Dickens & Rumi
Cover of There's Something Wrong with the Children

film

There's Something Wrong with the Children

Age rating, content warnings & parent guide

2023

Is There's Something Wrong with the Children appropriate for your child? See the reviewed age guidance, content cautions, positive themes, and supporting evidence below.

Margaret and Ben take a weekend trip with longtime friends Ellie and Thomas and their two young children. Eventually, Ben begins to suspect something supernatural is occurring when the kids behave strangely after disappearing into the woods overnight.

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10-second decision

Is this likely to fit your family?

Age guidanceNot listed
Strongest cautionsDeath of a character 5/5 · Frightening scenes 5/5 · Violence 4/5
Strongest positivesCourage & resilience 4/5 · Creativity & curiosity 3/5
Recommendation2.8/5

Courage & resilience; strongest caution: death of a character.

This is the quick scan. Open the evidence and methodology below for the basis behind each rating.

Quick context

What parents should know

Courage & resilience; strongest caution: death of a character.

Readiness snapshotMain watch-out: Death of a character 5/5
Recommendation 2.8/5

Editorial rating

How this review was built

Dickens & Rumi editorial
Source checkedPublication method
14Scored categories
14Evidence notes
0Explicit 0/5 checks
Oct 24, 2026Last updated

Dickens & Rumi describes what is present; families decide what matters to them. Community reactions are kept separate from official content ratings.

How ratings workReport a rating or series issue
Review depth14 scored categories14 evidence notes

Quick view

At a glance

Recommended ageNot listed

Strongest cautions

  • Death of a character5/5
  • Frightening scenes5/5
  • Violence4/5

Strongest positives

  • Courage & resilience4/5
  • Creativity & curiosity3/5
  • Diverse representation2/5

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What’s in it?

Death of a character5/5
Why this rating?

Several apparent or confirmed deaths drive the plot, including the children, Ellie, Thomas, and possibly Ben; grief and fear are prominent.

Graphic injury3/5
Why this rating?

Features depictions of injuries and the aftermath of fatal encounters.

Strong language3/5
Why this rating?

A moderate level is plausible for this horror film, but the supplied passages contain no direct dialogue or profanity examples.

Romance2/5
Why this rating?

An adult couple goes on a romantic date, but romance is peripheral to the horror story.

Frightening scenes5/5
Why this rating?

This is sustained supernatural horror featuring a sinister cave and well, possessed or altered children, menace, pursuit, and psychologically disturbing behavior.

Sexual content & nudity1/5
Why this rating?

Adult relationships and a romantic date are present, but the supplied plot contains no sexual activity, sexual jokes, or nudity.

Alcohol or drugs2/5
Why this rating?

Ben takes mood stabilizers, and the children put pills into Thomas's drink; substance use is plot-related rather than recreationally glamorized.

Violence4/5
Why this rating?

Repeated attacks include a shovel assault, accidental killing, struggles, a severe injury, attempted attacks, and a vehicle attack against the children.

What’s good in it?

Courage & resilience4/5
Why this rating?

Margaret and others confront frightening supernatural danger and act under extreme pressure, including attempts to escape and protect themselves.

Creativity & curiosity3/5
Why this rating?

Presents a standard but eerie supernatural horror premise.

Diverse representation2/5
Why this rating?

The ensemble appears to include some racial and cultural variety, but the excerpts provide limited evidence about representation or character development.

Kindness & empathy1/5
Why this rating?

Kindness is largely absent due to the supernatural corruption of characters.

Positive messages2/5
Why this rating?

The story raises themes of trust, parental responsibility, manipulation, grief, mental health stigma, and surviving coercive supernatural threats.

Good role models2/5
Why this rating?

Characters are shown in high-stress, deteriorating circumstances, often acting impulsively.

Family discussion

Talk about it

Conversation starters based on this title’s published content notes.

  1. What did courage look like in this story? Was being brave always the same as being fearless?
  2. How did the story approach death or loss? What helped the characters cope?
  3. Which choice in There's Something Wrong with the Children would you have made differently, and why?
  4. Who changed the most in There's Something Wrong with the Children, and what caused that change?
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Community perspective — separate from editorial ratings

What families noticed

Community signal

Community ratings and written reactions are a separate layer. They do not automatically change Dickens & Rumi’s official age guidance or content scores.

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