Love and Monsters | 2020 | PG-13 | – 3.6.4

Why is “Love and Monsters” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “action/violence, language and some suggestive material.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes an implied sex scene, and a few kissing scenes, several scenes of people being killed by giant monsters with little blood shown, many scenes of a young man and a dog being threatened by monsters ending with the destruction of the monsters, reports of the death of several people, reports of humans being killed by monsters, and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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In the near future, an attempt to destroy an asteroid results in chemicals raining down on Earth, and causing insects and amphibians to become enormous monsters. The few remaining humans have retreated to underground bunkers for safety, but one young man (Dylan O’Brien) decides to visit his girlfriend (Jessica Henwick) by traveling 80 miles in very treacherous terrain. Also with Michael Rooker, Dan Ewing and Ariana Greenblatt. Directed by Michael Matthews. [Running Time: 1:49]

Love and Monsters SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A man and a woman in bed kiss and the woman is seen straddling the man; it is implied that they are having sex and a young man in a nearby bunk pretends to be asleep but hears them and describes their relationship as “super physical.” A man and a woman lie in bed (we see their bare legs). A teen boy and a teen girl kiss in a car, the girl climbs into the backseat of the car and the boy follows as they continue to kiss; they are interrupted (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details).
► A young man and a young woman kiss. A young man and a young woman kiss and we hear later that he was actually kissing a man (he was under the influence of a hallucinogenic). A man and woman are shown lying in bed; the man wears his shirt open and boxers that reveal bare chest, abdomen and legs to the thighs. A woman wears a towel wrapped around her and we see her bare shoulders and cleavage.
► A young man describes a community of people as “everyone is coupled up” and that he is the only single person in the bunker.

Love and Monsters VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – A voiceover talks about the world nearly ending from an asteroid strike and that rockets were fired at it before it struck the Earth but that emissions from the rockets caused creatures to become giant monsters; we see drawings of monsters eating people and animals and we hear that 95% of the population was lost in a year and survivors live in underground bunkers.
► A young man moves through a bunker and sees what looks like the monster biting the head off a person (in silhouette), the monster moves toward the young man and drools slime on his head until a woman shoots it and a man cuts its head off (the severed head falls on the floor in a puddle of slime). We hear thumping outside a bunker and people inside arm themselves; two people go through a tunnel and we see that one of them is killed by a monster. A young man remembers his parents being crushed in a car when a monster stepped on it (we see the stomping but do not see the results). Two men and a woman are attacked and eaten by a giant crab (we hear them screaming).
► A monster speeds through the ground toward a young man, who throws a grenade in its mouth, blowing it up and throwing the young man into a river. A dog seems upset by something and hides under a large metal duck as the ground begins to move and spikes pop up out of the dirt followed by a giant monster with many legs and long tentacles; a young man is thrown and the dog is surrounded by the monster as it rips away the metal structure it is hiding under and is about to attack the dog when the man revives and kills the monster by shooting it twice. A monster pops out of the ground and chases a young man and a dog; the young man tumbles down a hill and he and the dog hide in the hollow of a fallen tree as the monster comes very near them, but goes back into the ground and moves away. A giant crab crawls out of the ocean and over rocks toward people on a beach and the people run and scream; a young man stabs the crab with a large rotisserie pole and it flips over on its back until it is zapped with an electric shock and moves toward the young man again.
► A young man falls in a deep hole that he is unable to climb out of and finds many human bones littering the ground; giant creatures lunge toward him from smaller holes in the walls until a man on the surface pulls him up with a rope and a young girl drops an explosive in the hole blowing up the creatures into pieces and out onto the ground. Eye stalks poke out of a pool of water and a young man is knocked over by something off-screen as a giant toad comes out of the water and tries to grab the young man with its long tongue; the tongue grabs the young man’s leg and a dog bites the tongue until the toad lets go and the young man and dog run away to safety. A young man gets out of a body of water and is covered with large leeches that he pulls off and they leave a trail of slime and he gags a few times but does not vomit; the young man is later shown under the influence of a toxin that causes him to hallucinate and he seems to have trouble breathing until he eats a fern leaf that has an anti-toxin.
► Two women fight with punches and throws and one woman shoots at a dog as the other woman hits her in the head with a log causing her to miss. A woman runs toward a man and he shoots at her; she uses a metal door as a shield and she tackles the man. A woman punches a young man in the face and when he revives, his hands are tied and there’s blood on his head and face. A dog bites a young man’s pant leg and tugs on it when the young man nearly eats a berry that we find out later is poisonous. A giant snail moves near a young man and a man tells him to take off his shirt slowly as it passes by and the man tucks the shirt in the snail’s shell to spread the young man’s scent elsewhere.
► A young girl cries when a young man leaves to go to a different colony. A young man finds a robot that says that something bit it in half (we see the lower parts of the legs missing, with exposed wires). A teen boy and a teen girl kiss in a car, the girl climbs into the backseat of the car and the boy follows as they continue to kiss, but they stop when they see giant monsters coming out of the ground in the distance and firebombs being launched. A young man opens a refrigerator door in an abandoned house and we hear a screech come from inside; he slams the door shut and recoils.
► A young man leaves an underground bunker to walk 85 miles to another colony and we see evidence of giant insects, like egg pods. A grave where a robot is buried is shown. Several scenes show the rubble and destruction of cities with overgrown areas left uninhabited. A young man takes target practice with a crossbow in a few scenes. A robot shows a young man pictures of his parents before they died and he cries. Creatures that are called “sky jellies” float through the air (they resemble jellyfish and they glow).
► A man talks about several attacks by monsters and how he thwarted them. A man talks about the world being devoid of fossil fuels and that he has devised another method of propulsion for his yacht as we see movement underwater. We hear that a monster ripped through the steel reinforcements around the perimeter of a bunker. A man says that giant snails are sensitive but, “Will crush your [anatomical term deleted] in a second.” A reference is made to a “Shotgun blast to the head.” A comment is made about humans being “Kicked off the top of the food chain.” A man over a radio tells a young man that their bunker has had multiple breaches and that people have been killed. A young girl talks about how her father was killed and a man talks about his son being killed.
► A woman is shown with a patch over her eye and other people have various scars. A man and woman brush their teeth (we do not see them spit). The carcass of a dead monster is shown in the distance. A young girl cries and her nose runs; a young man wipes her nose with his hand.

Love and Monsters LANGUAGE 4

 – 14 scatological terms, 5 anatomical terms, 10 mild obscenities, name-calling (liability, impossible, pathetic hedgehog, food stealer, fool, noble warrior, annoying, useless, bastards, bad vibe, creepy, insecure, idiot, moron, crazy time), exclamations (freakin’, oh no, not fair), 1 religious profanity, 15 religious exclamations (e.g. Thank God, Oh My God, Oh Dear God, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

Love and Monsters SUBSTANCE USE

 – People drink beer in a few scenes and several people appear intoxicated in one scene, with a few of them falling hard to the ground.

Love and Monsters DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – The end of the world, survival, fear, love, loneliness, instincts, insects, mistakes, disappointment, romantic acts, learning from mistakes.

Love and Monsters MESSAGE

 – Don’t settle, even when the world may be ending.