The 100th Halloween movie question
October 27, 2020 6:34 PM Subscribe
We're looking for a good scary movie (but not too scary) to watch with our 9 year old. We need recommendations!
Okay so little DTMFA is 9 and likes scary things, but cannot handle anything really scary. We recently watched Hitchcock's the Birds and although he liked it, it was a bit too scary (but close to the right scaryness level). What are some movies that are actually good, that the grownups might like too, and that might be the right level of scary?
We have already watched the Goosebumps movie and Edward Scissorhands. Hit us with your best recs!
Okay so little DTMFA is 9 and likes scary things, but cannot handle anything really scary. We recently watched Hitchcock's the Birds and although he liked it, it was a bit too scary (but close to the right scaryness level). What are some movies that are actually good, that the grownups might like too, and that might be the right level of scary?
We have already watched the Goosebumps movie and Edward Scissorhands. Hit us with your best recs!
Seconding Ghostbusters. Both my brother and my nephew loved it (the old one, never saw the new one) at just around age 9.
posted by holborne at 6:48 PM on October 27, 2020
posted by holborne at 6:48 PM on October 27, 2020
Jaws?
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:50 PM on October 27, 2020
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:50 PM on October 27, 2020
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:53 PM on October 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:53 PM on October 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Nightmare before Christmas.
Coraline.
Corpse Bride.
Beetlejuice.
posted by chbrooks at 6:55 PM on October 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
Coraline.
Corpse Bride.
Beetlejuice.
posted by chbrooks at 6:55 PM on October 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
Coco.
posted by keep it under cover at 8:19 PM on October 27, 2020
posted by keep it under cover at 8:19 PM on October 27, 2020
Paranorman is on Netflix and is scary but also has tons of humor and a great underlying message of tolerance. I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers but I think 9 is old enough to handle the scares.
posted by mediareport at 8:44 PM on October 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by mediareport at 8:44 PM on October 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
My spouse and I were about that age when the Addams Family movies came out. We just re-watched the first one and it held up.
posted by doift at 9:16 PM on October 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by doift at 9:16 PM on October 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Over the Garden Wall might hit the spot if you don't mind that it's a series that takes a movie-length time to watch (well, a short movie—under two hours), rather than a single film.
posted by babelfish at 10:08 PM on October 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by babelfish at 10:08 PM on October 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
My nine year old loves Mr. Boogedy and Bride of Boogedy. They are ridiculous, but fun ghost stories. Not QUITE serious, just a bit scary, lots of silly. My eleven year old son loves Abbott and Costello in Meet Frankenstein and Hold That Ghost.
posted by I_love_the_rain at 1:21 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by I_love_the_rain at 1:21 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Poltergeist is very scary and has some very scary scenes. If you haven't seen it or seen it recently, read the parents guide on imdb for intense scenes to be prepped for. (Also the mom and dad some some weed if that's a concern.) You know your kid best, tread carefully.
But even though it is very scary, hear me out. It's a family movie. Child gets lost in the void, parents do anything they can to get her back. They survive because they work together and trust each other and love each other. That's a nice message in a scary movie you watch with your kid, you might be scared but you make it through together.
Plus there are so many excellent tropes at play in Poltergeist, it's a good foundational movie for so much horror (and kids spooky tv/etc) that came after.
posted by phunniemee at 4:53 AM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
But even though it is very scary, hear me out. It's a family movie. Child gets lost in the void, parents do anything they can to get her back. They survive because they work together and trust each other and love each other. That's a nice message in a scary movie you watch with your kid, you might be scared but you make it through together.
Plus there are so many excellent tropes at play in Poltergeist, it's a good foundational movie for so much horror (and kids spooky tv/etc) that came after.
posted by phunniemee at 4:53 AM on October 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Coraline is a great scary kids movie--on the scary end of a kids movie.
Ghostbusters is a great not-too-scary all-ages movie. HIGHLY recommend the newer one; rewatching the old one, there's a lot of gross sexist stuff that makes me roll my eyes hard, as much as I love the movie.
posted by gideonfrog at 5:07 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Ghostbusters is a great not-too-scary all-ages movie. HIGHLY recommend the newer one; rewatching the old one, there's a lot of gross sexist stuff that makes me roll my eyes hard, as much as I love the movie.
posted by gideonfrog at 5:07 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
The new adaptation of The Witches on HBO might be what you're looking for. It's family-friendly and perhaps just scary enough for a 9-year-old.
posted by cazoo at 5:54 AM on October 28, 2020
posted by cazoo at 5:54 AM on October 28, 2020
I saw a double-bill of Alien and Poltergeist when I was 8. It was a moving experience.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 6:27 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 6:27 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Hocus Pocus is a fun, cute, and mildly scary movie.
I saw Poltergeist when I was 9. It traumatized me. Really. Every time I look in a mirror, in the back of my head I'm wondering if I'll start pulling off pieces of my face. Gah.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 7:31 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I saw Poltergeist when I was 9. It traumatized me. Really. Every time I look in a mirror, in the back of my head I'm wondering if I'll start pulling off pieces of my face. Gah.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 7:31 AM on October 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
We just watched The House with a Clock in its Walls, and it was pretty good, much better than the 6 score on IMDB. Jack Black is (for him) unusually restrained, and the general tone is more fantasy spooky than horror -- think exploding pumpkins and creepy automatons.
posted by Bron at 12:42 PM on October 28, 2020
posted by Bron at 12:42 PM on October 28, 2020
I wonder if the Universal Monsters would still work their magic on kids. As the link (to Vulture) demonstrates, they range from the atmospherically creepy to the (wonderfully) dumb, and beyond.
posted by Superfrankenstein at 2:08 PM on October 28, 2020
posted by Superfrankenstein at 2:08 PM on October 28, 2020
Return to Oz, which is far darker and freakier than The Wizard of Oz, is scary enough that while I wouldn't at all recommend it for a 5-year-old, a 9-year-old who wants to be scared but not too scared would probably really enjoy it.
posted by orange swan at 5:01 PM on October 28, 2020
posted by orange swan at 5:01 PM on October 28, 2020
Seconding "Monster House." Outstanding movie on its own & probably just the right amount of spooky (it's not really very scary) for a 9-year-old.
posted by mark7570 at 6:20 PM on October 28, 2020
posted by mark7570 at 6:20 PM on October 28, 2020
I just watched Hubie Halloween with my 11 year old. It's a little corny, a little scary, pretty funny. You know your own kid but mine couldn't have handled anything even vaguely like an adult horror movie.
posted by Rumple at 7:48 PM on October 28, 2020
posted by Rumple at 7:48 PM on October 28, 2020
The Witches, the original version.
Goosebumps movie, I've only seen the first but there is a sequel as well.
If you would accept a tv show I'd recommend Are You Afraid of the Dark, I started watching that around 9 years old and loved it.
posted by Lay Off The Books at 11:08 AM on October 29, 2020
Goosebumps movie, I've only seen the first but there is a sequel as well.
If you would accept a tv show I'd recommend Are You Afraid of the Dark, I started watching that around 9 years old and loved it.
posted by Lay Off The Books at 11:08 AM on October 29, 2020
Just start watching Svengoolie every Saturday night, or at least dvr it.
posted by vrakatar at 11:18 PM on June 6, 2021
posted by vrakatar at 11:18 PM on June 6, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
Ghostbusters (old or new)
posted by nickggully at 6:43 PM on October 27, 2020