Director Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spider-Man) draws on his experience helming superhero films and his roots in the horror genre to bring a nightmarish twist to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. In this instalment, the eponymous hero must traverse different universes to evade his former ally Scarlet Witch, who seeks to unlock a powerful source of dark magic.
Classification Issues
- Threat and horror
- Scenes of horror include demonic beings attacking people; a decomposing corpse being reanimated; people being burned by magical powers, leaving charred remains; and multiple 'jump scares'. There are also frequent scenes of threat, in which people are pursued by demonic entities and monsters, or threatened with magical torture.
- Violence
- Sequences include superhuman beings battling with fantastical powers, as well as use of weapons and fistfights. Stronger moments include a person being impaled, magical powers devastating a man's head, and the implication someone is cut in half. Fantastical creatures are attacked using different magical powers, resulting in brief gory injuries.
- Additional issues
- There is use of mild bad language ('shit', 'crap', 'ass') and a partial use of 'son of a bitch'. Milder terms include 'God', 'hell', 'butt' and 'damn'. There is also occasional rude humour, and scenes in which characters deal with grief.
Key classification issues: horror and threat
Departing from previous films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness features some notable moments of horror, including supernatural zombie-like creatures, jump scares, and demonic entities. The action largely takes place in alternate dimensions and universes, some of which resemble surreal dreamscapes. While fantastical settings and creatures are familiar to Marvel fans, the horror elements of this adventure may surprise or scare younger audiences.
BBFC research has shown that people see a distinction between ‘threat’ and ‘horror’. Physical and psychological threats can occur at 12A/12, but horror content should not be frequent or sustained.
The horror sequences in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are occasional but not frequent, and occur within a clearly fantastical context. They are regularly broken up by action, humour and spectacle, and the overall tone of the film is not disturbing. Even a scene in which a decomposing corpse is magically reanimated contains moments of comedy and reassurance as the hero possesses the ghoulish figure rather than it terrorising people.
We classified Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 12A for moderate horror, violence, threat and injury detail.
