A man tackles a boy and covers his head in a plastic bag. The man holds the boy to the floor as another boy takes a ball and smashes the boys face. No blood.
I would not classify it anywhere close to horror unless you accept the hallucinations of the main character and her possible "mental illness" as real. The Strays really is an attempt at social commentary by way of revenge fantasy (a la Quentin Tarantino).
“Strays” is definitely a treat, especially for dog lovers who will howl with laughter and also cry at its empathetic understanding that we all, furry or otherwise, just want to be loved.
THE STRAYS Is An INFURIATING MESS! - ENDING EXPLAINED
How violent is The Strays?
Violent scenes/references are largely played for humor and include the canine characters seriously mauling and maiming others, to bloody effect on a couple of occasions. Bloody animal carcasses are also seen, and there are references to severe animal neglect and abuse.
Similar to how Sausage Party and Ted appear as family movies but end up being extremely raunchy and coarse comedies, Strays takes the child-like concept of talking dogs and loads it up with sex jokes, drugs and constant swearing.
A dog is treated cruelly, verbally abused him, abandoned and threatened with violence. A dog mauls a man's crotch. We see blood on the man's clothing afterwards but no detail.
The Strays' social satire is sharp enough, but its bite is softened by a messy plot and an overall lack of discipline. A wasted opportunity to entertain while making the audience think about some serious subjects, The Strays fails as social commentary or psychological thriller.
This is the reason we barely see comedy movies any more, let alone R-rated ones that don't hold back. Strays is fun and funny from beginning to end. The hit rate on the comedic attempts is high. Most of it made me laugh out loud.
Strong crude sexualised material involving visual comedic scenes of sexual activity involving animals such as dogs and squirrels. A man is seen masturbating vigorously on numerous occasions. Animals' genitals are seen multiple times. It's implied that Doug is a sex offender.
| RATED "PG" - Parental Guidance, some moments may be unsuitable for young children. Contains content generally suitable for children aged 8 years and over.
Not quite a cameo, but still an important contribution, was the Snoop Dogg track “Gz and Hustlas,” which plays over the closing credits — something Greenbaum says he knew he wanted early on. “I love Snoop — of course I wanted to get him in there,” he says.
There's some violence, intimidation, threat, and peril. A man dies after being briefly tortured by being forced to lift weight that are too heavy, some people terrorize a family with a large knife and implicit threat, but there's very little blood.
Doug finally confessing to Reggie that he doesn't love him as he's about to kill him with a baseball bat. Doug is the main antagonist of the 2023 adult comedy film Strays.
Bug was adopted by Riley and is happier than ever. Reggie chooses to remain a stray to guide other lost dogs to find their way in life, but he still visits Bug at Riley's house and takes a liking to her little brother Liam (AJ Bernard), who tells Reggie he is a good boy.
There's no blood or gruesome imagery. The gameplay and puzzles can potentially be frustrating. There's some light hints in-game (via the robot/drone companion), but you're often left to figure things out on your own.
Director Josh Greenbaum used real dogs instead of CGI canines for a more authentic feel, with 95% of the movie featuring real animals. "Strays" performed well with fans, earning a "B+" CinemaScore and a 73% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, despite mixed reviews from critics.
That's because it bleeps out all of the bad language — and there's a lot of bleeping language here! So this tells you exactly what to expect from STRAYS. This looks like a vulgar and funny movie with a huge heart.
