Longlegs: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R for bloody violence, disturbing images and some language.
A slow, deeply unsettling serial-killer thriller for older teens and adults, following a young FBI agent in the 1990s who is tracking a man tied to decades of family murders with an occult twist. Much of the violence comes through crime-scene photos and flashbacks, but there are bloody shootings, an axe attack, a man smashing his own face into a table and a decomposing child's body. Fathers kill their wives and daughters and then themselves, and a parent dies on screen. Language is limited and there is no sex. The dread, satanic imagery and murdered children are why we suggest 16.
What's in it
Violence
StrongClose-range shootings with spraying blood, extended flashbacks of a family killed with an axe, and a prisoner smashing his face into a table until his skull shows. Gory crime-scene photos, a maggot-covered child's body and a woman hog-tied.
Language
ModeratePlugged In counts four f-words and two s-words, plus single uses of b-tch and goddamn, a couple of misuses of Jesus' name, and a crude word for breasts.
Sex and nudity
MildNo sex scenes or nudity. Faded centerfold pinups hang on a wall, two agents share a crude joke, a song with sleazy lyrics plays, and a woman in her underwear runs a knife over her bare stomach.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateAn agent drinks whiskey with the heroine, gets visibly unsteady and has to be driven home. A man drinks at a bar and cigarettes are smoked. No illegal drug use.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongConstant dread built from long silences, sudden shrieks and a few sharp jump scares. Satanic symbols, possession and eerie lifelike dolls run throughout, the killer looks grotesque, and the ending is bleak and only partly resolved.
Sensitive topics
- Suicide
- Death of a child
- Death of a parent
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, Wikipedia, the MPA, movieguide.org. 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.