The Guilty: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R for language.
A gripping Danish thriller (in subtitles) for older teens and adults, set entirely in a police emergency call center as an officer on desk duty tries to help a woman who seems to have been kidnapped. This is the 2018 original, not the 2021 Netflix remake. Almost nothing violent is shown; the horror comes through phone calls and sound. The story builds to the revealed death of a baby, a woman on the verge of suicide, and an officer's confession about a fatal shooting. Language is strong. The dark subject matter makes it best for 16 and up.
What's in it
Violence
ModerateViolence is heard or described, never shown: a young girl is found covered in blood, a baby has been fatally harmed at home, and the officer faces a hearing for shooting a 19-year-old dead.
Language
StrongStrong language in the subtitles, including f-words that come out as the officer's frustration mounts, plus 'shit' and 'whore.'
Sex and nudity
NoneNo sexual content, romance or nudity. The film stays tightly focused on the emergency calls and the officer's own guilt.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateNo drinking or drug use is shown, but callers and officers make several references to drug misuse.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongSustained dread from start to finish: a terrified woman whispering on the phone, a six-year-old alone at home, a horrifying discovery in a baby's room, and a woman threatening to jump from a bridge.
Sensitive topics
- Death of a child
- Suicide
Worth talking about
The officer jumps to conclusions about who is to blame. How did his assumptions shape what happened, and when has a first impression misled you?
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Wikipedia, bbfc.co.uk, the MPA, Rotten Tomatoes. 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.