Christian Horror Flick Earns an R Rating

House, the upcoming supernatural thriller based on the collaborative novel by New York Times Bestselling Authors Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti, has received an R rating by the MPAA for terror and some violence. The fact that a horror flick gets an R is not news. But the fact that the film is based on a popular Christian-themed novel is raising a few eyebrows.

Producer Ralph Winter (X-MEN, Fantastic Four) expressed surprise over the fan base-limiting rating. “Typically when the MPAA gives a movie an R rating, there is generally something specific you can point to that’s pushing the movie over the rating line,” he noted in a press release. “When the MPAA came back and said that the movie was going to receive an R for ‘terror’ in general, we were at a loss. We knew immediately that a large portion of the teenage fan base that made the book a success would not have access to the film and that many faith-based organizations that would generally support the film would feel handcuffed due to the baggage associated with most rated R films—baggage that’s completely absent in House.”

The MPAA justified their rating saying that the whole story was just too intense to warrant a PG-13.  

House is scheduled to open on approximately 450 screens across America on Nov. 7.