World War Z parents guide

World War Z Parent Guide

Packed with improbable plot lines, questionable science and a disturbing solution to the zombie invasion, "World War Z" doesn't wander far from what audiences will expect in this genre.

Overall C

Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a man trying to stop a plague that's infecting the populace and turning them into zombies. Meanwhile he also needs to fight off the victims in a battle of world war proportions.

Release date June 21, 2013

Violence C-
Sexual Content A-
Profanity D+
Substance Use C

Why is World War Z rated PG-13? The MPAA rated World War Z PG-13 for intense frightening zombie sequences, violence and disturbing images

Run Time: 116 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Zombies, those lurching creatures with the vacant stare, finally get to share the big screen with a Hollywood A-lister in World War Z. After taking a break from big action packed dramas, Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a former United Nations investigator who left his globe-trotting job in dangerous locations to be home with his wife Karin (Mireille Enos) and two daughters (Sterling Jerins, Abigail Hargrove).

However their peaceful life of pancake breakfasts is interrupted when a new plague begins spreading around the world, turning the human population into a mob of flesh-eating zombies. Plucked off the top of an apartment building, Gerry and his family are whisked away to a military ship in the middle of the ocean where the UN employee is given two options. He can either help locate the source of the plague or he and his family will be back on shore among the undead. Leaving his wife and kids in the belly of the aircraft carrier, he boards a plane and heads for South Korea with an eager young scientist (Elyes Gabel).

Zombie movies have become something of a plague themselves, infesting movie theaters everywhere with bloody-mouthed soulless creatures. Don’t expect less from World War Z. Filled with the requisite depictions of gruesome and disturbing scenes, this movie zeroes in on the almost instantaneous transition from human to zombie. After being bitten, a character has only seconds before he or she begins convulsing wildly. The skin shrinks. The eyes take on a white milky glaze. In less than a minute the victim joins the throng of the surging undead. The only intervention seems to be hacking off the offending limb immediately after it’s been chomped. Along with other depictions of bloody wounds and damaged human tissue, the frequent violent encounters between the humans and zombies also include shootings, stabbings, mutilation, gunfire and huge explosions.

Packed with improbable plot lines, questionable science and a disturbing solution to the zombie invasion, World War Z doesn’t wander far from what audiences will expect in this genre. However the film, which leaves itself wide open for a possible sequel, tries to massage a message into all the mayhem. But any political point about the use of chemical warfare, isolationism or ineffective government leadership is lost when these zombies initiate World War Z.

Directed by Marc Forster. Starring Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, David Morse, James Badge Dale. Running time: 116 minutes. Theatrical release June 21, 2013. Updated

World War Z
Rating & Content Info

Why is World War Z rated PG-13? World War Z is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense frightening zombie sequences, violence and disturbing images

Violence: News-type clips portray riots, wild beasts attacking and eating others, dead animals and disturbing natural events. Violent portrayals include a man being smashed by a vehicle, zombies attacking others, utter chaos in the streets, looting and characters threatening others with guns. A character accidentally shots himself. Bodies are seen hanging on a fence. Other corpses have been burned. Zombies clamor over one another in order to scale a wall. Bodies fall out of a plane before it crashes. A man is impaled with a piece of metal during the crash. Scenes of beating, stabbing, gunfire, bombings and explosion are shown. A character has her hand cut off. Other depictions of dismemberment and mutilation are shown. Characters engage in vicious hand-to-hand combat.

Sexual Content: Family members embrace and kiss.

Language: The script contains a partial strong sexual expletive, infrequent scatological slang, profanities and some vulgar language.

Alcohol / Drug Use: A character drinks to deal with pain. Alcohol is also poured on a wound as an antiseptic. A character is injected with a deadly virus.

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World War Z Parents' Guide

How does science provide a solution in this film? What costs do medical subjects endure in the name of scientific advancement?

What sacrifices do military personnel, first responders and their families make in order to protect and serve?

How does Israel prepare for the zombie attack? Is it good to have someone who is willing to stand opposed to common thought? What can people do to prepare for a calamity (one more realistic than a zombie attack)?

This movie is based on World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, a novel by Max Brooks.

Home Video

The most recent home video release of World War Z movie is September 17, 2013. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: World War Z

Release Date: 17 September 2013

World War Z releases to home video in a 2D Unrated Cut (Blu-ray/DVD/Ultraviolet Digital Copy) or 3D Theatrical Cut (plus 2D Unrated Cut) (Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy). Both packages include the following extras:

- Origins: The filmmakers discuss collaborating with actor/producer Brad Pitt to create a Zombie film.

- Looking to Science: Explore the scientific realities of Zombie behavior in nature and learn more about Zombies in literature and film.

- WWZ Production: Outbreak, The Journey Begins, Behind the Wall, and Camouflage.

Related home video titles:

The popularity of zombie tales is soaring, fueling movies like Warm Bodies. Other plagues infect the world in I Am Legend and Contagion. And alien beings takeover the minds of humans leaving them in a zombie-like state in The Invasion.

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