Dune (2021)

Dune parents guide

No surprises for a PG-13: no sex or nudity and mild language.

Our estimate: fine from about 13. Rated PG-13.

Scare

Mildly scary

A few tense or eerie moments.

Jump scares

A couple

One or two sudden jolts.

Gore

Light gore

Some blood or injury, briefly.

Violence

Strong violence

Violence is frequent or intense.

Sex and nudity

None noted

Language

Mild

Mild words like damn, hell or crap.

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 Dune scary?

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

How gory is Dune?

Light gore and strong violence.

What is Dune rated, and is it OK for kids?

It is rated PG-13, with strong violence. Your call for older kids.

What is Dune about?

Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence - a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential - only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

Cast and crew

More like Dune

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• Project Hail Mary (2026)Dry wit · epic · full attention · emotionally heavyA witty science teacher wakes up in space, piecing together his epic, suspenseful mission to save Earth.
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)Epic · family watch · strong violence · emotionally heavyA fellowship of heroes embarks on an epic, gritty adventure to destroy a powerful, corrupting ring.
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)Cerebral · late-night trip · emotionally heavy · a slow burnHumanity journeys through space and time, encountering a mysterious monolith and an evolving AI.
• The Empire Strikes Back (1980)Wholesome humor · epic · family watch · strong violenceA brisk, suspenseful adventure unfolds as Luke trains while his friends face betrayal and despair.
• The Mandalorian (2019)Epic · full attention · strong violence · measuredA lone gunfighter navigates the galaxy's lawless outer reaches in an atmospheric, gritty, and epic adventure.
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Dune is on our Teens, Space, Dystopias, Based on books and Late night lists.

More like this feeling

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

• “a movie that will make me cry”
• “funny but not stupid, under two hours”
• “a fun halloween movie, not too scary”

Lists with the same feel: Epics.