Netflix dropped a new thriller this week titled Kidnapping Stella which involves a young woman trying to escape a ransom by using clues to solve who her captors are.
As noted by other sites, this film is a remake of a British thriller called The Disappearance of Alice Creed, and while it follows the same path as the original, it does so with less provocative execution.
So does this make Kidnapping Stella a safe bet for the kids at home? Here is what a parent should know before viewing the film with little ones lurking around the room.
Is Kidnapping Stella okay for kids to watch?
When viewing adult-oriented films every parent is different. For example, this writer was exposed to Die Hard at an extremely young age which undoubtedly led to a job at Monsters & Critics.
That said, for safety precautions, a film like this should probably be viewed in two different categories: 1) Kids under 13 and 2) kids over 13.
As far as 12 and under, it’s probably not the best choice to play this around a small child.
The language is not necessarily a problem since the film is from Germany (just like Netflix’s series Dark) and most children are not going to understand the language unless the child speaks German — then maybe reconsider the selection until the kid is asleep.
On top of this, the film contains a lot of scenes in which a woman is being tormented and victimized — such as being restrained to the bed and having her clothes cut off by scissors.
She is never taken advantage of sexually in this sequence but no child needs to see a woman being dehumanized in any way, shape, or form.
The violence is never overly aggressive and mostly tame, even in its most intense moments. The film is more psychologically tense than violently tense and most small kids probably won’t understand the subject matter anyway.
That said, parents probably should not expose kids 12 and younger to a film of this nature.
13 and older is where the line gets blurry. Not all teens are made the same way and some are tougher than others for these viewing experiences.
The original film this is based off had a lot more sexual elements, nudity, and provocative material which has mostly been removed to reduce it to a bare-bones thriller.
As stated, it’s neither gory, overly sexual, or riddled with nudity. If one is a lenient parent with teens watching R-Rated films then there’s probably not much here that will surprise or shock.
It’s a twisty thriller based on a better film. If this sounds like something your teen has seen before, then he/she probably will not be blown away or damaged by the experience of Kidnapping Stella.
But most importantly, use instinct. No one can know what your teen can handle better than you.
Kidnapping Stella is now streaming on Netflix.