The Dead Don’t Hurt | 2023 | R | – 6.6.5

Why is “The Dead Don’t Hurt” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence, some sexuality and language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes an implied rape with bloody wounds shown from the struggle, a couple of implied sex scenes, a few kisses and hugs, non-sexual partial nudity, a man being beaten leaving bloody wounds, several scenes of people being shot and killed with a little blood shown, discussion of people shooting other people, a man being hanged after being accused of murder, a bird with a bloody wound, discussions of war, several arguments, and 3 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

---

A man (Viggo Mortensen) and a woman (Vicky Krieps), alone in the American frontier during the Civil War, find love and fight to hold onto it. Also with Solly McLeod, Garret Dillahunt, W. Earl Brown, Danny Huston, Shane Graham, Rafel Plana, Alex Breaux and Jason Clarke. Directed by Mortensen. A few lines of dialogue are spoken in French and Spanish with English subtitles. [Running Time: 2:09]

The Dead Don’t Hurt SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A man and woman lie on the ground fully clothed and partially under a blanket; the woman reaches into the man’s pants and he moans, he reaches under the woman’s skirt, and they kiss and caress each other as she straddles him and sex is implied as the scene ends. A man and a woman talk flirtatiously; the man is later shown sitting up in a bed as the woman holds a plate of food and tells him to get up (sex is implied).
► A man pulls a woman on top of him in a pile of manure and they kiss. A man and woman kiss and hug goodbye. A man kisses a woman’s hand, holds it to his forehead and they kiss tenderly.
► A man proposes marriage to a woman and she declines saying that she will never marry him and that he is nothing; she then storms out.
► A woman bathes in a pool of water with her young son and the woman is topless (her bare breasts, abdomen and back are seen). A fully nude infant is bathed in a basin and we see his bare back, buttocks, legs and genitals in heavy shadow. Several women in a saloon wear off-the-shoulder tops that reveal cleavage and backs. A woman is shown to be very pregnant and moves slowly to stand up and walk.

The Dead Don’t Hurt VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – A woman answers her door late at night holding a gun in her hand; a man outside speaks to her and moves closer, she cocks the gun and tries to close the door, but the man forces his way through the door, pushes the woman to the floor, holds his hand across her throat and she picks up a shard of broken glass and cuts him on the face (we see a bloody slash); he becomes enraged and hits her hard across the face as the scene ends, and we understand that he rapes her (we see the man with a slash on his face and the woman with bruises on her face, scratches on her throat and a bandage on her hand the next day). A man holds a gun on another man and his young son, tells the man to throw his weapons aside and when the man reaches for his knife, he throws it stabbing the first man in the throat and he falls off his horse yelling (we see blood gushing from the wound); the wounded man shoots at the other man and the boy as they run for cover and the man returns and holds a gun to the wounded man’s face, then hits him hard with the gun butt (we see a bloody gash on his nose), and the wounded man crawls on the ground, coughs and gags and spits blood. A man slams another man playing a piano onto the keys several times, throws him onto the floor, kicks him several times and stomps on him (we see him with a bloody face and blood pours from his mouth onto his hands as he tries to continue to play). A man holds a gun on his father, cocks the weapon as they argue, the gun discharges, another man falls to the floor (no one is struck), and they leave the altercation.
► A man with a noose around his neck sits on a horse and the horse walks away leaving the man to swing by the neck (we hear the rope straining and the man gags and coughs as people standing nearby watch; he presumably dies). Gunshots ring out inside a saloon and we hear a thud: a man exits the saloon holding a gun and a wounded man from inside crawls through the door, where he is shot dead as another man in the road calls to the gunman; he is also shot twice and falls to the ground dead. A man leaves his wife and young child to fight in a war and we later see him dead, hanging from a tree with blood on his face. A man on a horse goads another man on a horse and the second man chases him after putting his young son down; the first man shoots at the man and his son and the two scramble to hide behind rocks.
► People argue in a courtroom and the officiant shoots a gun into the ceiling twice to quiet them (dust and pieces of the ceiling fall on him). A man shoves another man seated at a bar in a saloon.
► A man is pronounced guilty of murder and sentenced to death by hanging. A woman protests a man being accused of murder and blames another man; another man in the room yells and threatens her with legal action. A man describes another man going on a “bender” and killing six men. We hear that a man was sent away from a town before law enforcement could arrive after he killed a man and his 12-year-old son. A woman tells a man that a young boy is not his son, but that of another man that raped her; the man stands up and grabs his gun and bullets (he does not go after the other man).
► A man and a woman argue about his volunteering to join a war and he explains that he must join the fight against slavery. A man proposes marriage to a woman and she declines saying that she will never marry him and that he is nothing; she then storms out. A man approaches a woman in a market and tells her to come with him; he pulls her by the arm and when she refuses to go, he scolds her and leaves angrily. A man recites something to a woman while she is eating in a restaurant and she finishes her meal and leaves; the man runs after her and calls to her, but she keeps walking.
► A woman winces in pain and holds her abdomen when she tries to stand up and falls on the ground; a doctor examines her and reports that she has internal bleeding and syphilis and asks a man if he has any symptoms of the infection (we see blood-soaked cloth as the doctor staunches the bleeding). We hear a woman’s labored breathing and we see her take her last breath and lie still with her eyes open; we see blood on a cloth in a nearby basin. A man digs a hole in the ground and places a woman’s body wrapped in a sheet at the edge; we then see him filling the hole with dirt and a young boy pushes some in the hole.
► A man enters a saloon and asks for volunteers to join them to fight to save the Union; he is scoffed at. A man describes an invasion and war that took him away from his family and when he returned they were not there. A woman scrubs a floor in a homestead and throws a wet rag at a man as he walks away after he tracks dirt in and drops firewood on the floor.
► A man shoots two birds from the sky and a young child holds one in his hand (we see a bloody wound on its body) and asks if it hurts. Wolves howl at night and a man and a young boy make similar sounds. A young man says, “I can shoot the eyes out of a rattler.”
► A woman describes killing a rabbit with an arrow when she was 5 years old and we understand that she shot and killed a duck from a distance. A woman walks through an isolated and empty homestead and finds dead mice inside; she complains to a man about the condition of the place. A knight wearing armor is shown riding a horse through woods in a few scenes (it’s implied to be a dream). A man lies in an alley (presumably inebriated). A man pulls a woman into a pile of manure and she complains. A man brings manure to a woman to use in her gardens.

The Dead Don’t Hurt LANGUAGE 5

 – About 3 F-words, 11 scatological terms, 4 anatomical terms, 10 mild obscenities, name-calling (bare-faced slur, liar, cowardly, rancid, scoundrel, blabber, cretin, savage bastard, dear, fat [anatomical term deleted]), Yankee, simpletons, greasy bastard, flabby [anatomical term deleted], crazier than a [scatological term deleted]-house rat, Mexican cluckity cluck), exclamations (might don’t make right, woe is me, shut your hole), 4 religious profanities (GD), 4 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, for God’s sake, God, Lord, a prayer is recited as a man is hanged). | profanity glossary |

The Dead Don’t Hurt SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man describes another man going on a bender, a man and a woman drink wine with a meal, people drink liquor at an art exhibition, a man and a woman share a bottle of wine in a saloon, several saloon scenes show people drinking liquor, a woman drinks shots of liquor in a few scenes, and a man lies in an alley (presumably inebriated). People smoke outside a saloon in an alley, and a man smokes cigars in a couple of scenes.

The Dead Don’t Hurt DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – The American Frontier, the Civil War, independence, gender roles, friendship, sorrow, grief, revenge, progress, wealth and privilege, Joan of Arc, rape, sexually transmitted infections.

The Dead Don’t Hurt MESSAGE

 – Love can be born and survive the harshest circumstances.