What Is The Age Rating For The Black Phone? Parents Guide
Scary movies are big draws to teens and tweens. Should parents let their kids answer the call and see this one in theaters? Is The Black Phone safe for teens and tweens to watch? What is the age rating for The Black Phone? This parents guide will help you decide if kids in your household can see The Black Phone in theaters.
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About The Black Phone
The phone is dead. And it’s ringing.
Director Scott Derrickson returns to his terror roots and partners again with the foremost brand in the genre, Blumhouse, with a new horror thriller.
Finney Shaw, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use.
When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.
Watch The Black Phone Trailer here.
What Is The Age Rating For The Black Phone? Parents Guide
Remember how your parents told you to never talk to strangers?
Yep, that whole concept still holds true, and definitely should be the takeaway from The Black Phone.
And with teens and tweens wanting more scary (but not too scary) movies in their lives, they might be asking if they can see this one.
This parents guide for The Black Phone will help you decide if your family can handle the gore, violence, language, sex, romance, and nudity. We’ll also give The Black Phone age rating and age-appropriate recommendations.
Language In The Black Phone
There’s a lot of language in The Black Phone that may not make it kid-friendly for your family.
Pretty much every swear and curse word you know (and love? ha!) is in this one, and most are coming out of the mouths of young children under the age of 13.
If your teens and tweens watch this one, they will hear:
- racial slur be@ner
- holy sh!t
- h@ll
- @sshole
- son of a b!tch
- d@mnit
- jerkface
- d!ckweed
- f@gs
- dipsh!ts
- @ss, @ssface
- c@ck sucking
- sh!t
- f@ck and f@cking are used many times (at least 4 that we counted)
- g-d damn is used multiple times as well
Age Rating For The Black Phone: Is It Safe For Kids When It Comes To Sex, Romance, and Nudity?
There is no sex, romance, or nudity to speak of in The Black Phone.
A potential crush between two classmates is intimated, but absolutely nothing comes out of it.
Is The Black Phone Ok For Kids: Mature Topics
This one definitely crosses a lot of issues when it comes to parenting as its set in the 70s.
An alcoholic parent, a parent who died by suicide, and a verbally and physically abusive parent are in this movie. The suicide is not shown, but it is mentioned.
Drinking and drug use are shown in the movie.
A child also seems to have some abilities of a psychic manner and she prays to Jesus to help her use those abilities to find the missing children.
Violence and Gore: Is The Black Phone Too Scary For Kids Under 17?
If your kids are interested in seeing this movie, they likely are looking for a good scare.
And The Black Phone is scary- maybe too scary- for teens and tweens.
Blood, beatings, knives, abductions, and death are all depicted on screen.
There is a fair amount of blood and bleeding children shown in the movie as well.
But the jump scares are the kicker in this movie. They are very effective (there are about 3-4) and will certainly have your teens jumping in their seats.
The Black Phone Age Rating: What Ages Can Really Watch This One?
The Black Phone is rated R for violence, bloody images, language, and some drug use.
But what is the true age rating for The Black Phone? Can kids under 17 watch this one?
Is The Black Phone Appropriate For Kids Under 17?
For the most part, we suggest sticking with the 17 and up age rating for The Black Phone.
The combined movie content with the theme of young children being abducted, death, torture, language, and bloody scenes make this one a truly scary movie.
That being said: you know your kids best.
If they handle scares and gore well, and you don’t mind them hearing salty language, they may enjoy The Black Phone.
We wouldn’t go younger than 14 for this one, however.
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Patty Holliday is a parent movie reviewer, writer, and podcaster living in the Washington, DC area. Her goal is to bridge the gap between casual fandom and picky critic with parent movie and television reviews. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.
