The Invisible Man (2020): parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R for some strong bloody violence, and language.
A tense, intelligent thriller about domestic abuse that suits older teens. A woman escapes her controlling, wealthy partner, and after his apparent suicide she becomes convinced he is stalking her while invisible, though no one believes her. Violence is sudden and bloody, with throats slashed, people hurled into walls and a man beaten senseless. In one key scene she starts cutting her own wrist as a ruse, and a photo shows a suicide victim's bloody body. Add five to seven f-words, sedatives used to drug people, and a story built on coercive control. Age 16 for the bloodshed and the intensity of the abuse.
What's in it
Violence
StrongBloody and sudden: two throats are slashed with heavy bleeding, the heroine is choked and thrown across rooms, a friend is beaten bloody, police are battered, and people are shot. In one scene she cuts into her own wrist as a trick, drawing blood.
Language
StrongPlugged In counted about seven f-words (Movieguide counted five), including two uses of 'motherf---er,' about five s-words, plus 'ass,' 'bitch,' and God's and Jesus' names misused once each.
Sex and nudity
MildNo sex or nudity. A couple lies in bed in sleepwear and the heroine is shown wrapped in a towel. A key plot point is that her abuser secretly swapped her birth control pills to get her pregnant.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateDrugs are used as weapons: she sedates her partner with diazepam to escape, and is later secretly drugged and sedated in a hospital. A champagne bottle and talk of hangovers are the only alcohol references.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongRelentless suspense as an unseen attacker watches and toys with the heroine, with empty rooms that suddenly turn violent and strong jump scares. Her isolation, gaslighting and a stay in a psychiatric hospital may hit hard for anyone touched by abuse.
Sensitive topics
- Domestic abuse
- Suicide
- Self-harm
Worth talking about
The film shows how an abuser isolates a victim so that no one believes her. Talk about the signs of coercive control and how to support a friend who says she is being hurt.
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, bbfc.co.uk, 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.