Introductions to Scary Movies.....for kids!

[PrincessTiannaLove]

Hey everyone!

We are doing a Fall Break trip Oct 15th-18th and doing HHN for the FIRST TIME EVER, on the 17th. DH, myself, DD10 & DS 8. I am huge lover of scary movies & haunted houses, husband can tolerate anything without the devil, and kids did their first haunted house last fall & loved it!
That said, I am having a hard time deciding/thinking about movies to help introduce them to a bit more, but having a really hard time figuring out ones that are appropriate, etc. Our biggest thing is sexual content, language. The scares, gore doesn't concern me, but all the sexual stuff is something we are trying to steer clear of.

And yes-I know HHN is 13 & up, recommended. If we only make it through 1 house & a scare zone, than fine by us. We just have to take a chance being from Denver and all.
Thanks all!

 

[Gary2T]

I don't have any good suggestions for you, but am facing the same dilemma now with my DD9. She really wants to watch some horror movies and go to HHN. We are not going to HHn this year, but are going to try out a local house.

The problem is the movies... I think back to the hours movies I grew up watching in the 80s and I wonder what my parents (and friends' parents) were thinking letting us watch some of those movies at 7,8,9 years old!

We have watched the new Mummy movie, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and some of the Sharknado movies. How's that for an odd selection?

 

[imprint]

Maybe watch some of the movies represented at HHN this year.

Stranger Things: Some language (no f- words that I recall) and adult situations (no nudity). The HHN house covers the first season (8 episodes I think).

Poltergeist: Brief drug use, some language, no nudity.

Trick r Treat: There's a scene with graphic dialogue and two quick brief nudity parts. I think those were added to get an R rating, because otherwise this could be a PG-13 movie. During those three quick parts, we muted the sound and had our kid not look at the screen.

Halloween 4: I haven't seen it in years and cannot remember.

Blumhouse: I haven't seen Happy Death Day nor new Purge movie.

 

[RAPstar]

I'd love to help, but my mom took me to see Hellraiser when I was 3, so I don't think I'd be the best choice for advice.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

That just seems so young to me. I don't have any advice as to the movies, but keep in mind that HHN is geared to adults and older kids, and the atmosphere in general may not be suitable for kids. I'm thinking a bunch of semi-drunk adults who may or may not scream obscenities when something scares them. I hear the nights are very crowded, and I would imagine it isn't very well lit. A scared kid may panic and run and be difficult to locate.

Thry are your kids and your know them best, but I would think about it and be very sure they are ready for the intensity of the event.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Comment deleted.

 

[smiths02]

I think the experience would be too intense for me and definitely for even my oldest DS at 12. We just recently let him watch Stranger Things. I have to wonder if you are questioning the movies that the houses are based on, then the whole experience seems too intense.

That being said, we have let our kids watch a lot of classic movies from the 1930s-1950s...Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Mummy, Frankenstein (Karloff), Dracula (Lugosi)
and then some other old movies like King Kong, the 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

I also know a family who uses VidAngel to help control some of the content of media. I know they use it to watch Stranger Things. I can't vouch for it.

 

[fely1st]

I am not really sure which movies are for Kids but I can remember I watched all the Halloween Movies when I was about 12 or 13 and I had nightmares for months. I think all the old black/white horror movies are ok, they don't show the violence.

 

[angshewas]

Soooo, my younger son is 7 (almost 8) and has suddenly fallen in love with horror movies. It started in July because there was a Friday the 13th that month. He has now watched 8 of the Friday the 13th movies. Then he really wanted to watch Nightmare on Elm Street and I was against it at first, but now he's watched 4 of those, too. They scared me to death when I was a kid! We do watch during the day, not in the dark, so I think that helps. He loves them and doesn't find them scary at all. My older son, however, doesn't want much to do with scary movies. You know your child best, but I think we're on the same page. I worry more about sex than gore. Friday the 13th has some making out and a few boobs. We don't really care about boobs. Like he wanted to watch American Horror Story, but we said no way. Even though it's on tv there's way more sex in it. It is difficult! And of course, both kids love Stranger Things! All that being said... we will be at Universal during HHN but don't plan to attend HHN this year, I think they need a few other haunted houses under their belts first. But hopefully someday! Please report back after you go! Have a great time!

 

[georgina]

I am not really sure which movies are for Kids but I can remember I watched all the Halloween Movies when I was about 12 or 13 and I had nightmares for months. I think all the old black/white horror movies are ok, they don't show the violence.

I saw Halloween in the theater when I was about 16, gave me nightmares. I saw Poltergeist in college, gave me nightmares. I don't watch those types of movies anymore! I don't go to haunted houses either.

 

[Catvondita]

The Conjuring! No nudity and not much gore or cursing. It was literally rated R because it was too scary to be considered for PG13...actually maybe not the Conjuring lol

Get Out is good. Only a little violence and your kids can get woke while watching! A few F bombs though. Also agree with Stranger Things and maybe some old scholl Goosebumps episodes? Or Twilight Zone. Love Twilight Zone because it also touches upon social issues in addition to giving you the creeps.

 

[samara]

A Quiet Place is a really good one, with zero sex and cursing.

My kids are older teens now, but DD has loved scary movies since she was much younger. The Ring, Insidious, Drag Me To Hell, The Skeleton Key, and The Others all have great scares and are only rated PG13. Oddly enough, DS does not like horror movies, but LOVES the recent adaptation of It.

The IMDB website has a parents guide for every movie that specifically lists things parents might find objectionable. We were always worried about sexually explicit content also, so used this resource pretty extensively for scary movies when DD was younger.

 

[smiths02]

Commensensemedia also is a good resource to see how much sex a movie has