SURVIVING THE WILD
A touching family adventure shadowed by a ghostly concern.
Should You Watch It?
Surviving the Wild offers a compelling adventure built around grief, family conflict, and reconciliation. A 13-year-old boy faces his grandfather’s death while his parents endure a messy divorce. The wilderness journey gives the film room for touching relationships, good acting, and beautiful photography.
The film’s family content rating is −1, so it calls for discernment rather than automatic avoidance. The first act includes brief foul language and innuendo. More significantly for Christian and Jewish viewers, the grandfather appears as a ghost and speaks with Shaun.
If your family is comfortable discussing those spiritual concerns, this is a worthwhile choice for middle schoolers and older viewers. For younger children, parents should make the call carefully.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESThirteen-year-old Shaun is grieving his grandfather, Gus, while his parents’ divorce brings fresh turmoil. Shaun decides to take his grandfather’s ashes and his old dog, Riley, to a remote mountain they once loved.
The journey is treacherous, and Shaun receives guidance from Gus’s ghost along the way. What begins as a boy’s private attempt to honor someone he loves becomes a family adventure.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this is a good, compelling adventure with several memorable strengths. Young Aidan Cullen holds his own opposite veteran Jon Voight, whose performance as the grandfather is outstanding, whimsical, and touching.
The script is good, and the wilderness photography is wonderful and well edited. The film’s adventure setting supports its emotional story without overwhelming it. Its main weaknesses are the brief language and innuendo in the first act, along with the spiritual issue raised by the ghost character.
The Worldview
The film presents a strong moral worldview centered on family reconciliation. Shaun’s actions grow out of grief and love for his grandfather, while the larger story takes family conflict seriously. The film also includes immoral, lawless behavior, including deception and criminal threats.
The central spiritual problem is the story device of a boy speaking often with his beloved grandfather’s ghost. That may comfort Shaun within the film, but it does not reflect a biblical understanding of death or communication with the dead. Christian and Jewish viewers should weigh that element carefully.
The film’s longing for family connection and its treatment of grief can open a meaningful conversation about hope. Scripture says believers should grieve differently: “that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Strong moral worldview of family reconciliation, mitigated by some immoral antinomian (lawless) behavior and an occult story device where young boy talks often with his beloved grandfather’s ghost
Foul Language
An SOB obscenity, two a** obscenities, two light OMG profanities, a couple references to boobies in innuendo talk about the suggestive shape of a mountain, three uses of “butt,” several uses of the word “crap”
Violence
Some adventure violence such as young teenage boy falls into rapids and his head is bleeding after apparently bumping into a rock, two bad guys up to no good in the wilderness kidnap boy and tie him up overnight, men with guns threaten family, dog gets shot, bad guys chase boy down a hill and through a forest, family fights off two bad guys, boy takes dead grandfather’s ashes and replaces them with oatmeal, bear wanders into a campsite and then leaves
Sex
Some brief humorous innuendo in one scene about women’s breasts while talking about the suggestive shape of a mountain
Nudity
No nudity
Alcohol Use
No alcohol
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Kidnapping, threats.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Shaun acts out of grief, but he also lies to his parents. How can grief affect our choices, and how does God meet us in sorrow?
Psalm 34:18 · Ephesians 4:25The story emphasizes family reconciliation. What makes reconciliation difficult, and what does forgiveness require?
Colossians 3:13 · Romans 12:18The film uses a ghost to comfort Shaun. What does Scripture teach about death, grief, and the hope believers have beyond death?
1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 · John 11:25–26Shaun wants to honor his grandfather. What are healthy ways to remember someone we love?
Proverbs 10:7 · Philippians 1:3The Final Word
Surviving the Wild is a touching, well-acted family adventure with beautiful wilderness photography and a strong emphasis on reconciliation. Brief language and innuendo require discernment, while the grandfather’s ghost deserves careful thought. For middle schoolers and older viewers, it is WORTH THE TRIP — MIDDLE SCHOOL AND UP.
