Parents Guide for
The Passion of the Christ (2004) More at IMDbPro »

Sex & Nudity: 1/10

A brief view of a bare male behind, shown from the side.

Violence & Gore: 10/10

This film features extremely graphic, disturbing, and prolonged sequences of torture; incredibly violent. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.

Throughout almost the entire film, Jesus is covered from head to toe in cuts, blood, and bruises, and one of his eyes is swollen shut. He is clearly in immense pain and shouts in pain several times, but he never fights back or shows any resistance.

During a very prolonged and particularly disturbing sequence, Jesus is handcuffed to a pole and brutally whipped on the face, on both sides of his body, and between the legs. After several minutes, his torturers change the whipping weapon from a small robe to a chain-like whip with hooks at the end. One particularly disturbing shot shows the hooks digging into his skin and graphically ripping out a large chunk of flesh; blood is shown splattering, spraying, and spurting onto the ground and onto his torturers' faces the entire time. Afterwards, a woman is given towels to clean up the large puddles of blood after the whipping is over. This entire scene is extremely graphic and very difficult to watch.

A man hangs himself from a tree. Not graphic, but very disturbing.

A soldier's ear is cut off. It is dark, and not too graphic, but some blood is visible.

Jesus is forced to carry a huge and clearly very heavy wooden cross for a very long distance. People push him, yell at him, spit on him, and insult him the entire way.

When Jesus is placed on the cross, nails are hammered into his palms and feet. This happens mostly off-screen, but it's extremely disturbing. Lots of blood is shown graphically spurting and pouring from the wounds.

A man's eyes are pecked at by a crow. Not too graphic, but blood is shown briefly.

Jesus crushes the head of a snake with his heel. Not graphic.

After Jesus has died, a soldier plunges a spear under his rib to make sure he is dead. A very large amount of water and blood spurts out.

Profanity: 1/10

"Damn" and "idiot" are each said once in Aramaic, with English subtitles.

Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: 1/10

The Romans seem to be drunk when flogging Jesus and as he walks through the street.

Frightening/Intense Scenes: 10/10

The extreme violence in this film is incredibly graphic, disturbing, intense, and frightening, especially to young children, who may have nightmares. Some viewers may tear up or wince.

Satan is shown several times. His appearance is not very scary, but the whole demonic presence may be very frightening to some. During one scene, he is shown holding what seems to be a demon baby, and the baby smiles evilly. This scene will probably frighten viewers. Towards the end of the film, Satan is shown screaming.

Throughout the film, Jesus is clearly frightened and in immense pain, not just physically, but also emotionally and spiritually. This may be disturbing.

Judas starts to see demons after he turns Jesus in. Children are shown to be possessed by demons.

A dead camel is shown. This will frighten some viewers.

The image of Jesus nailed to the cross is not too frightening, but it's extremely disturbing.

Many viewers, especially Christians, will find this film to be very emotionally powerful.

There is a cut version of this film that is 7 minutes shorter and the violence has been toned down in the cut, but it still contains graphic violence.

Total Explicit Content Estimation: 42/50

0-5: Suitable for everyone (Care Bears). 5-10: Take some caution with young children. (The Incredibles). 10-20: Suitable for children 8 years and over (Gremlins). 20-25: Recommended for children over 13 (Indiana Jones). 25-30: Suitable for mature audiences (The Dark Knight). 30-40: Recommended for people 17 years and over (Aliens). 40-50: Absolutely Adults Only (Cannibal Holocaust).