What age is Split appropriate for?

Split is rated PG-13 and PopcornCheck recommends it for ages 15+, based on reading the actual screenplay. The film centers on the abduction and prolonged captivity of teenage girls who are threatened, restrained, and told they will be 'sacred food' for a predatory creature, culminating in graphic scenes where The Beast kills Dr. Fletcher and appears to be bulletproof when Casey shoots at it with a shotgun.

Does Split have swearing or bad language?

Split has Extreme language. Strong language includes 'hell' (3 times), 'damn' (2 times), and 'shit' (2 times)

Split has Extreme violence. The Beast attacks and kills Dr. Fletcher in her own home in a scene described as graphic

Is Split scary for children?

Split has Extreme scary scenes. Girls wake up disoriented and panicked in a locked basement after being abducted, unsure where they are or what's happening

Is Split OK for Kids?

Name: Split
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Released: 2016
Duration: 117 min
Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Betty Buckley

HorrorThriller

15+

PG-13⭐ IMDb 7.3 / 102016 · 1h 57m

M. Night Shyamalan● Script verified

Where to Watch

United States

Rent

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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

Cartoon / Comedic

Action & Peril

Injuries & Death Shown

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

Mild Words

(damn, hell)

Moderate

(ass, b**ch)

Strong

(sh*t)

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

Mildly Tense

Startling Moments

Genuinely Scary

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

Crushes & Holding Hands

Kissing & Dating

Suggestive

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

Mentioned in Passing

Shown Casually

Featured Prominently

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

Gently Engaging

Exciting

Intense

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

Parents also checked

Halloween movies that aren't too scary

Insidious: The Red Door

2023

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