Rebel Ridge | 2024 | TV-MA | – 0.6.8

Why is “Rebel Ridge” rated TV-MA? The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board rating indicates that “this program is specifically designed to be viewed by adults and therefore may be unsuitable for children under 17.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes many scenes of corrupt police officers using force against citizens, a few gunfire exchanges leaving bloody wounds, a person in prison being stabbed and killed off-screen, police officers staging violent interactions with people to justify their actions, several discussions of wrongful imprisonment of people, several discussions of divorce and child custody, discussions of falsifying evidence, and nearly 40 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

---

A former Marine and hand-to-hand combat instructor (Aaron Pierre) is forced to confront the entire corrupt police force of a small town when officers confiscate all his money by abusing local asset forfeiture laws. The situation quickly escalates when the police chief (Don Johnson) goes after a law student (AnnaSophia Robb) who’s trying to help him recover his money. Also with David Denman, James Cromwell, Steve Zissis, Emory Cohen and Dana Lee. Directed by Jeremy Saulnier. [Running Time: 2:11]

Rebel Ridge SEX/NUDITY 0

 – None.

Rebel Ridge VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – A man driving a truck is pulled over and two police cars block the road on either side, one officer approaches the car, throws a gun in the vehicle and shoots the driver in the shoulder (blood splatters); the man fights the officer and tasers him twice (the office flails on the ground briefly), he speeds away in the truck while other officers shoot at him and we later see blood on his hand. A man is forced to his knees and held at gunpoint before being tasered in the back and officers slam him to the floor hitting his head on the ground as they handcuff him. Many officers hold guns on each other and yell, and one officer is shot in the leg and we see the wound gushing blood (another man pushes the officer’s thumb into the wound to stop the bleeding); a man pulls the wounded officer to safety and gunfire is exchanged, explosives are thrown, the man fights a few officers and one man’s arm is snapped at the elbow (it bends backward), others are flipped and slammed to the ground, and one man is punched in the face repeatedly, leaving him with a very bloody face.
► A police officer draws his weapon on a man that takes the gun away, unloads the bullets and flips the officer onto the ground; another officer draws his weapon and the man takes the gun out of his hand and hits him knocking him to the ground, and one officer is held at gunpoint and led into the station while other men nearby hold guns on them but do not fire. A man in a car speeds toward a man in a police car and slams into it; he wrestles with the officer and pulls him out through the window, holds him around the throat and handcuffs him while on the ground. A police officer grabs the driver of a car as he speeds away and the officer is dragged alongside until the person in the backseat pushes him off the vehicle and he rolls on the road. Many armed officers wait for a man; one officer approaches a vehicle and breaks out the window to find another officer bound and gagged inside the car. A woman held at gunpoint is forced into a vehicle and we later see her unconscious in the backseat (presumably involuntarily injected with a drug). A man uses a truck to pull out the wall of a building and we see it collapse as people inside are alarmed; he shoots a man twice with beanbag rounds and the man falls to the floor moaning. A man is held at gunpoint by an officer and they walk outside the police station where many other officers aim at him.
► A man riding a bicycle on a two lane road and wearing earbuds playing loud music is followed closely by a police car with its lights flashing; when the rider does not pull over, the police car bumps the bike knocking the rider to the ground (we see bloody wounds on his elbows); the man is told to lie on the ground while two officers hold their weapons on him and handcuff him. Flammable liquid is poured on the floor under a building and ignited; a man and woman try to get out of the building and the man’s shoes catch fire (he removes them and gets away). A man seems woozy and we see that he has taken some prescription pills (presumably attempting suicide; he does not die). A woman is held at gunpoint when she takes evidence in an office. Many police cars chase a man and a woman in another police car, one car passes them and pushes a lead vehicle off the road (we see the driver with a bloody wound on his head later).
► A man on a bicycle chases a prison bus and rides alongside it to speak to one of the people on the bus. We hear that a prisoner is being transported to the hospital after being stabbed and we see him lying dead in the hospital with blood on his chest. A man breaks a woman’s door open and finds her sitting in a bathtub with the shower spraying on her. A man breaks a fire ax out of a glass box and uses it to cut a recording device out of the trunk of a police vehicle.
► Police search a man’s backpack to find a package containing a lot of money that they determine to be related to drug sales and confiscate it. We hear that a young man is in jail for possession of drugs and that there is a fear of him being targeted and murdered in prison after he was a witness in a capital murder case. A man is accused of filing a false police report.
► A man bandages bloody bullet wounds on a man’s arm and back and says that he will leave some fragments in his back (we see the hole and blood streams from it). A hypodermic needle is seen with blood on the needle and we see a drop of blood on a woman’s arm after she was injected; she stumbles to the floor and calls for help. A man gives a woman Narcan after she had been involuntarily injected with a drug (presumably an attempt to overdose her). A man uses a caterpillar to catch a fish by hand and cooks it over a fire. A man spits tobacco juice in a couple of scenes. A woman does a urine test and holds the container of urine in her hands.

Rebel Ridge LANGUAGE 8

 – About 38 F-words and its derivatives, 24 scatological terms, 4 anatomical terms, 4 mild obscenities, name-calling (surreal, redneck gun squad, ignorant, moral turpitude, trouble, tumor, slave owning, foul funk, stupid), exclamations (yikes, that blows, oh goodness, creeps me out), 3 religious profanities (GD), 2 religious exclamations (e.g. Jesus, Godspeed, oh my God). | profanity glossary |

Rebel Ridge SUBSTANCE USE

 – A woman is involuntarily injected with a drug in a couple of scenes, and a man is said to have taken many unidentified prescription pills as a suicide attempt. A man puts chewing tobacco in his mouth in a couple of scenes, and a man smokes a cigarette.

Rebel Ridge DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Police corruption, small towns, Iraq war, drug addiction, child custody, due process, felony charges, misdemeanor charges, morale, budgetary issues, funding the police, civil unrest, Watergate, illegal searches, self-preservation, the afterlife, aiding and abetting, divorce, de-escalation.

Rebel Ridge MESSAGE

 – Asset forfeiture laws can easily be abused by corrupt law enforcement departments.