It’s fall 1993. I’m standing in line to play a game of tetherball on the playground when one of my fellow 2nd Grade classmates walks up to me, and hands me a folded piece of Oxford Filler paper. I ask what it is. He replies, “The blood code for Mortal Kombat on Sega.” I unfold the paper and see, written in number 2 pencil: Blood Code ABACABB. The release of the original Mortal Kombat video game on home consoles was the talk of the playground, every young gamer was talking about it, even if their parents didn’t allow them to play it due to the new ESRB(Entertainment Software Rating Board) rating system. The game was given a MA-13 before it was later replaced with T for Teen. I had that piece of paper for years before finally throwing it away when I was 20. When I finally purchased the game for my Sega Genesis (which still works), the first thing the clerk at the store asked me was, “You still remember the Blood Code?” I immediately recited it.
On April 16th, the bloody cinematic reboot Mortal Kombat will be released in theaters and available on HBOmax. It’s the feature debut of filmmaker Simon McQuoid from a screenplay by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham. McQuoid stated a lot of the infamous fatalities from the video game series will be featured in the R-rated film, but only in the kind of detail, the MPAA(Motion Picture Association of America) will allow. With help from producer E. Bennett Walsh, who executive produced Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films, McQuoid was guided with experienced hands-on what can and cannot be shown in a film to avoid the cursed NC-17. Hopefully, there will be an unrated Director’s Cut.
So put in that Blood Code ABACABB (sign in to verify your age) and check out the Red Band Trailer by clicking here:
