STAY
A haunting psychological mystery for discerning adults.
Should You Watch It?
STAY is an intriguing psychological mystery that plays like a dream. Its strongest ideas concern love, death, the many paths people may take, and the conviction that life remains worth living despite tragedy. Those themes give the film an uplifting core, and its strange atmosphere may stay with you after you leave.
The cost is substantial. The movie contains strong foul language, violence, and an extended suicide theme. Its mysterious treatment of dreams, death, and a man's apparent ability to predict the future also introduces pagan and occult elements. The ending may frustrate viewers who expect clearer answers.
If you are a discerning adult who can engage those concerns without harm to your conscience, STAY is worth seeing for its thoughtful journey. For children and young teens, choose something else.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESAfter a terrible traffic accident, psychologist Sam Foster begins treating Henry Letham, a disturbed young artist who says he plans to kill himself in several days. Sam races to prevent Henry from carrying out his plan while trying to understand what is real and what is false.
As the mystery deepens, Sam's own life, relationship, and grasp of reality come under pressure. The film invites you to question whether Henry is truly a patient, a dark reflection of Sam, or something stranger.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means STAY offers a worthwhile, intriguing journey but falls short of greatness. It is sensitive and psychologically absorbing, with invigorating moments and an atmosphere that may haunt you afterward.
The film is also too elusive and vague. Its conclusion may frustrate many viewers, and some may feel cheated by the mundane ending. Still, the movie's handling of dreams, love, death, and the psychology of the mind gives it enough substance to rise above its flaws.
The Worldview
STAY explores dreams, especially nightmares, as if they occur in a limbo realm between life and death. It also presents life as a series of possible paths and portrays love as a source of both joy and pain. Its central affirmation is that life is worth living despite tragedy, which offers a meaningful rejection of suicide.
The film's worldview is not fully biblical. It includes strong pagan content, unmarried characters living together, and an occult mystery surrounding a man who appears able to predict the future and heal a blind man. Although the story plays with reality in a way that may seem to contradict Christian truth, its focus ultimately rests on the psychology of the mind, dreams, and dying. It offers brief hope of an afterlife without explaining what that afterlife is.
STAY recognizes the inevitability of death and still urges viewers not to surrender the beauty of life. Scripture gives that hope a firmer foundation: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Slight biblical worldview offering hope of an afterlife at the end and advocating life over suicide, but with some strong pagan content, including unmarried characters live together, and mystery surrounds an occult element where a man appears to be able to predict the future (man also appears to heal a blind man at one point), but something else is really happening; 23 obscenities (including many "f" words), nine strong profanities and four light profanities; strong violence includes major theme of suicide, violent car crash shown at least twice, pools of blood under victims, dog bites man's arm, mental patient violently struggles against doctors and medical personnel, man puts out cigarette on his arm and later we see several such burn marks on that arm, and man puts gun in his mouth but movie cuts away to reveal the situation was not real; no sex scenes but implied fornication and man visits dance/strip bar where female dancers wear skimpy bikinis; upper male nudity and women in skimpy bikinis in dance/strip bar; alcohol use; smoking, man refuses to put out his cigarette on the subway, references to people taking anti-depressant and anti-schizophrenic drugs prescribed by doctors, and doctors inject mental patient to sedate her or calm her down; and, romantic couple keeps secrets from one another, mental patients fight people trying to help them and man appears to heal a blind man but the situation didn't really happen.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film argues that life remains worth living despite tragedy. Where do you see that hope in Scripture, and what helps you hold on to it?
John 10:10 · Psalm 30:5STAY presents love as bringing both joy and pain. How can love remain faithful when life becomes difficult?
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 · Romans 12:10The characters struggle with secrets and uncertainty. When should we seek help instead of facing suffering alone?
Galatians 6:2 · James 5:16The movie treats dreams and death as mysterious realities. What does Scripture clearly teach about death and the hope beyond it?
Hebrews 9:27 · John 11:25–26The Final Word
STAY is an intriguing, sensitive mystery with an uplifting belief that life is worth living. Its strong language, violence, suicide themes, and pagan elements make it unsuitable for children and young teens, while its vague ending may frustrate you. For discerning adults, it is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For a gentler choice, see.
