Movie · Horror, Comedy · 2014 · Not rated

Housebound: parents' guide

16+our pick

Best for ages 16 and up. Not formally rated.

A clever, darkly funny New Zealand haunted-house mystery for older teens and adults: a young offender sentenced to house arrest at her mother's home starts to believe the place is haunted. It mixes laughs and real jump scares with bursts of very bloody violence, including stabbings, a face scraped on a cheese grater and a head blown apart by an electric surge. Strong language is frequent, and the heroine drinks and smokes, with talk of meth and underage drinking. It was never rated in the US; the gore and swearing make it a 16.

What's in it

Violence

Strong

Bloody stabbings with a fork, shears and a corkscrew, strangling with a phone cord, a face dragged across a cheese grater, and a climactic head explosion with heavy gore. A possum is skinned on screen, and an old murder is described in grisly detail.

Language

Strong

Frequent f-words and s-words, plus bitch, bastard, arse, dick, piss off, the slur retarded, and Jesus Christ as an exclamation. A character makes a disparaging remark about Māori people.

Sex and nudity

Mild

A woman is seen in the shower without nudity, the heroine is shown urinating with nothing visible, and there's a crude joke about ejaculating and a drawing of a woman bathing. No sex.

Drinking, drugs and smoking

Moderate

Kylie drinks beer and smokes regularly, and others smoke too. Characters mention a teen stealing liqueur and vomiting, and someone abusing alcohol and methamphetamine; a bag of marijuana is found.

Scary or intense scenes

Strong

Constant menace in a creaky house: grabbing hands in the dark, a talking teddy bear, hidden passages, a bear trap and frequent jump scares. Dialogue describes a fridge said to hold fetuses and severed limbs, and the finale is a brutal fight for survival.

Sensitive topics

  • Animal death

Worth talking about

Kylie and her mother start out barely able to stand each other. What helps them finally see each other as people rather than as a problem child and a nagging parent?

Where to stream →

On our lists

Similar picks around 16+

Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, bbfc.co.uk, Wikipedia, classificationoffice.govt.nz. 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.