"Hatchet II" recently took an axe to the MPAA by announcing it would forgo a rating, and now the slasher sequel is set to debut at midnight Oct. 1 at AMC Theatres across the country

Written and directed by Adam Green ("Frozen"), "Hatchet II" will enjoy the widest release of an unrated genre film in more than 25 years. Under its AMC independent program, AMC Theatres will exhibit the film in top markets across the country, with Vitagraph Films serving as theatrical distributor.

"We're doubly pleased that not only are we offering fans the opportunity to see 'Hatchet II' in all of its unrated glory, but we're giving it to them as soon as we possibly can," said Greg Newman, executive vice president of Dark Sky Films.

Markets in the United States that will feature "Hatchet II" include: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Detroit, Seattle, Cincinnati, Columbus, Miami, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Atlanta, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Baltimore, St. Louis, Orlando, Tallahassee and Tampa.

Pre-sales for both the 12:01 a.m. showing and the Oct 1 evening showing are now available for purchase at www.amctheatres.com.

Confrontations with the MPAA are nothing new for Green ("Frozen"), who was told by the ratings association that "Hatchet II" was essential unreleasable without an NC-17 rating. The sequel features 17 kills, nine more than in the original.

In 2007, Green was initially slapped with an NC-17 for the first "Hatchet" before enduring two months of appeals and revisions to land an R rating.

"Hatchet II" continues the story of Marybeth -- now played by Danielle Harris ("Halloween") -- as she slips from the clutches of supernatural-slasher Victor Crowley ("Friday the 13th" star Kane Hodder), and then ruthlessly seeks to end his reign of terror in the Louisiana Bayou.

The film also stars Tom Holland, Tony Todd ("Candyman"), R.A. Mihailoff ("Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III"), Kathryn Fiore, Parry Shen, Rick McCallum, Ed Ackerman, Colton Dunn, David Foy, Nick Principe and Alexis Peters.

View the new red-band trailer for "Hatchet II" here; see our Comic-Con International story on Green and the MPAA here.