SPLIT
Scary psychological thriller — brilliantly made, but for adults only.
Should You Watch It?
SPLIT is a brilliantly made thriller with a smart script, expert performances, and a gripping battle of wills. James McAvoy gives a complex performance as the kidnapper, while Anna Taylor-Joy makes Casey a compelling heroine who finds strength after a lifetime of implied abuse.
That strength comes at a cost. The movie is deeply unpleasant for much of its running time, with relentless dread, intense psychological disturbance, implied cannibalism, child abuse, sexual abuse, and shocking violence. It also raises a valid concern about whether it uses trauma as fuel for entertainment. The film offers few strong moral or redemptive elements.
The final minutes provide powerful surprises and a memorable coda, but they do not erase what comes before. If you are an adult who can handle this material, SPLIT is worth seeing; for families, children, young teens, and abuse survivors, choose something else.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESThree teenage girls are kidnapped and held in an underground lair by a man whose seemingly endless personalities include a mentally challenged man and an upper-crust British woman. As two girls attempt to escape, Casey studies their captor, manipulates his shifting mind, and gathers clues that might save her life.
A psychiatrist who studies his condition adds another thread to the tense psychological struggle. But an identity more frightening than the personalities already known is beginning to emerge.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means SPLIT is exceptionally effective as a thriller. M. Night Shyamalan’s writing is smart, and the story is complex enough to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The partial flashbacks are masterfully unspooled, and the final 10 minutes deliver a powerful coda with surprising twists.
The acting is a major strength. James McAvoy expertly portrays the kidnapper’s different personas, while Anna Taylor-Joy gives the teenage heroine intelligence and resolve. The movie keeps most threats psychological, showing much of the violence briefly or implying it off screen.
Its central weakness is tonal and moral. The film remains deeply unpleasant until near the end, and its use of abuse and trauma to create thrills can feel exploitative.
The Worldview
SPLIT presents a light moral worldview. Its central girl fights for her life and finds strength after a lifetime of implied abuse, but the story offers little else that is particularly moral or redemptive. The kidnapper’s psychiatrist is somewhat too sympathetic toward his condition, treating it in romanticized terms.
The film also suggests that the mind can physically change a person, an idea described in the source as pagan ontological nominalism. Its view of psychological trauma and human possibility therefore departs from a biblical understanding of the person as more than a mind capable of reshaping the body.
Still, Casey’s survival and hard-won strength point toward a truth Scripture recognizes: God is near to those crushed by suffering. “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Light moral worldview in story about a teenage girl having to fight for her life against a crazy psychopath, who’s been coddled a bit by his psychiatrist, who has a Romantic view of his condition, but, beyond this, nothing else is particularly moral or redemptive and some pagan ontological nominalism where the movie suggests the mind can physically change a person; four obscenities (including one “f” word) and one strong profanity; strong scary violence includes implied abuse, teenagers kidnapped and held against their will, man grabs an old woman from behind so strongly that he crushes her spine and kills her, it’s implied man has murdered two teenage girls and is cannibalizing their corpses, one corpse is seen lying dead and bloody for a split second, another moment man baring his teeth and preparing to bite down, man’s face has blood on it in one scene, several frightening moments where the man flexes his muscles in terrifying fashion while transforming psychologically into an evil superhuman being he calls “The Beast,” girl points shotgun at her abusive uncle, teenage girl has scar marks on her belly from cutting herself in self-abuse to cope with trauma of child abuse by her uncle, some blood when teenage girl shoots villain; no depicted sexual content but it’s implied girl was abused by her uncle, kidnapper makes the girls strip down to their bra and panties and makes them scared to think he will abuse or rape them, and it is mentioned that one of troubled villain’s personalities likes to watch girls dance naked, but no dancing is shown; upper male nudity, and girls are forced to strip to their underwear, but nothing else happens; a bar scene shows some alcohol use; no smoking or illegal drugs, but villain sprays something into teenage girls’ faces to knock them out; and, kidnapping, kidnapped teenagers are imprisoned against their will, and villain deceives people.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Casey finds strength while facing the effects of childhood abuse. What does Scripture say about God’s nearness to people who are brokenhearted, and how can we respond to suffering with care?
Psalm 34:18 · Romans 12:15The film suggests that psychological trauma can shape a person’s identity and body. How does the Bible describe the dignity and identity God gives every human being?
Genesis 1:27 · Psalm 139:13–14The psychiatrist treats the kidnapper’s condition with fascination and sympathy. How can compassion for someone’s suffering remain joined to truth and responsibility?
Micah 6:8 · Ephesians 4:15The story turns abuse and trauma into thriller material. What responsibilities do storytellers and viewers have when engaging with another person’s suffering?
Philippians 2:3–4 · Colossians 3:12The Final Word
SPLIT is expertly written, acted, and constructed, with a powerful heroine and a gripping finish. But its relentless dread, disturbing abuse-related material, and limited moral substance make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults who can handle intense psychological content, WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For other viewers, consider our.
