N.S. board changes Vampire Hunter movie rating

20th Century Fox has won permission to screen Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter with 14-year-olds in the audience.

Producers for the movie had appealed a decision by the Alcohol and Gaming Division of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, after the department gave the film an 18A.

A movie with an 18A classification can be viewed by anyone 18 years of age and older, and people under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

"Although there's a lot of action with blood-letting, it's all contained to vampires. Most of the scenes are set in a comic book tone often cutting away to keep the gore to a minimum," Barry Newstead, a vice-president with 20th Century Fox, wrote to the Maritimes Film Classification Board on June 15.

Newstead argued both Ontario and British Columbia had given the film a 14A classification.

After watching the movie, Nova Scotia's Utility and Review Board upheld the appeal on Friday and gave Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter a 14A rating on the eve of its weekend opening.