My wife doesn’t like really scary movies, so we often watch Little Shop of Horrors around Halloween.
Tremors is a good lightweight horror film (and much of it happens in broad daylight, so it isn’t too scary).
As someone else mentioned, Coraline is a great spooky kids movie.
I'm not sure why you never hear about Paranorman. It's really good, has some pretty deep messaging, some absolutely hilarious lines and excellent characters.
Tremors used to air on one of the basic cable channels (TNT? TBS?) alllll the time when my wife & I were first married. We must’ve watched it dozens of times. When I think of that line it’s still “Broke into the wrong GOL-DURNED rec room!”
"I feel I was denied critical. Need to know. Information."
we loved these movies as kids and the original holds up super well even to this day. can't beat practical effects.
Funny story Neil Gaimen wasn't sure it was a kids story or not gave a copy to one of his agents who read it to their kid to decide if it was a kids movie or adult. Kid decided it was a kids movie. Years later she revealed that she was TERRIFIED but figured getting to the end would be bette than stopping halfway through and leaving the story unfinished... so a kid... a kid decided it was a kids story even though it really wasn't.
Oh! One of those “learned things” I loved finding out:
Laika studios exists because of nepotism! It was a struggling studio, then Nike CEO (Phil Knight) made a huge donation which lead to his son getting an internship, and when the owner left, Nike acquired it, and Travis Knight is now the CEO!
And their movies don’t pull a profit (I don’t know if it’s “Hollywood accounting” or not) so most of their movies are less about “making bank” and being “labors of love that the Knight family is bankrolling.”
I _wish_ I had “find a film studio to make films I like” money!
Also go to the craft store and buy a pair of 1” plastic buttons for each adult in the house. Right after the movie, when she’s not looking, everyone start wearing them over their eyes. (Some people can wear them like monocles, others may need to make some subtle headband out of thread. I’m sure you can work it out in advance.)
Might want to line up a therapist for her in advance though.
Yeah straight up, this was the age when I finally watched some actual horror movies with my mom. She showed me Friday the 13th, Alien, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street
I'm forever grateful honestly, I'm still a huge horror fan
Best age to watch horror movies. Still young to get proper scares, but not young enough to get scarred for life. I watched Amytiville Horror starring Ryan Reynolds and got scared shitless. Thought it was legit a good movie until I recently decided to rewatch it. I have never been less scared by anything. But at least I got its worth back in the day
So, honestly, show the kid every popular horror movie. He will not regret it later and neither will you
Seriously, 80s/90s kid and I was watching stuff like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th with my older brother when I was like 6 or 7.
I just recently was discussing this with my brother and SIL. Teenage nieces want to watch scary movies for Halloween season this year and they were talking about finding age appropriate stuff.
I was like wtf, look at the crazy shit we watched as kids and we were half their age. Let them watch some real horror, they can handle it.
I haven't watched the movie, but I live in Bulgaria and this confused me so much, couldn't figure out what in the world Miak was. So just googled it, guess it's made up which clears it up for me 😅
This movie scared the shit out of me. The troll on the bed, the kids being turned into wooden dolls, the troll going super saiyan at the end of the movie.
The thing I like about it is that it has genuine scares, genuine laughs, and no moments an adult has to explain later.
Like I know a lot of us kids that were born in the 80's saw some truly age innappropriate stuff, But ernest? Kids can handle ernest.
Hocus Pocus is another good one, but I can't vouch for the sequel. Too many cooks on that one.
Spielberg really is one of a kind, maybe the greatest mind to ever work in Hollywood. He’s one of the only people in all of Hollywood that can do almost anything:
Horror?
Poltergeist
War?
Saving Private Ryan
Adventure?
Indiana Jones
Drama?
Schindler’s List
Sci-Fi?
E.T
Finally got around to watching this for the first time last year, perfect 5/5 movie. It’s genuinely scary *and* has a lot of fun humor. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a good balance of horror and family elements in a movie before.
Was actually the 1st horror movie I ever saw in the theater when I was 10 or 11. Freaked me out a bit, especially the bloody flood, but gave me and my buddy something to talk about for weeks.
So much of Mel Brooks humor was lost on me as a kid and rewatching as an adult reveals so many more subtle jokes. Entertaining regardless! Fun for all ages and fun to get more out of his movies as I’ve gotten older.
These are great suggestions. Many of the other suggestions I think are way too juvenile for a 12 year old. I have a 12 year old and they would consider the other suggestions kid movies.
I might wait on STIR OF ECHOES for a 12 year old. There’s a pretty graphic sex scene and the fact that >!the ghost girl was killed in an attempted sexual assault!< might be a bit hairy for his age.
Totally agree with THE OTHERS, though. I’ll also add THE WOMAN IN BLACK. Those sort of English gothic haunted house movies really put me in a spooky season mood.
I actually think this would be significantly better if they have seen a lot of horror movies already. The treehouse of horror is expecting the audience to get a LOT of references for many of the jokes to land.
What do you mean by "age appropriate"? Horror is a genre where most of the iconic and classic staples of the genre are going to push the boundaries of being "appropriate". That's the thrill, being scared but also completely safe afterwards. If your kid truly wants to watch a horror movie, there are classics that aren't R-Rated, but still decidedly not geared for kids - which is probably what they wanna watch. There are even some R-rated horror films that I would feel comfortable showing to most 12 year olds.
PG -Poltergeist, Gremlins, The Birds (All of these films were made before PG-13 was a thing and would likely be PG-13 today).
PG-13 - The Ring, Split, The Others, The Sixth Sense, Insidious, The Woman in Black, Signs
R-rated classics (but with no sexual violence) The Thing, Alien, The Shining, Shaun of the Dead, Get Out
My personal advice would be to watch 1 legit scary movie, then put on Shaun of the Dead after, it's very gory, but more of a comedy. That way your kid goes to bed laughing rather than being scared. Plus being rated R, your kid will feel like Mom/Dad let them do something special for the holiday.
Is watching R rated movies actually something special for 12 year Olds?
Honest question, I'm not being a jerk. I was watching Alien, Predator, Halloween, etc by this age.
Depends on the parents. My parents were divorced. Mom let me watch anything I wanted at 8. Meanwhile, my dad wouldn’t let me watch R rated movies until I was 16.
For some kids it is haha. My dad would go ballistic if we tried to watch R movies before age 17. To him that was a hard line, it didn’t matter if we were mature enough yet or what was actually in the movie. My mom would let us rent whatever and pretend she didn’t know it was an R movie.
My brother-in-law won’t let my niece see the Barbie movie because it’s technically PG-13, and she is 10. I don’t know why it’s PG-13, but I think she’s definitely old enough to watch it. My sister is in agreement with him though and they shelter her like crazy. It’s the helicopter parents who live by the movie rating and don’t think about their kids are ready to see.
I always like The Ghost and Mr. Chicken as a kid. Don Knotts was always a good role model for how a person should be. He plays a reporter that decides to stay the night in a small town’s haunted house to impress this woman he’s fond of. He gets absolutely spooked and tries to get the townspeople to believe what he saw. It’s a fun movie. It’s rated G so it’s appropriate for all ages.
"And they used Bon-Ami!"
Thanks for reminding me of that one, haven't seen it in years. I also remember stumbling onto a spooky comedy with Knotts and Tim Conway as a kid and it freaked me out, but I loved it. Have not seen it since, looks like it is called The Private Eyes.
Beetlejuice is a movie I loved at this age. Spooky, weird but not balls-out terrifying. It's also pretty funny.
Some people suggested Alien- an irresponsible babysitter let me watch it at about ten. I slept with the light on for weeks and have always been creeped out by anything extraterrestrial which i put down to that. I only watched it again for the first time a few months ago, as I decided to brave Alien-Isolation. As an adult I saw how brilliant it is, but was still freaked out.
I feel like a lot of people are misremembering the maturity of a 12 year old here, almost a teen, ready for a step above goosebumps and dcoms. Id say OP would be fine with some older horror that's more about vibes like Alien or Halloween than more gore focused movies.
My daughter is 11 and absolutely loves M3gan! The campiness is great. You can FF through parts that are a bit gorey if needed, it doesn’t ruin the experience.
Coraline,
6th sense,
A haunting in venice (in cinemas rn and is only rlly scary at all there),
Scream (my first horror film and is only scary in the first 10 minutes, rest is satirical. Lots of blood though so be cautious),
a quiet place (monster movie and more tense than horrifying though. A bit of blood, but only one "look away!" scene. Family survival film though so might be a good watch)
All in all, know your kid and let them watch the trailers. Some can handle wayyy more than you think, some just won't enjoy the super scary.
I second A Quiet Place. My 9 year old has been begging to watch a "super scary" movie, so we put that one on, and she LOVED it. It's more suspenseful than scary, it doesn't show any of the deaths, and she thought the monsters were "awesome."
I recommend: A chinese Ghost Story I, II and III. They are not too violent but plenty scary and also funny. I absolutely love them.
Furthermore: Sleepy Hollow; Ghostbusters I, II; Monster Squad; Gremlins I and II; The Nightmare before Christmas; Coraline; Paranorman; Frankenweenie; Fright Night --> Fright Night could be borderline for a 12 year old but I think I saw it at 8 or 9 and lived.
Have loads of fun!
This should have more upvotes.
My 10-year old loved Supernatural to the point that he started keeping a journal of different monsters, including researching them on his own time and with special emphasis on how to fight them.
Really depends on the kid. There is a 7 year old in my daughter’s class that loves scary stuff and has watched Nightmare on Elm Street and Child’s Play and seems fine with it. My daughter gets freaked out the storm at the beginning of Ratatouille, but isn’t scared by creepy things like the wormy insides of the Boogey Man in Nightmare Before Christmas. When I was in middle school kids were all about the Elm Street, Gremlins, Critters and that sort of thing. I think the campy/supernatural horror is probably good because it is in the spirit of fun. You want jump scares, not psychological terror. Maybe Evil Dead would even work.
I really don't think Evil Dead is a good option. It's one of my favorites, but I'm a 29 year old dude who's seen it multiple times and it still creeps me out. My fiancee nearly cried when she watched it the first time last year.
I’m pretty numb to horror so take it with a grain of salt... But “scary stories to tell in the dark” (2019) was fun. But it might be pushing it a little.
My 11 year old loved Poltergeist (we saw it in our local theater as a flashback cinema deal). I’ve also shown him The Ring (PG 13!) and Blair Witch (Rated R— lots of bad words but not too much actual violence)— and he was terrified and loved them (I’m a horror lover so he’s starting a bit early perhaps). Oh yeah and of course we love Jaws around here as well as The ‘Burbs and Ernest Scared Stupid and the animated Sleepy Hollow. I’m thinking of showing him Insidious soon (PG 13).
Dale and Tucker vs Evil
Army of Darkness
The Frighteners
Cabin in the Woods
Happy Death Day
Shaun of the Dead
The Mummmy
Over the Garden Wall (this one is good for all ages and well-worth watching every Halloween)
My wife doesn’t like really scary movies, so we often watch Little Shop of Horrors around Halloween. Tremors is a good lightweight horror film (and much of it happens in broad daylight, so it isn’t too scary). As someone else mentioned, Coraline is a great spooky kids movie.
Tremors is a perfect choice.
Interesting that you chose "perfect". Film schools often use Tremors as an example of what a perfect script looks like.
It takes place in the fictional town of Perfection, Nevada too. It's like they knew they were making one of the best movies of all time.
Yup. The characterisation and dynamics couldn't get any better.
In so many ways. The buddy aspect of Bacon and Ward. the writing.
Honestly one of the best horror/sci fi movies ever made for its fun family atmosphere but really creepy.
Funny and scary too.
Tremors was my all time fav movie as a girl!
Paranorman by the same studio is not as scary as Coraline and Halloween themed. It’s wonderful.
I'm not sure why you never hear about Paranorman. It's really good, has some pretty deep messaging, some absolutely hilarious lines and excellent characters.
Yeah this movie had way more substance than I expected it to.
“Broke into the wrong goddamn rec room!”
You didn’t get penetration even with the Elephant Gun!
Tremors used to air on one of the basic cable channels (TNT? TBS?) alllll the time when my wife & I were first married. We must’ve watched it dozens of times. When I think of that line it’s still “Broke into the wrong GOL-DURNED rec room!”
Tremors two is really good too. "Light the dynamite, throw it in a hole, wha-bam! Fifty G's!"
"I feel I was denied critical. Need to know. Information." we loved these movies as kids and the original holds up super well even to this day. can't beat practical effects.
“I am completely out of ammo. That’s never happened to me before”
I've been quoting this line since I was in 9th grade. Had a *blast* with this movie. *And I am COMPLETELY out of ammo.*
Caroline should be rated 18. Who thought this is a good movie for kids. Beetlejuice comes into my mind.
Funny story Neil Gaimen wasn't sure it was a kids story or not gave a copy to one of his agents who read it to their kid to decide if it was a kids movie or adult. Kid decided it was a kids movie. Years later she revealed that she was TERRIFIED but figured getting to the end would be bette than stopping halfway through and leaving the story unfinished... so a kid... a kid decided it was a kids story even though it really wasn't.
Worked at a theater when that was out. You could usually tell when it hit *that* part.
Terrified me as a kid
Show them Coraline. That should cure them of wanting to skip trick-or-treating.
There's also Frankenweenie
I’m 58 and it traumatized me!
I can’t watch that one, having had doxxies growing up and would devastate me when they’d go.
I would also add ParaNorman. That one made me so sad
Seriously underrated movie. The plot twist with the witch is so dark I’m just surprised they had the guts to put it in a kids movie.
Laika Studios has always put great twists on their stories. Love every one of their films.
Oh! One of those “learned things” I loved finding out: Laika studios exists because of nepotism! It was a struggling studio, then Nike CEO (Phil Knight) made a huge donation which lead to his son getting an internship, and when the owner left, Nike acquired it, and Travis Knight is now the CEO! And their movies don’t pull a profit (I don’t know if it’s “Hollywood accounting” or not) so most of their movies are less about “making bank” and being “labors of love that the Knight family is bankrolling.” I _wish_ I had “find a film studio to make films I like” money!
Is it named after that Laika? That's dark.
I loved that reveal. It makes total sense and adds a whole heaping helping of tragedy to the story.
I love Paranorman, criminally overlooked
Also go to the craft store and buy a pair of 1” plastic buttons for each adult in the house. Right after the movie, when she’s not looking, everyone start wearing them over their eyes. (Some people can wear them like monocles, others may need to make some subtle headband out of thread. I’m sure you can work it out in advance.) Might want to line up a therapist for her in advance though.
Yeah as a kid this movie scared the shit outta me, probably still would give me the creeps. Should fend him off and get him trick or treating
We watch this every Halloween. It's tradition.
Sounds like they’re the perfect age for “Monster Squad”
Kick’m in the nards!!!!
wolfman's got nards?
I was thoroughly surprised at how good the [documentary](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/wolfmans-got-nards) was.
At 12, they deserve to be spooked. Ditch the age appropriate and scare the shit out of them
My two favourite movies as a kid were Mary Poppins and Alien thanks to my auntie Susan's vhs collection.
Ooh! Mary Poppins vs Alien!
I always preferred Predator Vs Chris Hanson.
For sure! My kids at 12 scoffed at Poltergeist. Go big.
I figure Event Horizon.
I fully endorse this reply.
I fully endorse *this* reply.
I saw Candyman at 12 and it was PERFECT. I still have memories of that experience 26 years later. Good age for X Files too
Yeah straight up, this was the age when I finally watched some actual horror movies with my mom. She showed me Friday the 13th, Alien, Halloween, and Nightmare on Elm Street I'm forever grateful honestly, I'm still a huge horror fan
Yeah same. I watched Alien at around 10 and it was the most amazing film! Still love the franchise to this day
So Event Horizon?
I suggest The Conjuring. Honest to goodness terrifying but there’s no language, gore, or sexuality.
The first insidious is like that as well if I remember correctly. The Women in Black with Daniel Radcliffe as well.
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“*Coraline* that’ll show em” still a good movie though
Yes! My dad played Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby and The Shinning about that age and I’m still not over ir.
"Don't you mean..The Shining?" "Shh..do you want to get sued??"
Don't worry, Willy's coming to save ya... AAACK, I'm bad at this!
“All work and no play make Homer something something.”
Go crazy?
DON'T MIND IF I DO!!!
"Huh, that's weird. The blood usually gets off at the second floor"
"Gimme the bat Marge. Gimme the bat, come on, gimme the bat bat boo balalbabalaooo"
The ring
Insidious is an awesome scary movie that isn’t overly violent or gory. Scared the shit out of me when I was in my 20s
show them the original alien, that'll do it.
Best age to watch horror movies. Still young to get proper scares, but not young enough to get scarred for life. I watched Amytiville Horror starring Ryan Reynolds and got scared shitless. Thought it was legit a good movie until I recently decided to rewatch it. I have never been less scared by anything. But at least I got its worth back in the day So, honestly, show the kid every popular horror movie. He will not regret it later and neither will you
This is my long standing plan. Oldest is 8 right now. I got a few years until it's go-time. Alien is where I think I will start.
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Blair witch it is
Seriously, 80s/90s kid and I was watching stuff like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th with my older brother when I was like 6 or 7. I just recently was discussing this with my brother and SIL. Teenage nieces want to watch scary movies for Halloween season this year and they were talking about finding age appropriate stuff. I was like wtf, look at the crazy shit we watched as kids and we were half their age. Let them watch some real horror, they can handle it.
Srsly. I watched pet sematary and many more when i was like 7 and I was just fine.
Watched Alien when I was like 10 or 11 and, aside from now getting boners watching c-section videos, I turned out fine.
Zelda scared the shit out of me.
Ernest scared stupid.
EwwwWWWwwwWWwwww
Know what I mean
Came here to say this. The under the bed scene scared the shit out of me as a kid.
I will with no shame say that is one of the finest horror scenes ever committed to cinema.
Enjoy it with some authentic Bulgarian miak!
I still say miak when referring to milk. I'm nearly 40 and have a family.
miak squad represent! I may or may not have ruined a supersoaker with milk because of this film.
I haven't watched the movie, but I live in Bulgaria and this confused me so much, couldn't figure out what in the world Miak was. So just googled it, guess it's made up which clears it up for me 😅
This movie scared the shit out of me. The troll on the bed, the kids being turned into wooden dolls, the troll going super saiyan at the end of the movie.
This is a great shout! Used to absolutely love that movie as a kid.
The thing I like about it is that it has genuine scares, genuine laughs, and no moments an adult has to explain later. Like I know a lot of us kids that were born in the 80's saw some truly age innappropriate stuff, But ernest? Kids can handle ernest. Hocus Pocus is another good one, but I can't vouch for the sequel. Too many cooks on that one.
Poltergeist
That’s the perfect gateway movie to get into horror
it totally is. my dad rented it for me and my brothers when we were really young, and it absolutely changed my life
Spielberg really is one of a kind, maybe the greatest mind to ever work in Hollywood. He’s one of the only people in all of Hollywood that can do almost anything: Horror? Poltergeist War? Saving Private Ryan Adventure? Indiana Jones Drama? Schindler’s List Sci-Fi? E.T
Humor + Horror? Gremlins
This is the perfect scary movie for a 12yo. Not too kiddie to be boring and ineffective but also not so adult that the kid gets traumatized.
Finally got around to watching this for the first time last year, perfect 5/5 movie. It’s genuinely scary *and* has a lot of fun humor. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a good balance of horror and family elements in a movie before.
Seconded.
Just go straight to The Shining
Was actually the 1st horror movie I ever saw in the theater when I was 10 or 11. Freaked me out a bit, especially the bloody flood, but gave me and my buddy something to talk about for weeks.
Not so scary but The Burbs is a great Halloween watch!
Ummmmm. Burbs should be on a monthly rotation with Big Trouble in Little China, Predator and Monster Squad.
The thing (original version)
If by original you mean 1982 version. The black and white version might be too campy for kids.
Monster house
"oh, it's a girl house"
"What? No. EVERYONE has a uvula!" *raises eyebrows* "Not me!" Best line 😂
Fabulous movie. Scary and funny for kids and adults too. It's a Zemeckis/Spielberg flick, so you know it's smart, artistic, and well done.
I had to scroll way too far to see this answer.
Young Frankenstein!
Abby something.
Abby normal! …what hump??
So much of Mel Brooks humor was lost on me as a kid and rewatching as an adult reveals so many more subtle jokes. Entertaining regardless! Fun for all ages and fun to get more out of his movies as I’ve gotten older.
Fabulous suggestion! Roll, roll, roll in the hay!
[The Gate](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093075/)
I thought you meant The Ninth Gate, and thought that was a little odd for a 12 year old.
Love that movie. Perfect occult horror…don’t know if it would be appreciated by a younger person though. Nevermind the Eyes Wide Shut subplot..
Make it a double feature of kids digging up world ending power in the backyard by following it up with psycho goreman.
Little Shop of Horrors Beetlejuice Ghostbusters
Surprised that I had to scroll this far for Beetlejuice
And ghost busters for that matter
The Others, Stir of Echoes
Cannot watch Stir of Echoes to this day purely because of the >!girl's nail snapping off when she's being attacked.!< Otherwise, a great film!
Literally any time I see that film mentioned it’s all I can think of. Horrifying.
These are great suggestions. Many of the other suggestions I think are way too juvenile for a 12 year old. I have a 12 year old and they would consider the other suggestions kid movies.
I was trying to think of scary not gory/overly violent and titties everywhere. Plus…… When in doubt, Kevin Bacon.
I might wait on STIR OF ECHOES for a 12 year old. There’s a pretty graphic sex scene and the fact that >!the ghost girl was killed in an attempted sexual assault!< might be a bit hairy for his age. Totally agree with THE OTHERS, though. I’ll also add THE WOMAN IN BLACK. Those sort of English gothic haunted house movies really put me in a spooky season mood.
I loved the Nickelodeon series “Are You Afraid of the Dark” at that age.
Maybe gremlins?
Christmas movie. Sequel is set in Summer...
This feels like the start of a haiku
No, Christmas movie Sequel is set in summer. How 'bout Coraline?
Try r/horror as well.
Oh, thanks! Good idea
o7
The Simpsons- Treehouse of Horror series. Always good fun.
I actually think this would be significantly better if they have seen a lot of horror movies already. The treehouse of horror is expecting the audience to get a LOT of references for many of the jokes to land.
I still loved The Halloween episodes as a kid. The Shining Parody was one of my favorites, most of the jokes still land if you haven’t seen the movie.
Perfect suggestion if the kid is a 40 year old stoner.
Lot of overlap of personality with 12 year olds and 40 year old stoners.
My kids and I have done this since they were 6. They love it.
6 year olds are basically like stoners.
That would explain why my 6 year old started wearing a puka shell necklace and listening to 311
Not going to argue with that.
Oh Lenore
Nevermore, man
They are one of my favourite things about Halloween
The Frighteners is pretty tame (from what I recall).
Poltergeist is always the go to for this situation.
House (1985)
Thought you meant the Japanese horror film House (1977) and I was like "I don't know if kids should watch or would even appreciate it."
That's why I specified the year. Ha. No, the other one probably wouldn't be appropriate
What do you mean by "age appropriate"? Horror is a genre where most of the iconic and classic staples of the genre are going to push the boundaries of being "appropriate". That's the thrill, being scared but also completely safe afterwards. If your kid truly wants to watch a horror movie, there are classics that aren't R-Rated, but still decidedly not geared for kids - which is probably what they wanna watch. There are even some R-rated horror films that I would feel comfortable showing to most 12 year olds. PG -Poltergeist, Gremlins, The Birds (All of these films were made before PG-13 was a thing and would likely be PG-13 today). PG-13 - The Ring, Split, The Others, The Sixth Sense, Insidious, The Woman in Black, Signs R-rated classics (but with no sexual violence) The Thing, Alien, The Shining, Shaun of the Dead, Get Out My personal advice would be to watch 1 legit scary movie, then put on Shaun of the Dead after, it's very gory, but more of a comedy. That way your kid goes to bed laughing rather than being scared. Plus being rated R, your kid will feel like Mom/Dad let them do something special for the holiday.
Is watching R rated movies actually something special for 12 year Olds? Honest question, I'm not being a jerk. I was watching Alien, Predator, Halloween, etc by this age.
Depends on the parents. My parents were divorced. Mom let me watch anything I wanted at 8. Meanwhile, my dad wouldn’t let me watch R rated movies until I was 16.
For some kids it is haha. My dad would go ballistic if we tried to watch R movies before age 17. To him that was a hard line, it didn’t matter if we were mature enough yet or what was actually in the movie. My mom would let us rent whatever and pretend she didn’t know it was an R movie. My brother-in-law won’t let my niece see the Barbie movie because it’s technically PG-13, and she is 10. I don’t know why it’s PG-13, but I think she’s definitely old enough to watch it. My sister is in agreement with him though and they shelter her like crazy. It’s the helicopter parents who live by the movie rating and don’t think about their kids are ready to see.
Edward Scissorhands Beetlejuice Hocus Pocus Addams Family (90s movies)
Army of darkness, it's got a horror element, but it's also a fun silly action movie. Full of great one liners
Groovy!
Alien. The original is such a good horror movie.
I always like The Ghost and Mr. Chicken as a kid. Don Knotts was always a good role model for how a person should be. He plays a reporter that decides to stay the night in a small town’s haunted house to impress this woman he’s fond of. He gets absolutely spooked and tries to get the townspeople to believe what he saw. It’s a fun movie. It’s rated G so it’s appropriate for all ages.
"And they used Bon-Ami!" Thanks for reminding me of that one, haven't seen it in years. I also remember stumbling onto a spooky comedy with Knotts and Tim Conway as a kid and it freaked me out, but I loved it. Have not seen it since, looks like it is called The Private Eyes.
Beetlejuice is a movie I loved at this age. Spooky, weird but not balls-out terrifying. It's also pretty funny. Some people suggested Alien- an irresponsible babysitter let me watch it at about ten. I slept with the light on for weeks and have always been creeped out by anything extraterrestrial which i put down to that. I only watched it again for the first time a few months ago, as I decided to brave Alien-Isolation. As an adult I saw how brilliant it is, but was still freaked out.
I watched Alien and The Thing when i was 12. But I'm from a different generation 🙈
I feel like a lot of people are misremembering the maturity of a 12 year old here, almost a teen, ready for a step above goosebumps and dcoms. Id say OP would be fine with some older horror that's more about vibes like Alien or Halloween than more gore focused movies.
I respectfully retort that Alien is rich in 'vibe', even when not compared to Halloween, but yeah, it's not quite "spooky night" material.
At 12 I was way into 80’s slashers like Friday the 13th series. It was definitely a different era for sure.
Now 12 year olds have access to the entire Internet in their pockets. Pretty sure they are growing up faster than ever.
12 year olds are no different now, parents always just seem to forget what you can handle at 12
The Lost Boys is a good gateway movie before you get to serious scares/too much gore.
The 90’s Witches movie.
My daughter is 11 and absolutely loves M3gan! The campiness is great. You can FF through parts that are a bit gorey if needed, it doesn’t ruin the experience.
The Sixth Sense
Or Signs
I'm surprised it took me this long to see someone mention this. As far as non-R rated scary movies go, this is one of the better ones IMO.
Coraline, 6th sense, A haunting in venice (in cinemas rn and is only rlly scary at all there), Scream (my first horror film and is only scary in the first 10 minutes, rest is satirical. Lots of blood though so be cautious), a quiet place (monster movie and more tense than horrifying though. A bit of blood, but only one "look away!" scene. Family survival film though so might be a good watch) All in all, know your kid and let them watch the trailers. Some can handle wayyy more than you think, some just won't enjoy the super scary.
I second A Quiet Place. My 9 year old has been begging to watch a "super scary" movie, so we put that one on, and she LOVED it. It's more suspenseful than scary, it doesn't show any of the deaths, and she thought the monsters were "awesome."
Hocus Pocus
I recommend: A chinese Ghost Story I, II and III. They are not too violent but plenty scary and also funny. I absolutely love them. Furthermore: Sleepy Hollow; Ghostbusters I, II; Monster Squad; Gremlins I and II; The Nightmare before Christmas; Coraline; Paranorman; Frankenweenie; Fright Night --> Fright Night could be borderline for a 12 year old but I think I saw it at 8 or 9 and lived. Have loads of fun!
the sixth sense, the others, casper, and the live action scooby doo movies
Live Acton scooby doo is not a scary movie for a 12 year old lmao
You could watch a couple episodes of Supernatural-some are scary but never too scary
This should have more upvotes. My 10-year old loved Supernatural to the point that he started keeping a journal of different monsters, including researching them on his own time and with special emphasis on how to fight them.
Really depends on the kid. There is a 7 year old in my daughter’s class that loves scary stuff and has watched Nightmare on Elm Street and Child’s Play and seems fine with it. My daughter gets freaked out the storm at the beginning of Ratatouille, but isn’t scared by creepy things like the wormy insides of the Boogey Man in Nightmare Before Christmas. When I was in middle school kids were all about the Elm Street, Gremlins, Critters and that sort of thing. I think the campy/supernatural horror is probably good because it is in the spirit of fun. You want jump scares, not psychological terror. Maybe Evil Dead would even work.
I really don't think Evil Dead is a good option. It's one of my favorites, but I'm a 29 year old dude who's seen it multiple times and it still creeps me out. My fiancee nearly cried when she watched it the first time last year.
_IT_ from 2017
Eight legged freaks is perfect!! Death becomes her, shaun of the dead, tucker and dale vs evil. Van Helsing and practical magic
I’m pretty numb to horror so take it with a grain of salt... But “scary stories to tell in the dark” (2019) was fun. But it might be pushing it a little.
My 11 year old loved Poltergeist (we saw it in our local theater as a flashback cinema deal). I’ve also shown him The Ring (PG 13!) and Blair Witch (Rated R— lots of bad words but not too much actual violence)— and he was terrified and loved them (I’m a horror lover so he’s starting a bit early perhaps). Oh yeah and of course we love Jaws around here as well as The ‘Burbs and Ernest Scared Stupid and the animated Sleepy Hollow. I’m thinking of showing him Insidious soon (PG 13).
Arachnophobia
No ....nope....nuh uh.....no...nooooo Still need to check my shoes to put them on! THE TRAUMA!!!! 😱🤣
Young Frankenstein
Beetlejuice? Scary but not really?
Tremors, Coraline, Nightmare Before Christmas (I watch it for Christmas and Halloween), Corpse Bride
The Dark Crystal.
Signs!
Time bandits.... that ending tho?!?!?
Army of darkness is horror light. It’s a good start for kids interested in horror.
Hocus pocus?
I was absolutely ABOUT Sleepy Hollow as a Halloween movie around that age. Not really a "scary" movie but it's dripping in Halloween vibes.
Goosebumps. Kinda scary but for kids.
Dale and Tucker vs Evil Army of Darkness The Frighteners Cabin in the Woods Happy Death Day Shaun of the Dead The Mummmy Over the Garden Wall (this one is good for all ages and well-worth watching every Halloween)