Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

What’s it about?

While navigating his second year at Hogwarts, Happy Potter, and his friends, Ron and Hermione, realise that they must build the courage to save their school after the legendary Chamber of Secrets is opened.

The facts 

• Directed by Chris Columbus
• Starring Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Richard Harris (Albus Dumbledore), Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall), and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)
• English and Latin languages
• Runtime: 161 minutes
• Film adaptation of the novel of the same name written by J. K. Rowling

Why did it get this rating? 

This film was cross-rated by the Film and Video Labelling Body. You can find out more about cross-rating here.

Frightening fantasy scenes

Two characters are attacked by giant spiders and smaller, faster baby spiders, which are all very frightening, but they escape uninjured.

A girl is paralysed. She is seen by her friends lying frozen on a hospital bed, but she later turns out fine.

A character confronts a giant snake, which some may find frightening.

Violence

During the confrontation with the snake, the character is bitten and pulls a fang out of his arm with some dripping blood, and the snakes eyes are scratched out with some blood.

A creature hits himself with a boy’s desk lamp and a medicine bottle. He also tells the boy how his hands are heavily bandaged because someone burned them with an iron once as punishment.

During a sports game, a character breaks his arm. His friend tries to fix it using a spell but instead he makes his bones disappear, causing the arm to flop over in a gross way.

When content stays with you: 

We all have our boundaries, and it’s completely okay if something you’ve watched is weighing on your mind. If certain content lingers with you, consider having a chat with friends or whānau to debrief about what you’ve just seen. But if you’re still feeling affected, please reach out to any of the following helplines for support.  

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information 

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Brain development – how it works, why it matters