• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 17, age appropriate for kids over 17; suggested age 17.

• Is it any good?

  3.0

• Common Sense says

  Pulpy Southern immorality tale is for adults only.

Why We Rated This

What to watch out for

• Messages:

  Depending on how you look at it, the message is either that extreme promiscuity is an evil sickness or that broken people (in this case the town's insatiable slut and bitter, drunk bluesman) can help heal each other. Lots of racial and sexual stereotypes and tensions.
• Violence:

  An acquaintance nearly rapes Rae but instead bloodies her face (so hard she loses consciousness for two days) and then leaves her by the side of a road. Laz holds a broken beer bottle against a man's throat. Two men get in a bare-knuckled fight. A character points a gun and threatens to use it against two different men. Rae attacks her mother with a broom. Laz chains Rae but doesn't actually hurt her.
• Sex:

  The entire film is about sex. From the opening shot of Rae and Ronnie having sex (there's only partial nudity, but it's so naturalistic that it seems more graphic) to Rae baring her breasts and basically attacking a young teenager, the plot revolves around the notion that she's a young nymphomaniac "in heat." The girl can't stop getting it on -- whether it's with the local drug dealer or random guys at a drug-and-booze-filled house party. Rae has flashbacks of being abused by a shadowy man in her past. She spends the majority of the film chained to a radiator in small white panties and a midriff-baring cutoff top. Laz flirts sweetly with the local pharmacist.
• Language:

  Samuel L. Jackson stars, so expect many, many utterances of "motherf----r," "f--k," "d--k," "s--t," and the like. Even the town pastor curses. Both white and black characters say the "N" word.
• Consumerism:

  Not an issue.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Laz drinks a lot -- at a local bar and in his own home. Rae not only gets incredibly drunk at a party, but she also asks a dealer to give her enough pills to get "f---ed up." Laz and Rae do shots of moonshine.

What Parents Need to Know

About Black Snake Moan

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