Eli Movie Review | Common Sense Media

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Parents' Guide to

Eli Movie NR 2019 98 minutes Eli Poster Image
  • Common Sense Says
  • Parents Say 3 Reviews
  • Kids Say 36 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Brian Costello By Brian Costello , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 16+

Blood and gore, demonic imagery in excellent horror movie.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Eli is a horror movie in which a young boy named Eli (Charlie Shotwell) undergoes a last-ditch effort to be cured of a rare autoimmune disorder, only to discover a shocking truth. Expect plenty of horror movie violence, as well as gore, blood,…

 Why Age 16+? Violence & Scariness

Gore. Character discovers rotting corpses of children. A head explodes. Characte

 Language

Occasional profanity, including "f--k" and "s--t" used by Eli. "Bitch," "crap."

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Bullies drink beer.

 Sex, Romance & Nudity Not present Products & Purchases Not present Any Positive Content? Positive Messages

Any potentially positive messages of parents doing whatever is necessary to cure

 Positive Role Models

While he appears to be a boy struggling with a rare autoimmune disorder, the tit

  • Parents Need to Know

    Parents need to know that Eli is a horror movie in which a young boy named Eli (Charlie Shotwell) undergoes a last-ditch effort to be cured of a rare autoimmune disorder, only to discover a shocking truth. Expect plenty of horror movie violence, as well as gore, blood, demonic imagery, and lots of jump scares. Characters' heads blow up, and characters are set on fire. A character discovers the rotting corpses of children. There are graphic depictions of surgery, including a drill to the skull and a scalpel to skin. Eli has what appears to be a life-threatening allergy attack in which he screams, cries, and gasps for air while his skin turns red. Bullying is seen: A gang of young adults drinking beer by a trailer make fun of Eli for wearing a hazmat suit in public. There's occasional profanity, including "f--k" and "s--t," and the middle-finger gesture is used.

    To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

  • Violence & Scariness

    a lot

    Gore. Character discovers rotting corpses of children. A head explodes. Characters turned upside down, floating and spinning while set on fire. Eli has what appears to be a life-threatening allergy attack -- gasping for breath and screaming while his skin turns red. Graphic scenes of surgery: cuts in skin, drilling through a skull. Demonic imagery throughout. Bullying: a gang of young adults in a parking lot make fun of Eli for wearing his hazmat suit. Jump scares galore.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Language

    some

    Occasional profanity, including "f--k" and "s--t" used by Eli. "Bitch," "crap." Middle-finger gesture.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

    very little

    Bullies drink beer.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Positive Messages

    very little

    Any potentially positive messages of parents doing whatever is necessary to cure their son of a rare autoimmune disorder are eliminated by the end of the movie. Medical treatment shown to be scary and dangerous.

  • Positive Role Models

    very little

    While he appears to be a boy struggling with a rare autoimmune disorder, the titular character, like every character in the movie, isn't what he seems.

Where to Watch

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Eli

Parent and Kid Reviews

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  • Parents Say (3)
  • Kids Say (36)
age 13+

Based on 3 parent reviews

See all 3 parent reviews age 12+

Based on 36 kid reviews

Kids say the film has mixed reviews, highlighting that while some viewers found it captivating with good plot twists and solid acting, others considered it cheesy and confusing, particularly criticizing the ending and CGI effects. Many found the gore content to be more suitable for a mature audience, and while there are intense scenes, some viewers believe it to be appropriate for younger teens.

  • mixed reviews
  • plot twists
  • confusing ending
  • suitable for teens
  • strong gore content
  • acting criticism
Summarized with AI
See all 36 kid reviews

What's the Story?

ELI (Charlie Shotwell) is a boy suffering from a rare autoimmune disorder. He must wear a hazmat suit when outside, and lives sealed off behind plastic when indoors to avoid being contaminated by the pollutants and allergens of the outside world. Desperate to find a cure for Eli, his parents rest their final and desperate hopes in Dr. Horn (Lili Taylor), who treats cases such as Eli's in an old and remote mansion. Immediately upon arriving, Eli has nightmares and hallucinations that suggest that things in this treatment center aren't all that they seem. At night, a tween girl neighbor named Haley (Sadie Sink) visits him outside his window, and confirms Eli's suspicions that things aren't right inside this house. As he undergoes his first and second treatments, Eli's nightmarish visions only worsen, and when he discovers what he thinks happened to other kids with similar illnesses, Eli tries to escape while begging his parents to leave. But Eli's parents have secrets of their own, and as Eli tries to convince them of Dr. Horn's sinister actions, the actual truth is far more terrifying.

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Is It Any Good?

Our review: Parents say (3 ): Kids say (36 ):

To even reference any of the classic horror movie storylines this film draws upon would give the game away. Let's just say that what appears to be a rather basic haunted-house horror movie paired with what seems to be a mad doctor engaging in gruesomely unethical surgeries shifts in some shocking directions. The story's twists and turns result in a satisfying horror movie in which it seems all the adults are hiding something (and they are). Viewers' enjoyment of this movie is inevitably dependent on how they feel about getting their sympathies and their sense of the "good guys" and "bad guys" contorting into an unexpected direction.

Eli has a satisfying ending because, unlike so many other movies with twist endings, it's easy to see how the clues were there all along. In other words, the ending isn't a cheap gimmick. While definitely not in the same league as the classic horror movies that clearly influenced Eli, it's still a fun movie that starts to feel as much like a game as anything else. Much of what works in the movie is attributable to Charlie Shotwell's performance as Eli, whose pained howls, asthmatic wheezing, and awkward tween interactions with the opposite sex play on our sympathies throughout most of the movie. It's a horror movie not easily forgotten, and one that rewards repeated viewings.

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Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about horror movies. How does Eli compare to other horror movies that focus on haunted houses, demonic possession, the occult?

  • How does the blood and gore compare to that in other horror movies? Why do you think some people find entertainment value in blood and gore?

  • What are some other examples of movies with unexpected twists and turns and surprise endings?

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Movie Details

  • On DVD or streaming : October 18, 2019
  • Cast : Lili Taylor , Max Martini , Charlie Shotwell
  • Director : Ciaran Foy
  • Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
  • Studio : Netflix
  • Genre : Horror
  • Topics : Fantasy
  • Run time : 98 minutes
  • MPAA rating : NR
  • Last updated : October 9, 2025
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Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Eli

Suggest an Update

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