Bound by Honor (1993)

Bound by Honor parents guide

It stays inside its R, with moderate sex and nudity, and brutal violence.

Scare

Mildly scary

A few tense or eerie moments.

Jump scares

None noted

Gore

Graphic gore

Blood and wounds shown clearly.

Violence

Brutal violence

Our top level for violence.

Sex and nudity

Moderate

Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.

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 Bound by Honor scary?

Only a little. Bound by Honor has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.

How gory is Bound by Honor?

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

What is Bound by Honor rated, and is it OK for kids?

It is an R, with moderate sex and nudity, brutal violence, and frequent strong language. Keep it for adults.

What is Bound by Honor about?

Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on two Indigenous Latino American half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial (half-Indigenous Latino American and half-European American) cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the "Vatos Locos", and the story focuses on how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a "home" for himself. Cruz becomes an exceptional artist, but a heroin addiction overcomes him with tragic results. Paco becomes a cop and an enemy to his "carnal", Miklo.

Cast and crew

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Bound by Honor is on our Over 3 hours, 1990s, Thriller and Crime 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 movie that will make me cry”
• “scary but not gory”

Lists with the same feel: Tearjerkers and Most violent.