Story

Retired UN official Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his wife Karin (Mireille Enos) are taking their kids, Constance (Sterling Jerins) and Rachel (Abigail Hargrove) to school when they get stuck in a traffic jam heading into the city. Suddenly pandemonium strikes when explosions erupt, cars and trucks collide and people are running in all directions. The ‘Zombie pandemic’ has arrived with zombies running everywhere attacking people and crashing into windscreens.

Gerry manages to get his family to a temporary safe house where he receives a call from the UN who are desperate to get him back on board to help fight the Zombie pandemic. They send a helicopter to rescue him and his family who are taken aboard a troop ship. From there Gerry is sent all over the world trying to find a cure for the epidemic while avoiding succumbing to the ‘zombie’ virus.

Themes

Horror themes

Violence

There is a lot of violence but little blood and gore in this movie, including:

  • Cars, trucks and motorbikes crash into each other.
  • Zombies crash into car windscreens.
  • Karin is attacked by a group of men in a supermarket.
  • People and police shoot at each other.
  • People fall from buildings.
  • Hordes of zombies run through the streets attacking anyone in sight.
  • Hordes of zombies try to climb over the town walls and are shot down.
  • There are gun battles and grenades thrown at zombies.
  • A female soldier is bitten on the hand by a zombie so Gerry chops her hand off to save her life.
  • Zombies attack people on a plane which ends up with the plane crashing and only two survivors.
  • Gerry has an object embedded in his abdomen.

Sexual references

None of concern

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

  • Alcohol is used as an anaesthetic and disinfectant

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some mild sexual activity in this movie, including:

  • Gerry and Karin are in bed together, kissing and cuddling.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • Pepsi
  • Mountain Dew

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • bitch
  • Shit
  • bullshit
  • Oh my God
  • bastard
  • arse

Ideas to discuss with your children

World War Z, based on a novel, has a flawed plot with no explanation as to how the zombie outbreak started and has very little credibility overall. Its fast paced action is, however, likely to appeal to adolescents. Parents are warned that the M rating is well deserved. Although the film has less blood and gore than usual zombie movies, there is plenty to scare children under 13, for whom it is definitely not suitable.  It may also disturb younger teenagers and is therefore not recommended for under 15s. The violent and disturbing scenes are more intense when seen in 3D.

The main message from this movie is to persevere against all odds in the face of adversity.

Parents may wish to discuss Gerry’s sacrifice in leaving his family behind for the sake of saving humankind.

Supported By

Raising Children Network is supported by the Australian Government. Member organisations are the Parenting Research Centre and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute with The Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Community Child Health.

Member Organisations

Follow us on social media

Aboriginal flag (c) WAM Clothing
Torres Strait Islands flag
At raisingchildren.net.au we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live, gather and work. We recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay respect to Elders past and present.

© 2006-2025 Raising Children Network (Australia) Limited. All rights reserved.

Warning: This website and the information it contains is not intended as a substitute for professional consultation with a qualified practitioner.