The newest addition to the MCU’s roster of characters is Moon Knight, who was introduced in Disney+’s Moon Knight series. Before the release of the series, Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige was vocal about Moon Knight being brutal. While it may indeed be more brutal than the other MCU shows, does that necessarily mean that Moon Knight is scary? So, is Moon Knight actually scary, and how gory is it?
There are some scary scenes in Moon Knight, especially in episode 1. Both episodes 1 and 2 have also shown a few scenes that are mildly bloody and brutal. However, Moon Knight is neither scary nor gory because it doesn’t focus on either of those aspects. Moon Knight is also rated TV-PG.
The fact that Moon Knight is rated TV-14 means that it can be suitable for children the age of 14 as long as there is parental guidance. This means that this isn’t a series that was meant to be scary or gory, as no Marvel movie or show has ever been any of those. So, while Moon Knight may indeed be more brutal than other MCU movies and shows, it still is manageable. That said, let’s look at what we know about Moon Knight and how scary it might be.
Is Moon Knight A Scary Show?
When Moon Knight was introduced, Marvel Studios did its job by hyping it up as something that’s almost entirely new in the world of the MCU because of how it was described to be something that’s more mature than any of the other movies and shows we’ve seen from Marvel Studios. At one point, Kevin Feige himself said that Moon Knight was going to be the most brutal MCU product there is, and that’s because the comic book version of the character is indeed brutal.
While there may be some truths to what Feige said about Moon Knight being brutal, as we’ve seen in the first two episodes, there are some who might be thinking that this is a scary TV series that should be kept away from children or should be avoided by people who don’t necessarily love scary shows. So, is Moon Knight a scary series?
Moon Knight is only mildly scary in the sense that there are some scenes that are tough to understand what is happening from Steven Grant’s point of view. Oscar Isaac did such a fine job with his portrayal of both Grant and Spector that we get to see things from his perspective. And one such thing that the audience could empathize with Steven is the fact that he is experiencing mental problems that he could not quite understand.
In that sense, the scary part comes in the form of the different visions that Steven Grant sees throughout the entire period of him wondering what is wrong with him. He hears voices in his head, blacks out and wakes up in the middle of nowhere, and can see visions of some sort of bird-headed creature that we now know is the Egyptian god Khonshu.
One such scene that might’ve scared people was when Stephen was in his apartment building, and he suddenly experienced supernatural events that caused the lights to go out. Throughout that time, he was seeing visions and even mistook a simple old lady to be a monster. And the final scenes of the first episode also allowed us to see a monster in the form of a jackal.
Nevertheless, the show was quick enough to make us understand that it isn’t supposed to be scary. The scary parts come as a means of making us understand Steven Grant’s mental state and how his inability to understand his own psychological incapacity contributes to his overall condition. Aside from that, there is nothing that’s supposed to be scary about Moon Knight, as long as you’ve gone past the scenes that are mildly scary.
Is It The First Horror Show In The MCU?
Moon Knight is a lot like the other Marvel movies and shows in the sense that it is an action-adventure series that has a bit of comedy. However, based on the fact that there are some scenes that were mildly scary in episodes 1 and 2, does that mean that this is also the first horror series under the MCU’s banner?
While Moon Knight was marketed to be more brutal than other MCU movies or shows, it was never specifically marketed as a horror series. This means that it isn’t necessarily a horror series because the horror aspects of Moon Knight are only mild at best and were only placed there to make us understand Steven Grant’s/Marc Spector’s mental state.
In a sense, it isn’t a horror series in the sense of what horror means. When you talk about horror movies or shows, the plot revolves around the horror aspect in the sense that there is something that’s scary going on and that the narrative focuses on that scary aspect.
Moon Knight does indeed focus on the supernatural aspect of the series, but the supernatural part was never portrayed to be scary or terrifying. The supernatural aspect leans more towards the mysterious side but blends well with the action-adventure theme that has always been common in Marvel movies and shows.
Nevertheless, there is still a chance that this series could become scary. Remember that horror movies and shows could also attack you from a psychological aspect instead of focusing on the supernatural side of things. And considering that Moon Knight is supposed to portray the titular character’s mental state, there is a good chance that we might see more of the psychological horror side of the series in the future.
How Gory Is Moon Knight?
We cannot get enough of the fact that Kevin Feige described Moon Knight to be brutal when, in fact, there is hardly anything gory or bloody about this series. Episode 1 did indeed allow us to see some mildly bloody scenes, but they were there in the flow of the action-adventure side of the show as Marc Spector is supposed to be a brutal mercenary. However, the way that the bloody scenes were shown was far below the level of the slasher films that have come and gone in Hollywood.
There are also some brutal scenes, especially when Moon Knight was handling the jackal and when he was fighting a few low-level thugs. Nevertheless, nothing about the show was overly brutal or gory to the point that blood was needlessly splattered or that people were dying in the most horrific ways possible.
Of course, you should also know that Moon Knight is actually rated TV-14, and that means that it isn’t the most brutal or the bloodiest show out there. This rating implies that those who are 14 years old can safely watch the series but should be done so with some sort of parental guidance whenever the scenes become too brutal or whenever there are sexual suggestions.
Nevertheless, the fact that it isn’t rated higher than TV-14 means that it isn’t too scary or too bloody for younger teenagers to watch. That’s why people who are sensitive to gory scenes should be afraid of watching this series because it isn’t something that’s visually disturbing.
