What is A History of Violence about?
An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.
Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)
It leaves the ending open to interpretation.
A quiet family man's past unravels with a violent act, exposing a bleak and intimate suspense.
Suspenseful. A full-attention watch at a measured pace. Emotionally it is heavy.
Streaming on Max.
A History of Violence parents guide
For an R, this one goes further: strong sex and nudity. Beyond that, brutal violence and frequent strong language.
- Scare
- Mildly scary
- A few tense or eerie moments.
- Jump scares
- A couple
- One or two sudden jolts.
- Gore
- Graphic gore
- Blood and wounds shown clearly.
- Violence
- Brutal violence
- Our top level for violence.
- Sex and nudity
- Strong
- Strong means explicit or repeated sex, extended nudity, or sexual assault shown on screen, attempted or completed, even partly off screen. Any one of these is enough.
- Language
- Strong
- Frequent strong profanity or slurs.
How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.
Three questions
- Is A History of Violence scary?
- Only a little. A History of Violence has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.
- How gory is A History of Violence?
- Graphic gore and brutal violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.
- What is A History of Violence rated, and is it OK for kids?
- It is an R, with strong sex and nudity, brutal violence, and frequent strong language. Keep it for adults.
Cast and crew
Directed byDavid Cronenberg
StarringViggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes, Peter MacNeill
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A History of Violence is on our Revenge, Courtroom, Thriller on Max and Crime on Max lists.
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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.