Yes, properly. The Boy is the real thing without being an endurance test.

What is The Boy rated, and is it OK for kids?

It is rated PG-13, with real scares and several jump scares. Your call for older kids.

The Boy (2016)

Film · 1h 38m · Rated PG-13

Horror, Mystery, Thriller

A nanny discovers a chilling secret in an old English manor where a doll dictates the rules.

Suspenseful. A late-night trip at a measured pace. Emotionally it is heavy.

Not on a US subscription service as of Oct 27, 2026.

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The Boy parents guide

It stays inside its PG-13, with real scares and several jump scares.

Scare: Properly scary; Frightening, not just tense.
Jump scares: Several; More than a couple of sudden jolts.
Gore: Light gore; Some blood or injury, briefly.
Violence: Some violence; Some fighting or peril.
Sex and nudity: Mild; Mild means innuendo, or sex implied off screen, with no nudity.
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 The Boy scary?: Yes, properly. The Boy is the real thing without being an endurance test.
How gory is The Boy?: Light gore and some violence.
What is The Boy rated, and is it OK for kids?: It is rated PG-13, with real scares and several jump scares. Your call for older kids.

What is The Boy about?

A young American woman takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village, soon discovering that the family's eight-year-old son is a life-sized doll that comes with a list of strict rules.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

There is a twist, and that is all we are saying.