History DarkerAndEdgier / Film

** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' is much, much darker and more mature tone than the more light-hearted and kid-friendly ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' with assassination attempts on Padme's life, the growing tensions in the Republic, Anakin's ''Main/StartofDarkness'', when he slaughters the Tusken Raiders after they kidnapped, tortured and killed his mother, Jango Fett getting beheaded on-screen in front of his son, Anakin's arm getting cut off, and the start of the Clone Wars after major deaths in the Battle of Geonosis.

** ''Film/TheLastJedi'' is arguably ''even darker'' than ''The Force Awakens'', with the teaser poster giving the ''Star Wars'' logo red colouring instead of the traditional yellow to emphasise that. The teaser trailer also showcased a darker tone, even hinting at [[spoiler:Luke Skywalker]] having crossed the DespairEventHorizon following the events between ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' and ''The Force Awakens''. It's certainly the most morally ambiguous installment in the entire series, making ''Film/RogueOne'' look almost straightforward in comparison. A good chunk of the film is members of the Resistance taking on each other for various reasons.

** Apparently ''Film/TheLastJedi'' is going to be ''even darker'' than ''The Force Awakens'', with the teaser poster giving the ''Star Wars'' logo red colouring instead of the traditional yellow to emphasise that. The teaser trailer also showcased a darker tone, even hinting at [[spoiler:Luke Skywalker]] having crossed the DespairEventHorizon following the events between ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' and ''The Force Awakens''.

* The ''Spawn'' reboot movie is following the R superhero movie tend and will be targeting a more mature audience. It will also have less superhero elements and will be more of a horror movie. The 90's spawn movie was the opposite of this (which resulted in backlash from fans and critics).

* ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'' isn't too much darker than its [[Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast animated counterpart]], but still includes some distinctly darker elements. Instead of just trying to commit Maurice to an insane asylum to manipulate Belle into marrying him, Gaston [[spoiler: knocks out Maurice, ties him up and leaves him in the woods to be eaten by wolves after he refuses to give Gaston Belle's hand in marriage. Only when Maurice survives and reveals to the village that Gaston tried to kill him does Gaston resort to framing him as insane to save his own skin.]] We also learn the dark fate of Belle's mother [[spoiler: (she died of the bubonic plague – and Maurice was forced to abandon her while she was still alive to protect the infant Belle from the disease)]], and near the end [[spoiler: all the Enchanted Objects turn inanimate after the last petal falls from the rose, bidding each other farewell as they slowly die... though of course they all come back to life as humans when the spell is broken.]]

* The 2002 ''Hound of the Baskervilles'' TV movie starring Richard Roxburgh transforms Conan Doyle's [[Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles classic detective novel]] into something much more like an "edgy" modern crime drama, featuring more blood; more violence (Holmes has to beat the information out of the cab driver instead of bribing him); more death (Beryl Stapleton is killed in this version); and Holmes gratuitously shooting up coke in the middle of the case.

* ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'' isn't too much darker than its [[Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast animated counterpart]], but still includes some distinctly darker elements. Instead of just trying to commit Maurice to an insane asylum to manipulate Belle into marrying him, Gaston [[spoiler: knocks out Maurice, ties him up and leaves him in the woods to be eaten by wolves after the latter refuses to give him Belle's hand in marriage. Only when Maurice survives and reveals to the village that Gaston tried to kill him does Gaston resort to framing him as insane to save his own skin.]] We also learn the dark fate of Belle's mother [[spoiler: (she died of the bubonic plague – and Maurice was forced to abandon her while she was still alive to protect the infant Belle from the disease)]], and near the end [[spoiler: all the Enchanted Objects turn inanimate after the last petal falls from the rose, bidding each other farewell as they slowly die... though of course they all come back to life as humans when the spell is broken.]]

* ''OnceUponATimeInAmerica''. Compared to the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy'' and ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'', this film is much more bleak and somber. May seem hard to do, but this film was a definite shift away from the previous films, starting with the very fact that Noodles (the main character) is a straight up VillainProtagonist who commits rather reprehensible acts. [[EvilVersusEvil He's not better than his enemies whatsoever]].

* ''OnceUponATimeInAmerica''. Compared to the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy'' and ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'', this film is much more bleak and somber. May seem hard to do, but this film was a definite shift away from the previous films, starting with the very fact that Noodles (the main character) is a straight up VillainProtagonist who commits rather reprehensible acts. [[EvilVersusEvil He's not better than his enemies]].

* In the {{70s}}, there was a quite radical change in horror movies. Films became incredibly DarkerAndEdgier, at least in comparison with the 60s. ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''[[Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre]]'', and ''Film/DontTortureADuckling'' are examples.

* The Hellboy reboot will be a darker, more gruesome movie. The movie will be targeting an R rating unlike the previous two Hellboy movies. The movie will also have some horror elements.
* In the 70s, there was a quite radical change in horror movies. Films became incredibly DarkerAndEdgier, at least in comparison with the 60s. ''Film/TheExorcist'', ''[[Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre]]'', and ''Film/DontTortureADuckling'' are examples.

* ''Film/RamboIV''. Even for the GrandFinale, certainly manages to be the sequel darker than all his predecessors. There [[{{Gorn}} is much more blood]] [[BloodierAndGorier and extreme violence]], at UpToEleven, and, has BigBad, who could be in a top 5 list of the most monstrous villains in film history.

* The Hellboy reboot will be a darker more gruesome movie. The movie will be targeting an R rating unlike the previous two Hellboy movies. The movie will also have some horror elements.

** ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' is the darkest movie in the Dark Knight trilogy. In the movie, the Joker represents anarchy and tries to prove that anyone can become like him, and Harvey Dent becomes the villain known as Two Face and goes on a killing spree. Two Face murders any cop who helped the Joker or the Mob. He then tries to kill Jim Gordon's family as revenge for not saving his wife in time. The Movie is the most violent of the Dark Knight trilogy, as the movie ends with Batman becoming a criminal and on the run. Bruce then reflects on how he failed and is broken and doesn't know what he stands for.

* The ''Spawn'' reboot movie is following the R superhero movie tend and will be targeting a more mature audience. It will also have less superhero elements and will be more of a horror movie. The 90's spawn movie was the opposite of this (witch resulted and backlash from fans and critics).
* The Hellboy reboot will be a darker more gruesome movie, the movie will be targeting a R rating unlike the previous two Hellboy movies. The movie will also have some horror elements.

** ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''. This sequel manages to be the darkest of all prequels, and probably the darkest of the entire saga so far. (Notably, it is the first ''Star Wars'' film to garner a PG-13 rating). This is where you know the plot of the FallenHero, TheBadGuyWins this time and this is the first in the series that blood shown graphically (note when Anakin is almost killed). The movie contains an infamous scene of [[spoiler:Vader murdering children]].

** Apparently ''Film/TheLastJedi'' is going to be ''even darker'' than ''The Force Awakens'', with the teaser poster giving the ''Star Wars'' logo red colouring instead of the traditional yellow to emphasise that. The teaser trailer also showcased a darker tone.

* ''Film/FreeWilly 2'' & ''3''. Compared to the first movie, in which the only tearjerker was Willy almost dying. The second had Jessie nearly drowning and getting incinerated by an oil tanker fire. While the dangers there were unintentional, the third amps it up by having human villains not capture the whales, but try to kill them and sell their meat to underground markets. Willy's not exempt from this either since in the climax of the film, he actually almost kills the captain of the whaling ship for attacking him, [[PapaWolf his mate and their unborn child.]]

* For ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', the sequels fall into this. ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'' pits Jack against a threat he can't talk his way out of and, in the process, puts more emphasis on his morally ambiguous side, with him resorting to genuinely shady stuff to escape his DealWithTheDevil. ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'' opens with Cutler Beckett presiding over a mass execution - and becoming the first Disney villain to kill a child on-screen. Elizabeth and Will both have to join in the speed chess game just to keep up, with Elizabeth getting the big ShootTheDog moment of [[spoiler:leaving Jack to face the Kraken so the others can escape.]] And ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanOnStrangerTides'' with no Will or Elizabeth, has no characters involved in the main plot who aren't utterly self-serving, and falls into AffablyEvil [[EvilVersusEvil Versus Not-So-Affably Evil]].

* The ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', the sequels fall into this. ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'' pits Jack against a threat he can't talk his way out of and, in the process, puts more emphasis on his morally ambiguous side, with him resorting to genuinely shady stuff to escape his DealWithTheDevil. ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'' opens with Cutler Beckett presiding over a mass execution - and becoming the first Disney villain to kill a child onscreen. Elizabeth and Will both have to join in the speed chess game just to keep up, with Elizabeth getting the big ShootTheDog moment of [[spoiler:leaving Jack to face the Kraken so the others can escape.]] And ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanOnStrangerTides'' with no Will or Elizabeth, has no characters involved in the main plot who aren't utterly self-serving, and falls into AffablyEvil [[EvilVersusEvil Versus Not-So-Affably Evil]].

** Apparently ''Film/TheLastJedi'' is going to be ''even darker'' than ''The Force Awakens'', with the teaser poster give the ''Star Wars'' logo red colouring instead of the traditional yellow to emphasise that. The teaser trailer also showcased a darker tone.

** Apparently ''Film/TheLastJedi'' is going to be ''even darker'' than ''TFA'', and the teaser poster even has a '''red''' logo to boot! the teaser trailer showed that the movie will have a darker tone and it looks like it will be more like the empire strikes back.

** In [[http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/2012/07/25/captain-america-sequel-will-be-darker-edgier-co-director-says this article]] about ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier sequel]], the co-director uses this exact pair of comparative adjectives. The movie also has a much more serious tone than the first movie. MovieSuperheroesWearBlack seems to be in effect, with Cap wearing a darker, more practical outfit rather than his colorful costume from ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', and ComicBook/TheFalcon wearing dark military gear rather than his red costume from the comics. Creator/ScarlettJohansson specifically said large portions of the film invoke the NotWearingTights trope to give the movie a more "grounded", realistic feel.

* ''Film/Dinasour'', for the time, deviated from the Disney norm of warm sing-along-filled movies. It's much darker. A meteor destroys their once-lived lands. The musical tone is dark too. And the movie is about survival.

** Robert Bresson's ''Lancelot du Lac''. What it lacks in gore and DungAges ambiance, it makes up for by being extremely dour, mechanical and joyless, Bresson films are wont to be.

* The Spawn reboot movie is following the R superhero movie tend and will be targeting a more mature audience. It will also have less superhero elements and will be more of a horror movie. The 90's spawn movie was the opposite of this (witch resulted and backlash from fans and critics).

* Richard Kelly wrote a [[http://richard-kelly.net/multimedia/scripts/Holes-Script72.pdf screenplay]] for Louis Sachar's lighthearted BlackComedy, ''{{Holes}}'', that went in this direction. Instead of searching for buried treasure at a juvenile delinquent summer camp, the movie would have had the boys searching for nuclear weapons in a post-apocalyptic Texas. One scene has [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior Stanley visiting a prostitute.]] The studio instead used the screenplay written by Sachar himself.

* ''Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia: Prince Caspian''. One of the characters even tells the returning heroes that Narnia is no longer the welcoming place they remember.

* ''Film/SnowWhiteATaleofTerror''. Even more so than the original fairytale.