9 Kids’ Movies That Are Way Too Scary

Everyone
loves scary movies – we’re simply wired that way! The thriller
and horror movie industry has a lot to offer in terms of
spine-chilling films, but most of the time the target audience is
adults and no way we would take children to watch something like The
Saw
or Silence
of the Lambs.
That being said, children love spooky stuff just as much, so from
time to time film-makers come up with scary movies made specifically
for children. There’s a careful balance to be maintained – you
can’t make the movie too lame because kids can see through that
stuff, but you can’t go overboard with scary stuff either! So here
are 9 kids’ movies that are more than just a little scary.

The
Witches

You
might argue that the movie is pretty sweet and not that scary at all,
but wait till you see the witches reveal their true form, shedding
their wigs and ripping off their skin showing the ugly forms that are
hiding underneath. This is proper horror stuff that will terrify the
majority of kids!

Coraline

Coraline
is not advertised as a horror, thriller, or even a scary movie, yet
it is one of the most disturbing films you’ll ever watch, whether
you are a kid or not. The plot revolves around the bored little girl
Coraline that accidentally finds a door to another world, which seems
to be absolutely perfect apart from one major difference – everyone
has buttons instead of eyes there. There’s also a weird Other
Mother that seems to be all nice at first, but then reveals her true
face.

Something
Wicked This Way Comes

Is
there anything spookier than a creepy carnival taking over the town?
Doubtful! But that’s exactly what happened in this 1983 classic
kids’ horror. A group of young boys tries to stop the carnival,
getting into some pretty disturbing situations like a room packed
with giant tarantulas or the creepy dust witch they have to run away
from.

Return
To Oz

This
is definitely not the happy movie you’d expect to see after the
original The
Wizard of Oz.
Oz has definitely changed over summer! In the second movie we meet
poor Dorothy that is getting shock therapy for telling ‘stories’
about Oz, and the place itself, as we soon find out, has become a
dark and gruesome world she’ll have to learn how to navigate. Eek!

The
Dark Crystal
is, well, dark just as the name suggests. It’s not really a horror
story, but boy is it scary! In each and every corner there is some
wicked creature lurking that looks incredibly grotesque even for a
grown-up’s eye. Those Skeksis and Gelflifngs are a real work of
art!

Stand
By Me

Stand
By Me,
an adaptation of Stephen King’s story, isn’t exactly a horror or
a movie for children, yet it has a child cast and a plot that targets
youngsters in particular. It’s a movie about saying good-bye to
childhood when a group of kids finds a dead body. It’s disturbing
in so many ways!

Labyrinth

This
one is definitely not the movie for kids, although it might have been
advertised as one. This dark-themed film is packed with gruesome
moments and weird creatures, including an actual torture scene! Not
to mention the absolutely otherworldly-looking David Bowie who is as
spooky as he is gorgeous, although kiddos probably wouldn’t notice
the second part.

Nevereneding
Story

Neverending
Story
might be a fantasy movie aimed at kids, but it has more than enough
moments to make it really dark even by adult standards. Bastian being
bullied by his father after his mother passed away and the highly
depressing speech or Rock Biter about the futility of life and
non-existence are just the tip of the iceberg. Many hearts were
broken while watching the sequence where Artax, the beloved horse and
friend of Bastian, died in the mud swamp.

It:
Chapter One

The all-children cast kind of makes Stephen King’s coming of age story a kids movie, doesn’t it? Yet you should think twice before showing this thriller to youngsters – Pennywise is definitely the stuff of nightmares and even adults cringe when they see what he’s capable of. Definitely one of the movies that will give you some major creeps!