prohibitive for certain people of a certain age because it is scary.”
With Sam Raimi on as director for the sequel, Cumberbatch says he brings a certain flair and horror sensibilities to the Marvel project.
“There’s a lot of shock horror as this is a Sam Raimi film, in tone and execution,” Cumberbatch tells the publication. “There are a lot of his trademark zoom cuts, close-ups and the schlockiness of it as well. It does feel like watching a Sam Raimi film of old at times. There’s a nostalgia kick to that, which I think feels playful at times, as well as dark and quite scary. I wouldn’t say it’s an out-and-out spine-chilling horror film, but there are definitely moments that make you jump, definitely moments that do fit into the horror genre.”
Cumberbatch stars in the feature alongside WandaVision’s Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Rachel McAdams. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness arrives in theaters on May 6.
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“It’s really scary and it’s dark and subversive in ways you wouldn’t expect and it pushes the limits of what we can do with a PG-13 rating and I swear this isn’t just me regurgitating marketing talking points to sell a children’s movie to the 18-34 demographic.”
Reminds me of all the hullaballoo surrounding Revenge of the Sith and its series-first PG-13 rating back in the day. The funny thing was, you couldn’t really explain to people who hadn’t seen the movie why it earned that rating without giving away the whole Order 66 subplot. I worked at a theater at the time and saw it a few days early, and remember being in that exact pickle when I stopped into a Gamestop one day still in my uniform, I think either on wide release day or the day before. The cashier asked me about the rating and I explained it very vaguely, but he still got mad at me for spoiling it.
For RotS I’d say the PG-13 rating is there for “Remember how Lucas has described Anakin turning into Darth Vader for the last 20 years, with the whole bit about losing a lightsaber battle to Obi-Wan and falling into a volcano? Yeahhhh, you see that on-screen, like, for a while. He doesn’t fall in a volcano so much as near it, but trust me, that’s enough.”
“The funny thing was, you couldn’t really explain to people who hadn’t seen the movie why it earned that rating without giving away the whole Order 66 subplot.”
No shit. Is that somehow significant?
Cars is a children’s movie. The MCU, is not.
PIXAR movies are made for children and adults. MCU movies are made for children and adults. I’d say they’re quite comparable.
We have ratings for this bud. Children’s movies are G and PG, family adventure films are usually PG-13. They’ll be appropriate for almost all ages, but have content that might scare very young children. And plenty of content that would be incomprehensible, like political intrigue.
I saw it last night. There’s a few legitimately scary scenes that would scare children. At least one jump scare that made a few people in my theater squirm.
I saw Hereditary so bring it, Dr. Strange.
Now do Incident in a Ghostland.
Update: Dr. Strange did not bring it.
You get say “fuck” only once in a PG-13 film, so I hope they used it wisely! Like “Go back to your own dimension, fuckface!”
I believe it is “This dimension fucks”
Sounds like something Toast would say