Max Winslow and the House of Secrets | 2019 | PG | – 2.4.2

Why is “Max Winslow and the House of Secrets” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “scary situations and peril, language and thematic content.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes some flirting and discussions of abandonment, five teens trapped in a house each face frightening situations and fear for their survival with one girl being overcome by gas in a room, one girl is locked in a bathroom, one boy fights to get away from VR monsters, a boy faces a bully, and a girl has to deal with her father leaving her and her mother when she was young, and some name-calling. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Five high-school students are invited to a tech mogul’s mansion in order to solve a series of puzzles and the winner will be given the keys to the estate. Unbeknownst to each of them, the puzzles are intended to help them learn more about themselves and each other. Also with Chad Michael Murray, Sydne Mikelle, Tanner Buchanan, Jason Genao, Emery Kelly, Jade Chynoweth, Juli Tapken and the voice of Marina Sirtis. Directed by Sean Olson. [Running Time: 1:38]

Max Winslow and the House of Secrets SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A teen boy asks a teen girl to go to a movie and she declines. A teen boy and a teen girl flirt in several scenes. A teen girl asks a teen boy out to a movie and we hear that they become boyfriend and girlfriend. A teen boy sings a love song to a teen girl.
► A teen girl wears a top that reveals cleavage and her bare back and a skirt that reveals her bare legs to the mid-thighs.

Max Winslow and the House of Secrets VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – A teen boy and a teen girl are locked into a room where they turn the handle of a music box that plays a tune and gas is released into the room; the teens try to find a way out as they cough and the teen girl collapses unconscious, the boy finds a way out and performs chest compression on the girl and nearly does mouth-to-mouth but she revives. Five teens in a room are startled when the lights go out and the door is locked; they must solve a puzzle to get out and they argue briefly. A teen girl looks at herself in a bathroom mirror and the door locks, she screams and struggles at the door when she sees herself in the mirror and it talks to her threateningly; the teen tries to break the mirror and fill the room with steam from the shower, but she has to decide whether she will leave the room and lose something that is important to her or stay. A teen boy gets into an elevator and it moves erratically in different directions scaring him. A teen is startled when the doors and drawers of cabinets open and close randomly. A teen boy jumps toward a teen girl startling her.
► A hologram image of information about five teenagers is shown and one teen boy is illuminated with the word “Execute” next to him. A car drives to a school where the driver gets out and retrieves a baseball bat that he carries toward a teen boy; the two people go to a field and practice batting as the man berates and verbally abuses the teen, and the boy ends up on his knees and the man yells at him. A teen boy finds a secret door where a trunk holds VR equipment; the boy puts on the headset and carries a gun as he fights several winged dragon creatures, a giant horned creature and many shrieking creatures that skitter toward him; the boy is snatched at by a monster and he complains of pain, he moves across a bridge over molten lava and falls into a deep hole, gets to a door and leaves but is unable to remove the headset. A robot wearing a suit of armor and holding a sword forces a teen boy to sit in a chair and a teen girl to strap his hands to the arms of the chair; the boy is taken away and made to tell his parents the truth about what he wants to do and become. Teens are attacked by mini-attack drones and they shoot at them and balloons as they run away; several drones are destroyed by crashing into things and landing in a fireplace.
► A teen boy fights a robot wearing armor and swinging a sword with a fireplace poker; two other teens spill water on the robot and throw an electrical cord toward it shocking it. A robot wearing a suit of armor steps off a pedestal and walks toward a door where it retrieves a food delivery from a young woman. A robot wearing a suit of armor draws a sword and cuts down a fly in mid-flight; a tiny drone flies over the dead fly and picks it up. A teen boy on a skateboard nearly runs into other people as he skates on a sidewalk toward a school. A teen girl hacks into her neighbor’s electronic doorbell systems and rings their doorbells randomly as a prank. A teen girl hacks into her neighbor’s doorbell system and tells him that she needs help. A teen boy knocks over a vase that falls and breaks.
► A man hacks into a school TV system to broadcast an invitation to a competition. A teen girl recites a poem that she wrote for a class about being Internet famous. A teen girl talks about the day her father left being her worst memory. A man hands his teen daughter a box that contains a button and tells her that she can press the button and he will be punished for what he did to her. A computer voice asks a teen boy why he is always so mean. A teacher yells at students in a gym class and reprimands one student seated on the bleachers for not participating (his wrist is bandaged and he says that he has a note from his mother). A computer voice tells a teen girl that a man’s “body” is still in the house. A teen says, “I would die if I got to go.” A man and a woman tell their teen son that he was accepted into an Ivy League school on a full scholarship for sports; the teen seems less than excited. A teen boy talks about someone conducting experiments on humans and that something “gets in your brain.” When a teen boy is told to stop making fun of a teen girl, he says, “She doesn’t care. Look at her.” A man tells his teen daughter that he met someone else. A teen girl says that she has to go to the bathroom a few times.

Max Winslow and the House of Secrets LANGUAGE 2

 – 1 scatological term, name-calling (sparky, weird, playa, hermit, dude, willy-nilly, nerd store, Judge Judy, whack, Mrs. Robot, troll, train wreck, disappointment, total mess, bad kids, addict, catfish, liar, narcissist, garbage, stupid, weak, jerk, silly little girl, very very bad, jacked, bad shape, ugly hair, mean, stupid, old people music, oh my goodness gracious, bully, loser, harsh, Munchkin, captain obvious), exclamations (oh my gosh, yo, wow, no frickin’ way, heck, shut-up, hey kiddo, what the heck, uh-oh, yeah, get it together), 1 religious exclamation (e.g. God). | profanity glossary |

Max Winslow and the House of Secrets SUBSTANCE USE

 – A teen boy tries to take a bottle of beer from a refrigerator and a computer voice tells him he is not of legal age.

Max Winslow and the House of Secrets DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Karma, social media, abandonment, living other people’s dreams, quitting, forgiveness, obsession, corrective measures, being true to yourself, teen angst, popularity.

Max Winslow and the House of Secrets MESSAGE

 – Stay focused on your goal and you will get there if you are honest to yourself. Use technology to create solutions.