Parasyte -the maxim- (2014)

Parasyte -the maxim- parents guide

For a TV-MA, this one goes further: extreme gore. Beyond that, real scares and several jump scares.

Scare

Properly scary

Frightening, not just tense.

Jump scares

Several

More than a couple of sudden jolts.

Gore

Extreme gore

Our top level for gore.

Violence

Brutal violence

Our top level for violence.

Sex and nudity

Mild

Mild means innuendo, or sex implied off screen, with no nudity.

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 Parasyte -the maxim- scary?

Yes, properly. Parasyte -the maxim- is the real thing without being an endurance test.

How gory is Parasyte -the maxim-?

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

What is Parasyte -the maxim- rated, and is it OK for kids?

Rated TV-MA, and it earns it: real scares, several jump scares and brutal violence. Not one for kids.

What is Parasyte -the maxim- about?

A species of parasitic aliens descends on Earth and quickly infiltrates humanity by entering the brains of vulnerable targets; insatiable beings that gain total control of their host and are capable of transforming themselves to feed on unsuspecting prey. High school student Shinichi Izumi falls victim to one of these parasites, but the creature fails to take over his brain and ends up in his right hand.

Cast and crew

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Parasyte -the maxim- is on our Goriest, Anime and Foreign-language lists.

More like this feeling

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

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

Lists with the same feel: Tearjerkers and Most violent.