Why We Rated This Appropriate for Ages 17 and UP

What to watch out for

• Language:

  Some 300 f-words, plus slang for genitals and multiple uses of "ass," "hell" and s-word.

• Messages

• Sex:

  A full frontal shot of a female dancer in a strip bar; discussions of prostitution and intercourse; women in tight outfits, including an elaborately made-up prostitute who fights with her pimp on the sidewalk; a well-heeled couple kidnap ch... More

  A full frontal shot of a female dancer in a strip bar; discussions of prostitution and intercourse; women in tight outfits, including an elaborately made-up prostitute who fights with her pimp on the sidewalk; a well-heeled couple kidnap children to film them in sexual situations (this is not explicit but clearly and disturbingly implied). Close

• Violence:

  Pretty much nonstop: shootings (at film's start, a gang of drug dealers fights corrupt cops, with blood, guns, skewed angles, and fast-cuts; a child shoots his abusive stepfather); knifings; fist fights; an assault with a welding torch; a p... More

  Pretty much nonstop: shootings (at film's start, a gang of drug dealers fights corrupt cops, with blood, guns, skewed angles, and fast-cuts; a child shoots his abusive stepfather); knifings; fist fights; an assault with a welding torch; a prolonged assault on our hero with hockey pucks, leaving his face smashed and bloodied; and an explosion set by a house's inhabitant in order to commit suicide. Close

• Drugs:

  Characters are obvious drug addicts (shaking and sweating), drink liquor, smoke cigarettes and cigars.

• Consumerism:

  Not an issue.

What Parents Need to Know

About Running Scared

Parents need to know that this movie is absolutely not for kids. It's determinedly violent and disturbing. Characters include gangsters, drug dealers, junkies, an abusive stepfather, a prostitute and pimp, and a couple who kidnap children to film in pornographic situations: all are explicitly indicated, if not shown on screen; one scene has characters in a strip bar, where a dancer appears in a brief full frontal nudity shot. Murders and abuses are committed with a variety of weapons, including guns, knives, and hockey pucks; characters appear in various states of undress; language is excessive (over 300 uses of "f--k").

Families Can Talk About

Families can talk about the extreme violence here -- is it necessary? Is it here to make a point, or just to shock? They can also talk about the film's stereotyping of gangsters, bad cops, prostitutes, pimps: Though the movie exaggerates for sensational effect, how might stereotypes reinforce viewer prejudices and narrow-mindedness?