The qualifiers for what makes a goodhorrorfilm will obviously vary from person to person, but a fairly common one is a fearsome premise and the anxiety-inducing potential for harm to the characters. The thrill of watching characters defying death and seeing a film that explores a personal fear drives many horror fans to the theaters and their preferred streaming services. Somehorror movie monsters are actually nightmare fuel, and the experience of feeling terrified of their appearance on behalf of the protagonists is naturally appealing to a horror buff.
At the risk of sounding like a cliché, becoming a parent changes everything, and that includes interpretations of and attitudes toward horror cinema. There areanimated horror movies perfect for watching with family, but many favorite live-action horror films, especially for fans of violent horror movies, hit much differently as a parent. Some of the most noteworthyhorror movies with incredible ensemble castsfocus on children’s experiences, andthe prospect of a child in danger is the most horrifyingfor a parent. So, the same fear that felt thrilling, can even feel overwhelming and not entertaining as a parent.
Directed by John Carpenter
Halloween
Halloween is a horror film released in 1978 that centers on the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois, as a masked serial killer terrorizes it. Over a decade after the brutal murder of Judith Myers by her brother, Michael, Michael escapes from the local Sanitarium to continue his silent killing spree- with teenage Laurie Strode being his new potential victim.
Ahorror movie that will always be a classic, John Carpenter’sHalloweenis one of the most influential slashers of all time, which laid the blueprint for other films in the genre to follow. Laurie Strode is an iconic final girl, played by Jamie Lee Curtis in her acting debut. The film mostly follows a group of high school seniors trying to survive attacks by the murderous Michael Myers, also a horror movie icon.
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Now, that itself is a fearsome prospect for a parent, that 16- and 17-year-olds are being viciously murdered for having sexual encounters. However, it’s the opening scene that hits the hardest after becoming a parent. A young Michael Myers, just six years old, murders his elder sister in cold blood, and then climbs down the stairs with the murder weapon to greet his parents. The images ofa six-year-old stabbing his sister and then nonchalantly smiling at his parentsare particularly scarring to watch as parents.
Directed by Jennifer Kent
The Babadook
The Babadook, directed by Jennifer Kent, explores the struggles of a single mother grieving her husband’s death while confronting her son’s fear of a lurking monster. As they contend with this unseen entity, the sinister presence grows increasingly pervasive in their lives.
The Babadookis a beautiful story of a mother and her son who come out victorious against a spirit that haunts them. The son initially claims their house is haunted, but she sees no proof and struggles to help him with his social anxiety until she’s confronted by the spirit one day. Things start unraveling quickly after that, as her attempts to flee the spirit keep failing, and it seems to get more powerful.
The Babadookhas an impressive 98% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with 248 reviews.
Up until this point, the source of anxiety was a parent not being able to do her best for her child. However, what follows is too nerve-wracking at times. The mother begins getting visions of killing their dog, and her child, under the spirit’s possession. To make matters worse, it even succeeds to make her almost kill her son towards the end of the film, before she manages to overpower him. Yes, the ending is happy, but as a parent,the mother, albeit possessed, choking her childis an image that’s impossible to shake.
Directed by Andy Muschietti
It
In the film It, a group of seven children in a small Maine town, known as The Losers Club, confronts various life challenges, including bullies and a malevolent entity. The creature, which takes on the guise of a clown named Pennywise, becomes the focus of their courageous battle.
Stephen King wrote the novelItin 1986, and Pennywise the clown became a horror hall of fame character because of his fearsome presence and his impact on children. However, no other rendition of the character is perhaps as scary as Bill Skarsgård’s version from the 2017 film. His mannerisms as Pennywise, which make the character more unhinged and menacing rather than simply scary and manipulative, earned him a reputation as a name in horror to look out for. His latestmovie,Locked, has a great Rotten Tomatoes score, too.
The story ofItis unsettling enough to stomach as a parent. It’s about a group of children who are influenced by a dangerous being that looks like a clown, so he can lure them and kill them. The 2017 film, however, shows one of his most brutal kills in great detail, as the kid Georgie is attacked by Pennywise and his limbs torn apart. Moreover, the film explores abusive parenthood and depicts a couple ofchildren having to kill their parents to protect themselves.Itis a fantastic horror film, but will possibly terrify parents more than any other demographic.
Directed by Tom Holland
Child’s Play
Child’s Play is a horror-slasher film by director Tom Holland and marked the beginning of the Chucky character from writer Don Mancini, a modern horror icon. When serial killer Charles Lee Ray is slain after a detective catches him, he transfers his soul before he dies into a Good Guy doll, which ends up in the hands of six-year-old Andy Barclay. Naming himself Chucky, the doll begins a killing spree, which leads those around Alex to suspect him as the killer - and his mother is the only one who believes him.
Don Mancini conceived of another horror movie icon, the devious little doll known as Chucky. Possessed by the soul of a serial killer, this doll goes on a murderous rampage, as one would expect of a serial killer. Unlike the adults, who suspect someone else is responsible for the killings, the child who owns the doll is initially suspicious of, and later knows, that his doll is doing that. Yet, he’s not believed.
The distress ofthe helpless child almost forced to befriend a serial killer and consistently not believed by adultswill make any parent’s heart cry out in pain. This is not a devious child – he’s a well-intentioned and well-behaved boy who is doing his due diligence. The whimsical and over-the-top darkness in Chucky’s commentary feels funny when one watches the movie, but as a parent, it’s impossible to look beyond little Alex’s distress over Chucky’s actions.
Directed by Tobe Hooper
Poltergeist
Poltergeist is a supernatural horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg. Released in 1982, it follows the Freeling family as strange phenomena disturb their suburban home, prompting them to seek the expertise of parapsychologists to confront the malevolent forces threatening their daughter.
Tobe Hooper, one of horror’s all-time great directors, who is most famous for makingThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre, made one of the relatively underrated horror classics of the 1980s.Poltergeistfollows the Freeling family, whose house is seemingly haunted. The youngest daughter, five-year-old Carol Anne, has a strange interaction with their TV set, before the house starts showing signs of paranormal attacks one day.
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Carol Anne is sucked into a portal when the family’s busy trying to rescue her elder brother from an attack by the tree in their backyard. A beast is apparently holding her captive to appease the ghosts who live in another dimension in their house. While it’s not visceral or gory, thehorror movie’s premise of a five-year-old being trappedby paranormal beings is a terrifying prospect for any parent.
Directed by William Friedkin
The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a supernatural horror film based on the novel released in 1971 and was directed by William Friedkin. When a young girl is passed by a powerful demon, two Catholic priests are brought to her home to attempt an exorcism to expunge the demon.
William Peter Blattywrote his own movie adaptationofThe Exorcist, based on a real-life case of exorcism. It follows 12-year-old Regan, who becomes possessed by a demon and starts behaving dangerously. Priests are called in to exorcise her of the demon’s presence, and they have to contend with the spirit without harming the innocent child. The demon puts up a brave fight, using Regan’s body to make things difficult for the priests, who are forced to tie her down.
As a parent, it’s a frightful sight to behold the young girl terrorized by the demon.
Now, it’s all make-believe, and the odds of a child getting possessed by such a demon aren’t significant, but horror is effective when preying on irrational fears. As a parent, it’s a frightful sight to behold the young girl terrorized by the demon and made to act out. She becomes a danger to others and to herself, andthe film’s cinematography makes it seem intensely believable, which could affect any parents watching it.
Directed by Wes Craven
A Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street, released in 1984, explores the terror faced by a group of teenagers haunted in their dreams by Fred Krueger, a vengeful spirit. As they confront a series of mysterious deaths, Nancy Thompson uncovers the truth about Krueger’s dark past and seeks to stop him.
Between Ghostface and Freddy Krueger, it’s hard to choose which character from Wes Craven’s illustrious career as a horror filmmaker is more iconic. Both their concepts are also intriguing and terrifying – Ghostface calls his victims, talks to them about horror films, then invades their homes and kills them, whileFreddy Krueger hunts for victims through their dreams.
Yes, a home invasion is a scary prospect, but the idea of your child being killed brutally because he just fell asleep is significantly more terrifying. Some of themost gruesome deaths from 1980s horror moviesoccur inA Nightmare on Elm Street, as Freddy’s victims, mostly teenagers, get thrashed around and brutally murdered with his needle gloves. The film explores their parents' distress over these events as well, and any parent watching the film will identify with them.
Directed by Lars von Trier
Antichrist
Antichrist is a psychological horror film directed by Lars von Trier, starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Following the devastating loss of their child, a grieving couple retreats to their cabin in the woods, where they encounter strange and terrifying events. The film explores themes of grief, trauma, and the human psyche, set against an unsettling forest backdrop.
Lars von Trier’s films are the definition of distressing, irrespective of who you are. He explores deeply cynical circumstances and puts his characters through Hell. Many ofhis movies deal with complex trauma and PTSD, explored through the lives of dysfunctional characters, many of whom never get better. One such film that explores psychological trauma isAntichrist, perhaps his most infamous film.
In one of the mostshocking horror movie moments that makes people audibly gasp,Antichristopens with a tragic scene involving a toddler. The two protagonists, who are a married couple, are taking a shower together, when their toddler, left unattended, climbs onto the window sill, and falls through it. Trier edited it to make the couple’s sexual activity and the child’s unfortunate death synchronize. It is a particularly harrowing moment, and the perverse filmmaking just makes it harder to watch as a parent.
Directed by Brian de Palma
Carrie
Carrie, a film directed by Brian De Palma, is based on Stephen King’s novel. Released in 1976, it centers on Carrie White, a bullied high school student who discovers her telekinetic abilities, amidst torment from peers and her domineering mother, leading to unpredictable and intense events.
Stephen King’s horror movie adaptations deal with children quite often, but few are as visceral and tormenting to watch asCarrie. Firstly, de Palma’s weirdly male gaze-y framing choices will make anyone uncomfortable, especially considering that the characters are supposed to be minors. Secondly, the disturbing circumstances of Carrie’s transformation and her manifestation of powers would affect any parent.
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Carrie is brutally bullied throughout the film, which begins with her experiencing her first period and getting bullied by her peers. She wants to find solace, but her mother is abusive as well, and nightmarishly reminds her of how she must behave so she isn’t laughed at, reinforcing Carrie’s bullies' words and their impact on her. Herprom night gets ruined by her bullies and her mother,too, and she finally snaps, unleashing horror on them. Yes, she gets her revenge, but watching her being abused like that is a test of tolerance for parents.
Directed by Ari Aster
Hereditary
The feature film debut of writer-director Ari Aster, Hereditary tells the story of the unwittingly cursed Graham family. Annie Graham (Toni Collette) lives with her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and their children Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). After the death of Annie’s mother, the family is beset by disaster and stalked by a supernatural entity that dredges up a past that Annie had spent her life trying to overlook.
Anyone who has seenHereditaryknows exactly how much worse it will feel to watch it as a parent. One of thescariest supernatural horror moviesever, it follows a family of four whose youngest child, the daughter, tragically dies. The film explores the grieving mother’s attempts to reconnect with her daughter’s soul, and the consequences of her ritual getting interrupted.
It’s hard to watch as it is, stomaching it as a parent might prove impossible.
SinceHereditaryfocuses on the grieving mother and how she slowly unravels, it will affect parents. Some of her actions may seem extreme to some viewers, maybe even unjustified at points, but any parent will identify with her. Moreover, the opening scene features one of the most disturbing deaths in horror movie history – little Charlie excitedly puts her head outside the car window to feel the breeze on her face andgets decapitated by a stop sign when the car swervesquickly. It’s hard to watch as it is, stomaching it as a parent might prove impossible.
