Brave the Dark Movie Review (2025)

Parents need to know that Brave the Dark is an earnest fact-based drama about an inspiring, compassionate teacher who comes to the aid of a troubled high school student. It has strong, clear messages about caring for others and asking for help. Violence isn't graphic but includes death by suicide, characters being shot and killed, blood spatter on a child's face, domestic violence, dialogue about an abusive relationship, brief fighting, tussles between male and female characters, threats, and more. Teens flirt and kiss, and a teen boy is shown shirtless. Language includes a few uses of "s--t" and "bulls--t," plus "a--hole," "pissing," "frickin'," "douche," "jerk-off," "screw you," "hell," "piece of trash," "stupid," and "my God." There are suggestions of teen drug use, and teens drink at parties (one gets drunk) and smoke cigarettes. A teen also has narcotics in his system.

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Violence & Scariness

some

A teen attempts suicide (jumping from a bridge into the river) but is rescued. A man physically grabs and drags a woman by her arm and neck. A man shoots a woman through the doorway of a house; she's shown bloody and dying on the floor. Another gunshot is heard. Character shoots self in head. Dialogue about an abusive father/husband; woman shown with bruise on upper arm. Unseen person washes blood spatter from a young child's face. Character nearly dies in hospital ("code blue!"). Brief fighting, shoving, threats. A teen boy forcibly grabs a teen girl's arm and yanks. Teen boy uses arms and body to trap and corner a teen girl against a bank of lockers. Enraged teen punches a glass window and breaks it (off-screen), then has a small bloody cut on his knuckle. Teen shoots a BB gun to crack a piece of glass to be used as part of a photograph. A teen is arrested in front of his classmates. A character fakes a heart attack.

Language

some

A few uses of "s--t" and "bulls--t," plus "a--hole," "pissing," "frickin'," "douche," "jerk-off," "screw you," "hell," "piece of trash," "stupid," "my God" (as exclamation).

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

some

Suggestions of teen drug use. Teen drinking at parties. Teen gets drunk. Teen cigarette smoking. Dialogue about "narcotics in your system," referring to a teen.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

a little

Teens flirt and kiss. Teen boy shown shirtless in several scenes, with much of his torso (but nothing sensitive) showing.

Products & Purchases

very little

Hershey's chocolate bar highlighted in one scene and mentioned again later.

Positive Role Models

a lot

Stan Deen is an ordinary person who, by simply reaching out to another human being and demonstrating compassion, changed his life for the better. Other teachers at the school have seemingly already given up on Nate without even giving him a chance ("He'll never amount to anything"), but Stan questions that perspective. By movie's end, Stan's influence has so positively affected Nate that he has become a role model, arranging to bring Christmas presents to all the children at his former orphanage. (The real-life Nate works at The Stan Deen Foundation, which hopes to continue Deen's work by "develop[ing] underserved students' potential by teaching them resilience and integrity through the transformative power of education and the arts.")

Positive Messages

a lot

Strong, clear messages. When you're going through something hard, it can be difficult to ask for help and easy to assume that any help will come with conditions. But all it takes is for people to care and to take the first steps, and lives can be changed for the better. And despite how it might seem, there are people who are willing to help. The adage "this too shall pass" is often repeated to suggest that, no matter how bad problems seem, they will eventually come to seem less important or not important at all.

Diverse Representations

a little

The two main characters, who are based on real people, are White men; one is unhoused and treated with compassion. Several people of color are in smaller/supporting roles, including Indian American actor Sasha Bhasin as Nate's girlfriend, Tina; Black actor Kimberly S. Fairbanks as Stan's best friend/co-worker, Deb; and South Korean American actor Sung Yoon as Carl, who becomes Tina's new boyfriend. There's also a Black actor in Stan's production of Flowers for Algernon.

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