Carrie: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R.
A classic, emotionally intense horror film for older teens, with content parents should know about. A shy, bullied high school girl with telekinetic powers is tormented by classmates and her fanatically religious mother until a cruel prom prank triggers a deadly rampage. The opening locker-room scene has extended full-frontal nudity of high school girls, and a teen is mocked after her first period. Expect a few f-words, implied oral sex, sustained bullying and abuse, a fiery massacre at the prom, and a mother who attacks her daughter with a knife. We suggest 16, mainly for the nudity and violence.
What's in it
Violence
StrongThe prom ends in a massacre: people are electrocuted, crushed and trapped in a burning gym. A mother hits her daughter, locks her in a closet and stabs her, and knives impale the mother. A boyfriend slaps his girlfriend; a pig is killed offscreen.
Language
ModerateThe BBFC notes infrequent strong language (f-words), along with "shit," "bitch," "ass" and crude slang for body parts. Common Sense rates the language as heavy overall.
Sex and nudity
StrongA long slow-motion locker room scene shows high school girls with full-frontal, breast and rear nudity, and a teen caresses herself in the shower. Oral sex in a car is implied. The mother calls her daughter's breasts "dirty pillows."
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateTeens drink beer, including while driving, and a teacher smokes indoors at school. Cigarette smoking is common among adults and teens. No drug use is reported.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongStrong horror: the cruel shower bullying, a blood-soaked prom with people burning, the mother's knife attack, and a famous final jump scare. The religious abuse at home is upsetting in its own right.
Sensitive topics
- Bullying
- Child abuse
- Domestic abuse
- Death of a parent
- Death of a child
- School violence
- Animal death
Worth talking about
Carrie's classmates and her mother push her past breaking point. Talk about how cruelty, including bystanders who go along with it, does lasting harm, and where a teen who is being bullied can turn for help.
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, bbfc.co.uk, Wikipedia. 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.