The Girl with All the Gifts: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R for disturbing violence/bloody images, and for language.
A smart, bleak British zombie drama for older teens, where the most disturbing violence involves children. Melanie is one of a group of infected kids held at an army base, strapped into wheelchairs and studied by a scientist who wants to dissect them for a cure. When the base falls, she and a few adults flee through a ruined London. Expect bloody bites, shootings and stabbings, feral zombie children attacking and being killed, Melanie eating a cat, and frequent f-words. Most of the main characters die, one of them asking to be shot before he turns, so we suggest 16.
What's in it
Violence
StrongZombies bite and eat people with gory wound detail, and are shot, stabbed and bludgeoned; one skull is partly smashed off with a fire extinguisher. Child zombies kill adults, a child is beaten to death with a bat, and soldiers aim guns at kids.
Language
StrongRepeated f-words, including with Jesus' name, plus shit, bollocks, bloody, sod and hell. Soldiers call the infected children a crude slur about abortions, and one child repeats it.
Sex and nudity
MildNo sex or nudity. A man flips through magazines in an abandoned store, and adult magazine covers are briefly visible.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
MildBrief drinking: survivors share a bottle of alcohol they find. No drug use or smoking.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongSustained dread and disturbing images: children kept like lab animals, swarms of fast zombies, a feral pack of infected kids, and a girl tearing apart and eating a cat. Several main characters die, one by a requested mercy shooting.
Sensitive topics
- Death of a child
- Child abuse
- Animal death
Worth talking about
The adults argue over whether Melanie is a monster or a child with a right to live. Is it ever right to sacrifice one person to save many, and who gets to decide?
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, bbfc.co.uk, Wikipedia, the MPA. 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.