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Split poster

Is Split OK for Kids?

HorrorThriller
15+
PG-13⭐ 7.3 / 102016 · 1h 57m
M. Night Shyamalan

Where to Watch

United States

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Streaming data by JustWatch

What's In It

Based on the actual screenplay
🗡️Violence
Extreme▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
0
Cartoon / Comedic
2
Action & Peril
2
Injuries & Death Shown
3
Graphic & Disturbing
  • The Beast attacks and kills Dr. Fletcher in her own home in a scene described as graphic
  • Multiple references throughout the film to The Beast consuming its victims
  • The three captive girls are physically restrained and repeatedly threatened with violence during their imprisonment
  • Dennis (one of Kevin's personalities) threatens to slap the girls and uses physical intimidation throughout captivity
  • Casey shoots at The Beast with a shotgun in the climax, but the bullets appear to have no effect on it
  • Girls attempt a desperate escape by breaking through drywall in the basement
  • Overall tone is tense and disturbing rather than action-packed, with dread building toward graphic violent payoffs
💬Language
Extreme▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
0
Mild Words
(damn, hell)
4
Moderate
(ass, b**ch)
7
Strong
(sh*t)
4
Extreme
(f**k)
  • Strong language includes 'hell' (3 times), 'da**' (2 times), and 's**t' (2 times)
  • The f-word ('f**k'/'f**king') is used 4 times
  • Moderate language includes 'b**ches' (1), 'cr*p' (1), and 'pee' (2)
  • The presence of multiple uses of the f-word pushes this into extreme territory despite the relatively low overall count
👻Scary Scenes
Extreme▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
0
Mildly Tense
0
Startling Moments
3
Genuinely Scary
4
Deeply Disturbing
  • Girls wake up disoriented and panicked in a locked basement after being abducted, unsure where they are or what's happening
  • Hedwig, one of Kevin's child-like personalities, warns the girls that 'The Beast' is coming for them as a direct threat
  • Dennis and Patricia are shown discussing using the girls as 'sacred food' for The Beast, a disturbing cult-like plan
  • The Beast physically emerges as an inhuman, transformed creature, defying explanation and appearing genuinely monstrous
  • The reveal that Kevin harbors 24 identities, including a predatory beast, is presented as deeply disturbing rather than simply suspenseful
  • Girls are locked in separate rooms with no knowledge of each other's fates, heightening dread
  • The scary content is not resolved cleanly — the ending is ambiguous, with The Beast surviving gunfire and remaining a future threat
💕Romance
Moderate▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
1
Crushes & Holding Hands
1
Kissing & Dating
1
Suggestive
0
Sexual Content
  • Hedwig, a 9-year-old alter personality, asks Casey for a kiss, and she reluctantly complies out of fear/self-preservation
  • After the kiss, Hedwig tells Casey she 'might be pregnant,' a strange and suggestive (though non-sexual, child-logic) comment
  • Separately, Claire and a friend have an innocent conversation about a boy from YouTube videos, a typical teenage crush discussion
  • There is no actual dating, sexual content, or nudity in the film
🍺Substances
Mild▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
2
Mentioned in Passing
1
Shown Casually
0
Featured Prominently
0
Glorified or Abused
  • The girls' father figure is drugged during the abduction sequence and wakes up dazed in another location
  • Insulin shots are mentioned in relation to Kevin's diabetes, a medical detail rather than recreational substance use
  • A brief reference to Hooters restaurant implies an adult, alcohol-serving environment but nothing is shown
  • No substances are glorified; drugging is depicted as a tool of the abduction, i.e., in a negative context
⚡Stimulation
Extreme▼
Moments in the script, mildest → most intense
0
Gently Engaging
0
Exciting
2
Intense
2
Overwhelming
  • The opening party scene builds intense social tension before quickly escalating into the abduction
  • Basement captivity scenes feature rapid perspective shifts between the girls and Kevin's various personalities, creating an overwhelming sense of confusion and threat
  • Therapy sessions with Dr. Fletcher escalate steadily in intensity as she uncovers the truth about The Beast
  • The final confrontation combines the creature's reveal with gunfire, making it an overwhelming sensory sequence
  • Not suitable for sensory-sensitive children given the sustained dread and multiple overwhelming sequences
Split — Heads Up for Parents

Parents expecting a straightforward thriller may be caught off guard by the escalating cult-like belief system around 'The Beast' as a superhuman entity — including Dennis and Patricia's discussion of the girls as 'sacred food' — which pushes the film into genuinely disturbing territory beyond typical PG-13/R kidnapping thrillers.

About Split

Split follows three teenage girls who are abducted from a birthday party by a man with 24 distinct personalities living inside him, one of which is a monstrous, superhuman entity called 'The Beast.' As the girls try to escape their basement captivity, Dr. Fletcher, the man's psychiatrist, races to understand his condition before it's too late. The tone is a tense, disturbing psychological thriller with horror elements and a supernatural twist.

👨‍👧
Best watched together
The abduction, prolonged captivity, and disturbing cult-like belief system around The Beast (including the 'sacred food' framing) are heavy themes best discussed with a parent present, especially for teens under 16 who may need context around mental illness themes versus the horror-movie monster reveal.

Family Takeaways from Split

What it gets right

  • ✓Dr. Fletcher's storyline portrays a sympathetic, humanizing view of a patient with dissociative identity disorder, fighting for his dignity despite others dismissing his condition
  • ✓Casey's backstory, shown through hunting scenes with her father, demonstrates how learned survival skills and self-reliance can be genuinely useful in a crisis

Split Cultural & Values Guide

Cultural & Values Guide

No cultural or religious themes detected for this film.

Cast:James McAvoyAnya Taylor-JoyHaley Lu RichardsonJessica SulaBetty Buckley

Is Split Appropriate for Your Child's Age?

✗Age 5: Not recommended for 5-year-olds
✗Age 8: Not recommended for 8-year-olds
✗Age 10: Not recommended for 10-year-olds
✗Age 12: Not recommended for 12-year-olds
✗Age 13: Not recommended for 13-year-olds
✓Age 15: Generally appropriate for 15-year-olds
✓Age 17: Generally appropriate for 17-year-olds

Individual children may vary — use your judgment.

Parents also ask about Split

  • Is Split appropriate for a 15-year-old?
  • Does Split have violence?
  • Is Split OK for kids?
  • What is the age rating for Split?

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