JENerally Informed: Seven Of The Most Terrifying Children's Movies Ever Made

Seven Of The Most Terrifying Children's Movies Ever Made

Nowadays, a children's movie is usually one that young children will enjoy and leave having learned something and feeling happy about the world. If my children had to watch the movies that I did as a child they would be scarred for life, much like their mother is. Take a look and tell me if you agree that these movies shouldn't ever be shown to young children. I'll do my best to make this spoiler free just in case you want to disregard my pleadings and inflict these on your children.

Something Wicked this Way Comes- Who am I kidding this movie still scares me as an adult. Honestly this movie is scarier than just about any horror movie I have seen, with the possible exception of "The Shining," and it is Disney family fare. Forget "Saving Mr. Banks," I want to see a movie about how THIS passed the production process at Disney.

The Dark Crystal- Jim Henson made some of the most iconic, cute, and lovable characters of my childhood. He also made things that still give me nightmares. I don't think that was what he was attempting to do with this movie, but there it is anyway. It may be critically acclaimed, but I can't get past the freakishness of the characters, especially those evil Vulture things.

The Watcher In The Woods- The ending lets off the gas just a bit, but there are moments in this film where icy cold terror shot down my veins. It does an excellent job of setting up the next scare and letting you use your imagination to make things scarier than what the movie actually shows, like Hitchcock, only aimed at the audience of "The Parent Trap."

Labyrinth- Baby stealing, creepy old guys (even though it is a cool creepy old guy like David Bowie) pursuing teenagers, and trolls. Seriously. Not technically meant to be in the horror genre, but delivers something akin to the "get out of the house, he's calling from upstairs!" misadventures in babysitting vibe. Except with freaky trolls. I did mention the trolls, right?

The Secret of N.I.M.H.- Take a happy mouse family, kill off the father (not part of the plot, backstory) and send the mother on a dark almost post apocalyptic quest to save her sick son before he literally gets plowed under by sharp steel blades. That is just the charming intro. The actual journey is filled with predators and heroes who will scare the bejeebers out of you as well. Don Bluth, the creator, once spoke at my University. I considered pelting him with vegetables due to childhood night terrors.

The Last Unicorn- Once upon a time there were these cartoonists named Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass who created the beloved stop-motion Christmas specials that kicked off the Holiday Season and everyone was happy, the end. Except. . the animated movies, those scary, likely LSD-fueled animated movies that afflicted and traumatized children. The Last Unicorn is one of these movies. Full of brooding and despair, the heroes tumble from tragedy to tragedy, before kind of running into a moderately happy ending with caveats. My husband bought this and actually showed it to my oldest daughter when she was 6 and that is why she is the quiet one. He is still doing penance.

Watership Down- Back in the day before people actually owned VCR's (my youngest children barely even know what a VCR is,) you would rent a VCR likely for the weekend and some movies. Sometimes you would get Beta, but that is a different post altogether.

My mother rented what she figured was a cute movie about bunnies and plopped her 4 year old in front of it and left. That movie was Watership Down.

If you haven't seen Watership Down, Imagine taking cute bunnies and pretty much playing out the plot of Gangs of New York, except maybe throwing in some Nazis and cranking up the blood and violence to 11. That puts you in the ballpark. Talk about scarring, this is numero uno on my list.

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comedyplus 47p · 586 weeks ago

I've not seen a one of these. I rarely watch anything either television or the movies. I sure won't sign up to watch any of these now.

Have a fabulous day. ☺

1 reply · active 586 weeks ago

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queenmomjen 75p · 586 weeks ago

Lucky you, to be scar free from these movies/ books :)

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leapfrogandlipgloss 36p · 586 weeks ago

Oh my gosh.. whenever a conversation comes up, "What is the scariest movie you've ever seen?" I always mention "the Watcher in the Woods" in my list. Most people I know have never heard of it, but I remember watching it at a slumber party when I was a kid and it scared me for MONTHS! I watched it again as an adult and it still scared me! Hard to believe it's a Disney movie!

1 reply · active 586 weeks ago

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queenmomjen 75p · 586 weeks ago

Terrifying for sure! I can't believe they were ever labeled as "kids" movies. Sorry my friend that you too were scarred by some of these.

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Dizmommy 66p · 586 weeks ago

Labyrinth is so crazy scary! I mean- the sister loses her brother after wishing she didn't have to watch him, then David Bowie is infatuated with her- despite her being a minor...and wants to trade her for the baby? How did this movie even happen? It's one of my favorites haahaah

1 reply · active 586 weeks ago

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queenmomjen 75p · 586 weeks ago

I actually showed it to my oldest last summer and she said, "Mom this movie is kind of creepy. How did you grow up normal after watching stuff like this?" Um, I guess I did not......

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Mommy Like Whoa 25p · 586 weeks ago

Haha! I love Labyrinth and Dark Crystal! I own them on DVD and my kids like them too... but we're kind of weird.

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Katrinia · 584 weeks ago

I don't really think Watership Down (given the book its based on) is a kid's movie. In fact, sites like Netflix specifically say it's not a kids movie.

I watched the last unicorn as a kid, and think its a great movie, with a lesson that most little girls (and boys) that are exposed solely to Disney Fairy Tales don't get. It teaches hard lessons, I think.

The secret of NIMH scared the beejesus about of me, though. Even as an adult, I can't get behind this flick.

I haven't seen most of the others in years, and some of them, I haven't seen at all. The original Fantasia, parts of Dumbo, and Gremlins were the terrors of my childhood.

2 replies · active 584 weeks ago

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Katrinia · 584 weeks ago

To add to my above comment, I know that when I (and the author of the post) were young, Netflix and the internet didn't exist, so its understandable for moms of old to be confused. If it was animated, it must be for kids!

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queenmomjen 75p · 584 weeks ago

Animated and had bunnies! I'm sure this was parked in the children's section of the video store, which constituted the rating system back in the day :) I also forgot to mention parts of The Goonies gave me the creeps as well.

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Nicole Robinson @MyCollegeBaby 19p · 584 weeks ago

I discovered The Dark Crystal a few years ago. Indeed, the evil Vulture creatures are the stuff of nightmares.

1 reply · active 584 weeks ago

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queenmomjen 75p · 584 weeks ago

Yes they most definitely are... That might explain the bed wetting problem "someone" had at the same time as they saw this movie many,many years ago......

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Emily · 582 weeks ago

I have not seen any of these movies. I'm guilty of sometimes letting my kids watch movies that I have not seen so I am so thankful that you shared these reviews with me. I am thankful I can save my kids from a night or more of night terrors.

1 reply · active 582 weeks ago

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