'Goblet' dripping with frightening scenes
By Cesar G. Soriano
USA Today
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LONDON — Just as Harry Potter is growing up in J.K. Rowling's series of phenomenally popular books, the screen version of the young wizard isn't entering quietly into his adolescence.
Judging by the first look at the finished film at a screening for journalists, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" more than earns its PG-13, the first in the series to receive that rating.
In the United States, PG-13 carries with it a caution for parents and warns that some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. "Goblet" is cited for its sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images.
The movie opens Nov. 18.
Says director Mike Newell: "Audiences that began with No. 1 and are now 14, 15, 16 years old will kind of want to know you are not infantilizing the situation. These are not children's books; these are adult stories."
Among the more frightening scenes in the fourth "Potter" installment, due in theaters Nov. 18:
And that's just the first 15 minutes.
"Goblet" features the first appearance by the evil Lord Voldemort, played by Ralph Fiennes, and culminates in a graveyard battle between Harry and Voldemort that includes a torture scene.
Other scenes that may be of concern to parents include creepy spiders crawling on schoolchildren, fire-breathing dragons, monstrous mermaids, a character nearly suffocated by vines and a near-drowning. The film also contains mild profanity, sexual innuendo and the death of a main character.
Producer David Heyman says he was pleased with the rating. "It will be good for a slightly older audience, and it shows that we've been faithful to the material," he said at a recent news conference to promote the Warner Bros. picture.
"Goblet" "is a different kind of animal. It has evolved," says Newell. Dumbing down the books would have been patronizing to fans who have grown up and matured alongside Potter, Newell says.
Whether the film is too scary for children under 12 depends on the child's disposition, says star Daniel Radcliffe.
"If you are a very sensitive 10-year-old, you probably couldn't see it, but then again, if you are a very resilient 5-year-old, you could," he says.
"What's great is there is all the intensity, and that's fantastic. I think people would have been disappointed if we had pulled away from that. At the same time, you have got a lot more comedy. It is the funniest of the films so far. There is a nice balance of light and shade."
