Parents' Guide to

The Thinning

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Some peril, sex in teen dystopian sci-fi tale.

Movie NR 2016 81 minutes
The Thinning Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 12+

Based on 5 parent reviews

Fernando V.
Fernando V. Parent of 8, 14 and 17-year-old
July 7, 2018
age 13+

The Thinning Review

The Thinning is a YouTube Red Original starring Logan Paul and Peyton List. I'm am going to tell you this, The Thinning is very creative, the film has many moments of great suspense and many emotional elements, mostly involving the parents who don't get to see their kids again. There are some scary moments involving the guards of the school during the test. There are also a couple of sequences of peril, that aren't too intense and should be okay for children. So overall I was surprise by how much I truly liked this film, great plot twist with great action sequences and surprisingly well done acting. I'm going to give The Thinning a 9/10.
Tessroach
Tessroach Adult
January 21, 2018
age 14+

Good but language not for kids

One reviewer said that there was only one bad word, but there are significantly more than that. There’s f***, g**d***, several s***s, and b***h. It’s a very suspenseful and intense movie with a great plot twist, but if language is a concern, you might want to skip it.
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In the near future, overpopulation depletes the world's resources. As a result, governments begin taking radical steps. While some enforce a strict one-child only law and others kill off the elderly, America opts to have first through twelfth graders take a test each year, a test commonly known as THE THINNING. Students who finish in the bottom 5% are executed, thus making the population smaller and smarter. After high school junior Blake (Logan Paul) loses his girlfriend Ellie to The Thinning, he vows to fight back against this barbaric practice, even if that means taking on his father -- the pro-Thinning Governor of Texas who is eyeing the Oval Office -- and even if it means carrying out his intention to deliberately fail the test since his father allowed Ellie to die. Blake puts a video in the mail stating his intention to deliberately fail the test; the Governor's agents find the envelope and deliver it to the Governor as Blake is carrying out his plan. The Governor orders the brutal school security detail who help proctor the test to allow his son to pass; as a result, a gifted high school senior named Laina is called to be executed. While being carried away with the others to be killed, Blake fights back against the guards and frees Laina. Now it's up to Blake and Laina to prove that the tests are rigged and brutally enforced, as the school remains on lockdown, leaving parents waiting outside uncertain of the fates of their children.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5 ):
Kids say (24 ):

Despite the low budget, obvious comparisons to The Hunger Games, and the ridiculous lengths the movie sometimes goes to generate tension, this manages to be entertaining dystopian sci-fi. The premise is fully fleshed out, there's an undeniable chemistry between the young actors, and there are enough twists and turns to keep it engaging. The cliffhanger undoubtedly assures a sequel, and there's enough interest in the characters and their situations to want to know what happens next.

There are some flaws. For example, according to The Thinning, hairstyles, smartphones, and automobile design don't seem to change all that much in the future. But despite the questionable idea of forcing kids to take a life-or-death test in a dark room with giant oppressive Orwellesque digital timers and billyclub-wielding security guards dressed in all-black with black hockey masks, the rest of the movie holds up. The dialogue is mostly groan-free, and with the exception of the hammy kid playing the entitled jock bully, the acting stays consistently above the level of typical low-budget sci-fi fare. The Thinning should give the teenagers YouTube Red is trying to reach something more to latch onto other than good looks.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about dystopian science fiction movies like The Thinning. Why do you think movies set in a bleak future have an appeal?

  • How did this movie use music, sound effects, and colors to create the oppressive environments of the schools?

  • How was violence used in this movie? Did it seem necessary to the story, or added to make the movie seem more exciting?

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