Tucker & Dale vs. Evil: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R for bloody horror violence, language and brief nudity.
A splatter comedy for older teens that flips the killer-hillbilly formula: two kind-hearted West Virginians fixing up a cabin are mistaken for murderers by a group of college kids, who then die in a string of gruesome accidents. The humor is sweet-natured, but the gore is heavy, including a wood chipper, impalings and an accidental gunshot to the head. Expect frequent f-words, college students drinking and smoking pot, and brief nudity during a skinny-dipping scene. The cartoonish tone softens things a little, so we suggest 16.
What's in it
Violence
StrongConstant slapstick gore: a student dives into a wood chipper, two others are impaled, a sheriff is killed by a loose beam, one man accidentally shoots himself in the head, fingers are cut off, and a man catches fire.
Language
StrongFrequent strong language: one count found more than 60 obscenities and over a dozen strong profanities, including f-words, s-words, p---y, a--hole, goddamn and Jesus as an exclamation, plus a middle-finger gesture.
Sex and nudity
ModerateThe college kids go skinny-dipping, with brief nudity, a young woman stripping to her underwear and shirtless men. There is sexual innuendo and talk about sex, and a couple kisses near the end.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
StrongThe college students drink beer, smoke marijuana on their trip and drink while driving, and the two leads drink beer too. The partying stops once the bloodshed starts.
Scary or intense scenes
ModeratePlayed mostly for laughs, but the deaths are sudden and bloody, a lakeside massacre story is told around a campfire, and a deranged student takes people captive and cuts off a man's fingers to lure out his friend.
Worth talking about
Everyone in the film assumes the worst about two strangers because of how they look and talk. Where do stereotypes like that come from, and how can they make a situation dangerous?
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, movieguide.org, 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.