The new Borderlands movie opened to abysmal reviews from fans and critics alike. One big complaint is that the PG-13 film lacks the gore and violence found in the M-rated games. However, according to one person involved in the creation of the live-action adaptation, they filmed plenty of gory moments that didn’t make the final cut.
Borderlands, out now in theaters, has received a tidal wave of negative reviews. It debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a horrific O%, which has since increased to 6%. Reviews have criticized the movie’s lack of humor, boring action, ugly sets, and bad casting choices. And many have wondered why the film is PG-13, considering the source material and the fact that Eli Roth is a talented horror director who likely would have been on board for a bloody Borderlands movie. Well, that was the plan at one point, according to the film’s stunt coordinator.
In a new interview with Screen Rant, Borderlands’ stunt coordinator Jimmy O’Dee confirmed that they shot the film with an R-rating in mind.
“We always knew that we were going to go either 15 or R rating, it’s 15 in UK, for a slightly mature audience,” said O’Dee. “So, we were blowing people’s heads off. And we were cutting feet off. We were doing all of that.”
O’Dee reiterated this point saying “But literally the idea and the brief was carnage, head cutting off, feet cutting off” and that he and the crew were told to “go for it” and that everything would be figured out in post-production. But then something changed and Borderlands became PG-13.
“But then, you know, a lot happens,” said O’Dee. “We shot that nearly three years ago, or we just finished it. So, I guess a lot happens in post, and they see where it’s going to go and what market they’re aiming for.”
You might be wondering if famous horror director Eli Roth was holding back on set. According to O’Dee, that wasn’t the case at all as Roth was upping the gore during production.
“It was funny, he was on the second unit, he came over, and he was like, ‘Uh... just cut the ankles off. Yeah, get the knife and cut the ankles and we will leave these stubs.’ It was kind of like there wasn’t enough gore for him sometimes.”
But it seems the higher-ups decided that the best chance Borderlands had was if it was PG-13 and more accessible to younger people who might love the games. However, considering a lot of this stuff was filmed, Eli Roth’s involvement, and the lackluster reviews, I’d not be shocked if an unrated version of the movie with more gore and extra scenes arrives in the future in an effort to make some more money off this misfire.
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