Blue Ruin (2014)

Blue Ruin parents guide

Of what we could confirm, nothing runs past an R: brutal violence and some 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

None flagged

It is rated R, so treat our zero as unconfirmed.

Language

Moderate

Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

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 Blue Ruin scary?

Only a little. Blue Ruin has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.

How gory is Blue Ruin?

Graphic gore and brutal violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.

What is Blue Ruin rated, and is it OK for kids?

No. It is rated R, with brutal violence, some strong language and graphic gore.

What is Blue Ruin about?

When the quiet life of a beach bum is upended by dreadful news, he sets off for his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. However, he proves an inept assassin and finds himself in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.

Cast and crew

More like Blue Ruin

• Reservoir Dogs (1992)Gritty · graphic gore · brutal violence · emotionally heavyA botched jewel heist unravels into a darkly comic, bloody standoff among double-crossing criminals.
• Se7en (1995)Properly scary · extreme gore · brutal violence · emotionally devastatingTwo detectives hunt a serial killer whose gruesome crimes are meticulously based on the seven deadly sins.
• Joker (2019)Bleak · graphic gore · brutal violence · emotionally devastatingA measured descent into madness unfolds as a comedian's dark satire fuels Gotham's gritty, bleak chaos.
• No Country for Old Men (2007)Gritty · graphic gore · brutal violence · emotionally heavyA hunter becomes the hunted in a bleak Texas landscape, where violence is a language all its own.
• Pulp Fiction (1994)Darkly comic · graphic gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyHitmen, molls, and boxers collide in a sprawling, darkly comic crime saga that twists through time.
• Prisoners (2013)Suspenseful · light gore · strong violence · emotionally devastatingA father's desperate search for his missing daughter descends into a bleak, gritty, and atmospheric nightmare.
• The Usual Suspects (1995)Suspenseful · light gore · strong violence · emotionally heavyA low-level con man's intricate tale of a mythic crime lord unravels with gritty, suspenseful precision.
• The Departed (2006)Gritty · graphic gore · brutal violence · emotionally devastatingUndercover lives collide in a gritty, relentless game of cat and mouse within Boston's criminal underworld.

Blue Ruin is on our Noir and neo-noir, Thriller on Peacock, Crime on Peacock, Thriller on Starz and Crime on Starz lists.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

• “a thriller with a twist, no spoilers”
• “a horror movie that's actually scary”
• “scary but not gory”

Lists with the same feel: Most violent.