The Butterfly Effect

violence, sex, nudity, child sexual abuse references, language, drug misuse
Director(s)Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber
Production year2003
Genre(s)Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
Approx. running minutes109m
CastAshton Kutcher, Melora Walters, Amy Smart, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott
Posters powered by IMDb

The Butterfly Effect

violence, sex, nudity, child sexual abuse references, language, drug misuse
In this psychological thriller, a man suffering from severe memory blackouts attempts to travel back in time and alter h ...
In this psychological thriller, a man suffering from severe memory blackouts attempts to travel back in time and alter his past, which has drastic consequences in his present.
violence
threat and horror
language
sex
discrimination
drugs
sexual violence and sexual threat
suicide and self-harm
Contains strong language, violence and psychological horror
Classified Date:
20/08/2003
Version:
2D
Use:
Cinema
Distributor:
Icon Film Distribution Ltd
violence, sex, nudity, child sexual abuse references, language, drug misuse
Classified Date:
10/09/2026
Version:
2D
Use:
VOD/Streaming
Distributor:
HBO Max
violence
In scenes of strong violence, people are strangled and beaten with punches, kicks and improvised weapons; a man is stabbed in the crotch during an attack in a prison cell. In various flashback sequences, a dog is wrestled into a sack and covered with lighter fluid; it's implied the animal was set on fire, though this is not depicted on-screen. There are also visual and verbal references to domestic abuse.
threat and horror
A person suffers from painful blackouts in their memory, resulting in convulsions and bleeding from the nose. People are threatened with weapons in some scenes.
language
Strong language ('f**k', 'motherf**ker') is used throughout; milder terms include 'bitch', 'dick', 'prick', 'shit', 'ass', 'tits', 'pissed', 'Jesus Christ', 'hell', 'God' and 'damn'.
sex
People have thrusty sex under bed sheets in some scenes. Visual references to sex include sexual moaning, a man leaning between a woman's legs implying oral sex, as well as visual allusions to pornography and sex work. A man offers sexual favours in exchange for loyalty in prison.
discrimination
Some scenes feature discriminatory terms ('faggot', 'retard', 'kike', 'spic', 'n****r') and behaviour.
drugs
A man briefly smokes a bong in one scene; drug paraphernalia is seen in a brothel; there are also verbal references to cocaine misuse.
sexual violence and sexual threat
There are visual allusions and verbal references to child sexual abuse which recur throughout, but these are not graphic. A man is threatened with rape by a prison inmate; there is a scene in which a man gropes a woman while she's serving as a waitress.
suicide and self-harm
Verbal references are made to a person taking their own life; a person interrupts a person's suicide attempt.
injury detail
A man bleeds from his nose during convulsions in several scenes; there is also blood in the aftermath of violent scenes. The ashes of a dog's burned remains are briefly shown. A teen girl has bruises on her arm implying she's been beaten by her father.
nudity
Scenes contain sexualised breast and pubic nudity.
dangerous behaviour
Teenagers misuse dynamite which causes a fatal explosion.
theme
People are bereaved and suffer from mental health difficulties.
Contains strong language, violence, sex references and child abuse theme
Classified Date:
04/08/2004
Version:
2D
Use:
Physical media
Distributor:
Warner Home Video Ltd
Paperwork Remarks:
Re-edited version
Classified Date:
17/09/2004
Version:
2D
Use:
Physical media
Distributor:
Warner Home Video Ltd
Classified Date:
02/02/2004
Version:
2D
Use:
Cinema
Distributor:
Icon Film Distribution Ltd
Classified date10/09/2026
LanguageEnglish
violence
threat and horror
language
sex
discrimination
drugs
sexual violence and sexual threat
suicide and self-harm
Director(s)Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber
Production year2003
Genre(s)Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
Approx. running minutes109m
CastAshton Kutcher, Melora Walters, Amy Smart, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott
Posters powered by IMDb
Contains strong language, violence and psychological horror
Classified Date:
20/08/2003
Version:
2D
Use:
Cinema
Distributor:
Icon Film Distribution Ltd
violence, sex, nudity, child sexual abuse references, language, drug misuse
Classified Date:
10/09/2026
Version:
2D
Use:
VOD/Streaming
Distributor:
HBO Max
violence
In scenes of strong violence, people are strangled and beaten with punches, kicks and improvised weapons; a man is stabbed in the crotch during an attack in a prison cell. In various flashback sequences, a dog is wrestled into a sack and covered with lighter fluid; it's implied the animal was set on fire, though this is not depicted on-screen. There are also visual and verbal references to domestic abuse.
threat and horror
A person suffers from painful blackouts in their memory, resulting in convulsions and bleeding from the nose. People are threatened with weapons in some scenes.
language
Strong language ('f**k', 'motherf**ker') is used throughout; milder terms include 'bitch', 'dick', 'prick', 'shit', 'ass', 'tits', 'pissed', 'Jesus Christ', 'hell', 'God' and 'damn'.
sex
People have thrusty sex under bed sheets in some scenes. Visual references to sex include sexual moaning, a man leaning between a woman's legs implying oral sex, as well as visual allusions to pornography and sex work. A man offers sexual favours in exchange for loyalty in prison.
discrimination
Some scenes feature discriminatory terms ('faggot', 'retard', 'kike', 'spic', 'n****r') and behaviour.
drugs
A man briefly smokes a bong in one scene; drug paraphernalia is seen in a brothel; there are also verbal references to cocaine misuse.
sexual violence and sexual threat
There are visual allusions and verbal references to child sexual abuse which recur throughout, but these are not graphic. A man is threatened with rape by a prison inmate; there is a scene in which a man gropes a woman while she's serving as a waitress.
suicide and self-harm
Verbal references are made to a person taking their own life; a person interrupts a person's suicide attempt.
injury detail
A man bleeds from his nose during convulsions in several scenes; there is also blood in the aftermath of violent scenes. The ashes of a dog's burned remains are briefly shown. A teen girl has bruises on her arm implying she's been beaten by her father.
nudity
Scenes contain sexualised breast and pubic nudity.
dangerous behaviour
Teenagers misuse dynamite which causes a fatal explosion.
theme
People are bereaved and suffer from mental health difficulties.
Contains strong language, violence, sex references and child abuse theme
Classified Date:
04/08/2004
Version:
2D
Use:
Physical media
Distributor:
Warner Home Video Ltd
Paperwork Remarks:
Re-edited version
Classified Date:
17/09/2004
Version:
2D
Use:
Physical media
Distributor:
Warner Home Video Ltd
Classified Date:
02/02/2004
Version:
2D
Use:
Cinema
Distributor:
Icon Film Distribution Ltd
Classified date10/09/2026
LanguageEnglish