Damsel parents guide: Is Damsel a suitable movie for family night?

Damsel is out now on Netflix and given it stars Millie Bobby Brown and is only rated PG-13, I'm sure many parents are interested in watching it with their kids or teenagers this weekend. But is it appropriate for all ages?

Having seen the movie, I've outlined all the mature content featured in Damsel with as few spoilers as possible so you can get an idea of what to expect from the film before watching.

The movie follows a dutiful young woman who agrees to marry a prince in exchange for his kingdom's assistance in helping her people. What she doesn't realize is that part of the marriage bargain entails sacrificing her life to a dragon.

To note, the official MPAA rating for Damsel is PG-13 for sequences of strong creature violence, action, and bloody images.

Is there any nudity or sexual content in Damsel?

One thing parents do not have to worry about in this movie is any kind of sexual content or nudity. There is none whatsoever present in the film. The only bit of romance is a chaste kiss between a bride and her husband during their wedding ceremony and that's it. Despite characters wearing classic corseted clothing and gowns, there really isn't even any cleavage.

Alcohol, drugs, smoking, and profanity

Damsel has none of the above. There is no drinking, smoking, or drug usage in the movie, and even though characters are often put in peril, there isn't any cursing or profanity present.

Creature violence and bloody images in Damsel

Here we come to the primary reason that Damsel received its PG-13 rating. The premise of the film involves a young woman being used as a sacrifice, forcibly dropped into a dark grotto so a dragon can eat her.

Worse than that is it's her own father who agrees to the terms of the arranged marriage, knowing full well he's helping his people at the cost of his daughter's life. It's a mature premise for a fantasy film and the dragon might be too frightening for young viewers.

In terms of the actual creature violence and frightening content, here's what to expect from Damsel.

Mild spoilers ahead

• The movie opens with a group of soldiers exploring a dark, ominous cave with the dragon lurking around and slowly hunting them. Several of the men are burned alive and we see them writhing and screaming in pain. The dragon also uses its tail to whip them around the cave.
• Everything about the actual ceremonial scene where Elodie is tossed into the dragon's lair. The royals are wearing creepy golden masks and look like a cult. Queen Isabelle cuts open Elodie's palm as well as Henry's and then mixes their blood together. Then Henry offers to carry Elodie before tricking her and throwing her into the grotto.
• After that, Elodie spends the rest of the movie in peril, sustaining many cuts, scrapes, burns, and other injuries as she fights for survival, the dragon stalks and taunts Elodie throughout.
• While traversing the caverns, Elodie crawls through many tight and claustrophobic spaces.
• The dragon is shown killing people in ways that might disturb viewers. She pierces one with her talon, leaving them to die slowly in a pool of their own blood. Others, she grabs and crushes beneath her claws, and some she throws from up high, letting them die on impact when they hit the ground.
• Elodie obtains a bad burn on her leg early on and about mid-way through she takes a close-up look at the burnt flesh. It's not super graphic but might be gross to some, especially as we see glow worms used to heal her.
• A young girl is forcefully taken as a hostage to be used as bait and her caretaker is stabbed in the skirmish.

Potential ending spoilers

During the final battle between Elodie and the dragon, they both wound each other through stabbing and burning. The film ending includes a close-up of a woman burning alive and you do see her face start to singe and melt.

Animal deaths

Those sensitive to animals getting hurt on-screen might be upset at a couple of scenes, mainly one where a small bird slowly burns alive after being lit on fire by the dragon. Later, we see a whole flock of birds on fire trying to free themselves before ultimately dying.

At one point we see the bodies of three dead baby dragons and a flashback showing the knights killing them with their swords. The camera cuts away from the actual moment of impact, but you still clearly know what's happening.

Finally, towards the end of the movie, the dragon does light a horse on fire as it tries to escape, but it happens very fast and you really don't see or hear anything too disturbing.