#Alive: parents' guide
Best for ages 15 and up. Rated TV-MA.
A tense, gory Korean zombie survival film in subtitles or dubbed, best for older teens. A young gamer is trapped alone in his apartment as the infected overrun his complex, and the film tracks his slide into isolation and despair before he connects with a survivor across the way. Expect constant biting, blood and severed limbs, a few f-words, and heavy drinking from his parents' liquor cabinet. After a voicemail suggests his family did not make it, he attempts to hang himself on screen before being stopped. That scene and the gore are why we suggest 15.
What's in it
Violence
StrongFrequent zombie attacks with clawing, biting and flesh-eating, plus blood, chopped-off limbs and gunfire. A stranger drugs the two leads and traps one with his infected wife, and both are later shot.
Language
ModerateA few f-words, one motherf---er, and milder words like crap and damn, in the subtitles and dub.
Sex and nudity
NoneNo sex, nudity or sexual references.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateThe lead drinks his parents' liquor to cope with being trapped and gets drunk. An adult smokes a cigarette, and a stranger secretly drugs the two survivors.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongSustained claustrophobic dread, hallucinations of his family, and a voicemail recording their shelter being overrun. He tries to hang himself on screen and stops only when he sees a light from another apartment. Later a survivor asks him to kill her.
Sensitive topics
- Suicide
- Death of a parent
Worth talking about
Joon-woo's despair lifts when he finds one other person to talk to. Why does connection matter so much when things feel hopeless, and who could you reach out to?
On our lists
Similar picks around 15+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Wikipedia, bbfc.co.uk, netflix.com. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.