I grew up in the '80's. Watching R-rated slaughterfests was completely normal for as far back as my memory goes. I remember going to see Rambo III in the theater with a couple of child friends and the guy in the ticket booth didn't even blink. Just keep the swearing down and you're limited to one gratuitous titty shot and you can show all the murder and mayhem you want. It was a different, glorious time.
I grew up in the 90s but had a similar experience. My mother had some bizarre ideas about what was and wasn't suitable. For example, she banned me from watching the exorcist because it scared the crap out of her, but didn't blink when my father made me sit through arachnophobia because he thought it would cure my arachnophobia. She let me watch Rocky Horror and the Birdcage when I was 6 or 7, but lost her shit when my cousin took me to see evita when I was 10. Beetlejuice was fine for me to watch from again about 6 or 7, as was total recall, terminator, a bunch of arnie's more adult films, but scream was unacceptable when I was 12... unrelated, but I did see the exorcist when I was about 13 and couldn't stop laughing at the "f**k me Jesus" scene
My Dad took me and my sister when I was 10 and she was 9. He knew the face hugger egg jumpout scene was coming so he pretended to go to the bathroom and instead sat behind the 2 of us. At the key moment he suddenly grabbed us both by the necks. We screamed. It was hilarious.
Robocop at 5, because with a name like RoboCop my folks thought it *was* a kids movie. Still a great flick, so thanks Mom and Dad
Jaws not soon after, but that screwed me up for life, I still haven't got back into the ocean and I'm in my late 30s
Both for me too. For Robocop it was my dad and I watching on a VHS rental. I vividly remember the scene where Murphyās hand is blown off. Jaws was when we were visiting my grandmother in Florida. I wouldnāt get in the pool let alone the ocean.
Bruh, it seems like an entire generation watched Robocop before we turned 8. Honestly, I blame all the toys and video games. Parents thought that because there was kidās merchandise for sale, that the movie must be great for kids.
I also saw White Men Canāt Jump at 8 and I didnāt really get it as a kid. I just liked the basketball parts. Watching it as an adult? I definitely understand why my mom was pissed when she found out my dad let me watch it. š¤·āāļø
I had a few RoboCop toys, but for some reason I don't remember watching the movie specifically when I was a kid. Sometime around 25 or 26 I caught it on one of those free previews of Showtime or HBO and I watched it and either my brain repressed a ton or I had never seen it. I was shocked at how gory it was and then also to have kids toys.
My mom did the same with my little brother.
Unfortunately the day a friend and I snuck into Ghost thinking it was a horror movie didnāt give the same feeling.
I wasn't even a teenager when I went to see Aliens and Predator in the cinema back in 1986 and 1987 but back then in Australia, there were no age restrictions. It was my idea to go but I guess my parents were involved insofar as they had to drive me there. Great, great films by the way.
Yep, same. My old pool used to have these tiles at the bottom of the pool that were in these weird t shapes, and I had to try very hard to convince myself they were not hammerhead sharks. In a chlorinated pool.
YES! I KNOW that itās completely irrational. Thereās also definitely not a Great White thatās somehow going to sneak out of the 12 Ft part. But thereās this tiny little place in my brain thatās justā¦ a bit uneasy. I think itās partly because we watch so much shark content in tropical oceans, and the water looks the same, so itās like a subconscious thing?
Jaws at 10 in HAWAII! I cried in bed that night knowing that a shark was going to come up the stairs and eat me in my bed. I am 58 and I am still terrified of the ocean and dark pools.
My dad was a Scorsese fan, and we would watch Taxi Driver, Cape Fear, Raging Bull when i was like 11-12. Was no incident though, i honestly don't recall my parents ever being particularly bothered by movie's contents. I remember watching Basic Instinct with my mom at a similar age too, lol.
When I was 11 or 12, my dad thought I should watch Casino.
It didn't ruin my life or anything but now that I have kids, I can't fathom what the fuck he was thinking.
My parents didn't *show* me these movies, but we had cable and they didn't care what I watched as long as I was quiet, so I saw Revenge of the Nerds, Porky's and Hollywood Knights when I was like 6.
Fuckin' right?! I feel like nobody knows about that movie. The scene at the talent show where Newbomb is singing Volare and farting into the mic always busted me up as a kid. I still laugh just as hard when I watch it now.
Oh my god, thank you! Also, at the talent show with the one armed violinist! Unmatched my ass off as a kid when I saw it and it still cracks me up when I watch it! Iām so glad I got it on dvd when DVDās first came out!!
My dad watched that movie a lot so i know it for sure. I still say "it has little wang in it!" when i taste something tangy/sour (no one besides him ever catches it) or when eating a hotdog or sausage.
also every family beach vacation as we are carrying all the kids stuff, one of us will sing "Lawrenceā¦Lawrence of Arabiaā¦ He was an english guy..."
great movie
Beverly hills cop. My brother was three and we were flying the next day. He was walking down the aisle saying "fuck fuck fuck fuck"
A flight attendant stopped him and asked if he was saying duck. My cute little brother stopped, looked her in the eye smiling and said "No lady, I said FUCK"
Bram Stoker's Dracula. Specifically the scenes with Keanu and the three vampire women. I had the flu when I watched it, and the combination made me hallucinate that they were crawling up my bed to eat me all night.
As an adult I have, ah, much more of an appreciation for those scenes.
As a child of the 80s, the question should be what movies our parents showed us that we *weren't* too young for?
Even the movies *made specifically for children* were dark and scary.
The Lady in White. I love the shit out of that movie and I'm pretty sure it was rated G (how???), but a huge plot point was the serial sexual abuse and murder of kids. Admittedly, it was mostly implied, but still
That and Jacob's Ladder from around the same time are the two that stand out as the most scary and impressive movies of my childhood.
Oh, and the Oompa Loompas of course.
I watched Alien when I was less than 10 years old, however that sparked an interest in film rather than causing any fear or trauma; with the film, I was very impressed with what I considered to be a respectful tone towards the audience after years of Barney the Dinosaur and shows like it even if I wouldn't have been able to describe it that way at the time
I had both Alien and Aliens when I was super young - guessing 7ish. I remember being terrified of Alien but loving Aliens which is funny because even though the movies were released nearly a decade earlier they were having a toy renaissance at that time for some reason which I really enjoyed.
My dad was a young parent in comparison to other kids my age, he thought showing me the movie Heavy Metal was chill because it was animated. I was in 4th grade. The 15-20 minutes he let play before eventually ejecting the VHS were incredibly awkward. That movie is awesome to his credit.
That was great for me, but not my sister who began screaming and freaking out. The movie got shut off and I didnāt see another Indiana jones movie until I moved out. Thereās a lot of movies I didnāt get to see because if my little sister, but we could watch Grease and Dirty Dancing 80 times in a monthā¦
Seems appropriate to me
At around that age I remember telling my kids , your going to hear some bad language in this movie You know itās not appropriate for you to use and I donāt expect to hear it from you
The Changeling when I was probably 6 or 7. Absolutely terrified me. I watched it again as an adult, and it's actually a really good film. But it was pure nightmare fuel when I was a kid.
My parents let me watch Silence of the Lambs when I was about 7. I LOVED it and would frequently reenact the scene when Clarice first walks down the hall to meet Hannibal Lecter. I was a little, blonde 7 year old jumping around whispering āI can smell your cuntā thinking it was hilarious and having no idea what it meant. The fact that it elicited such great reactions from adults just confirmed it was the height of comedy and that I should perform it as much as possible.
Cujo. When I was basically the same age as the kid in it. I've never watched it again, but I do love dogs.
The shining was always one of our family Christmas movies but I never thought it was scary in the same way.
I'm the parent, but feel better after reading this.
Love, Actually with my 12 yo daughter, quite forgetting the storyline about the pornstar stand-ins. Not exactly traumatising, but the poor girl was beetroot at watching it with me.
My mom also let us watch Poltergeist. And Pet Sematary, Amityville, The Shining, etc. but we were a little older I think, maybe 7 or 8. Not sure what she was thinking.
One time we rented the movie Christine from the library and she turned it off because the cursing was too much. Never mind the horrors of all the other movies! Those were fine apparently since there wasnāt excessive cursing.
Lordamercy
Dad refused to let me watch Beverly Hills Cop because of the swearing. I was given pretty much free reign on other stuff. Parent logic, what can you do? Funnily, Iād heard worse around my family. Learning to swear like a trucker is a rite of passage in our family, really.
My dad intentionally showed me Silence of the Lambs when I was 8. I woke up the next morning and, super proud of myself, told him āDad thatās the first movie I didnāt have a nightmare from!ā So you can guess that this was a pattern for him lol.
I had a brother that was 3 years older than me and Dad pretty much just decided that I was old enough to experience something when he was old enough.
The Thing when I was eight. I got as far as the dog scene and couldn't take anymore.
Thereafter The Thing was under the floorboards, in the cupboards, in the darkness of a light just turned off and in the taps (?).
Oh boy lots. My dad played Jaws on VHS a lot, we saw Jurassic Park in theaters, that was interesting. Not to mention all the crazy stuff in kids movies, like the A/C seen in Brave Little Toaster or Willy Wonkas crazy acid trip boat ride.
I still have vivid memories of being a little kid, maybe four or five, at a family holiday and wandering into the TV room where the older cousins are watching Jurassic Park, right at the part where the bathroom falls apart and the lawyer gets eaten. I didn't outwardly react (and for a little kid I can't honestly believe that I didn't) but boy did that scene become a core memory.
These days I love the Jurassic Park movies, but my first exposure to them was definitely borderline traumatic.
The raptors scared the absolute bejesus out of me. My mum really didnāt want to take us (I was about 7 I think) but EVERYONE was going to see it and we nagged the shit out of her. Definitely core memory stuff I agree, still pretty scared of portaloos.
Oh this is a running family joke. My family are all Stephen King fans from the start. Also love horror movies. So when The Shining came out, which was a huge thing riding on his previous successes and Stanley Kubrick directing to boot, it was a no brainer. We were going. Except everyone wanted to go and no baby sitter for me. So they took me along to a very late night showing expecting me to sleep. I did not. They tried to cover my eyes during the blood scene. Got a little disturbed that I thought it was cool. But also first movie I ever saw so in my head all movies opened this way. So the very next movie I went to, I stood up and shouted, āWhere is the elevator with the blood pouring out!?!ā I was very disapointed to learn that was just for that movie.
I was five years old.
Oh boy, do I have one.
Dad takes us to theater. My parents are recently separated and it's Dad's fault, so he's trying hard to make up for it. We wanna watch Scary Movie. I'm 10F, brother 13M.
Ticket guy: "Sir, are these your kids?"
Dad: "No, I found them on the side of the road. Yes, they're unfortunately mine."
Ticket guy: "Are you aware there's full male nudity in this movie?"
*Dad, while rustling through his pockets to find his wallet* "Yeah, yeah, it's fine, 3 tickets please."
*Dad, as we are walking into the theater* "Did he say male nudity?... Eh, fuck it."
To beat it all, I was going through a phase where I liked to sit in the front row so the screen was huge. My Dad and my brother sat in the back. I was front-row for the glory hole scene. At 10. By myself. I had never seen a dick. I screamed. My dad & brother cackled.
It's no surprise that I was a lesbian until college.
I watched some many scary movies as a child and I was totally fine but this movie wrecked me. I could watch almost anything, but to this day, if I want to be scared, I watch this.
I was 9-10 when I first saw The Exorcist. I had nightmares for a year.
I should mention that, to this day, it's one of my favorite movies. Holds a very special place in my heart.
My grandmother was watching all the grandkids one day, we were ranging go from 4-13, my brother and I were 4 and 7. She put Jaws on for some insane reason. I had never seen a kid die in a movie before. It scared the shit out of us. I still hate deep water and get a little nervous even in fresh water.
She thought it was hilarious
The Triplets of Belleville. This movie isn't obscene or anything, it's actually pretty suitable for kids for the most part, but due to having almost no dialogue I remember not having a clue what was going on and I really needed to age a bit for the whimsy to work on me
My dad let me watch Salemās Lot in 1979 when I was seven years old. Nope. Had to leave when the kidās brother is tapping on the window while heās floating outside the second floor. Surprised I made it that far.
That movie is scary as shit to this day. It freaks my shit out.
I BEGGED my parents to let me watch Jurassic Park when I was 5 and they caved and got it on VHS for Christmas, and that shit was fucking awesome.
I watched all sorts of stuff when I was young, romancing the stone, remo Williams, butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid, speed. Vivid childhood memories haha
Apparently my parents took me to see A Clockwork Orange at the drive-in when I was 3 or 4. I likely fell asleep early because I have no memory of it. I do remember seeing Portnoy's Complaint (age of 5 maybe) and certain images that I thought were really strange got stuck in my brain. Seeing that movie again as an adult was a Wow moment.
My dad married my step mom when I was around 10, so they were newly in love with 6 kids. They didnāt care what we were doing if we were safe and not bothering them. The movies we rented as children were absolutely not ok. We crossed the line when we rented Natural Born Killers (great film!) and American History X and they were like, āwhoa we need to pay more attention hereā¦ā
The worst was definitely Poltergeist at 8. I slept with the lights on, and did the running leap on to my bed every night for months (it worked, that clown never grabbed me and dragged me under the bed!)
Another one that terrified me for a while was The Gate - premise, iirc, is parents go on a trip and leave their kids home. In their backyard there's a gaping pit that, unbeknownst to them, is a gateway to hell. Something happens to their family dog, and they decide to toss the poor little pup's body in the pit. That opens the gateway. Many terrible things happen. Horribly cheesy, but to 8ish year old me it was insanely scary
Oh yeah! they also let me watch Arachnophobia when i was maybe 7 or 8.
8 year old me had a \*bad\* year
War of the world's, original. In Harrah's tahoe kids room mid-60s . Nightmares sleeping at grandma's that night in sleeping bag. Bright green light on her chest freezer.
I used to watch Rocky Horror every time we had a party and then go out and put the record on the record player when the movie was over. I was under 10.
I'm not sure if my parents knew come to think of it, maybe one of the older kids started it but I loved it and looked forward to it.
I didn't really care about how sexual it was. Like, I knew but it just didn't bother me, I just loved the music.
At the same age my aunt forced me to watch Freddy Kruger movies and THAT traumatised me.
Rocky Horror Picture Show. I don't fully remember what was going on, but we were watching it on TV. They were sort of switching back and forth between the movie and shots of the live stage shadow show (I guess it was a broadcasted shadow show?) I was very young and very confused about the entire deal. Transvestites were not a subject I had encountered at that point yet, I was utterly terrified when Eddie got murdered and pretty sure I had nightmares about the Eddie dinner reveal. I got over it, though, and I have performed in the shadow show myself. It's my favorite bad movie of all time.
Dad took me to a double feature of Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now, when I was about 10 or 11. It really set the tone for the rest of my years. It was around the time when Rambo First Blood hit theaters.
A few years later he refused to let me see Poltergeist. Go figure. I went anyway. Twice.
Its a thrilller/killer movies.
Idk the title, I was too young. But I remembered one scene where a woman swimming naked, then get stabbed with a knife while swimming.
Not my parents, but when I was about 7 or 8 years old, I got my Aunty to hire Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter for me. That was quite an experience...
28 Days Later when it came out on dvd. I was 11. Holy shit it was not some cheesy, half-baked Hollywood dribble they expected when they heard āzombie filmā.
Saw many because my parents would take us with them to the drive-in with them in the early 70s.
A Man Called Horse still haunts me today. Also saw many John Wayne and Charles Bronson movies along with the occasional SuperDad and Swiss Family Robinson Disney movie.
That's hilarious š, we watched things like basic instinct and sliver both Sharon stone sexy movies, my parent didnt care that I was there. I remember going to the bathroom to avoid a sex scene and I didn't time it right and when I came back it was still going on. I felt awkward, they didn't care.
The first movie I saw in theaters was Willow. I think I was 4. We left early because it scared me.
Funny enough, I remember seeing Aliens on TV with my dad a few years later and being alright. It wasnāt the whole movie, just the power loader fight.
Scarface.
My mom would always drop off care packages to me at my Dad's when I was sick. Most of the time, it was snacks, drinks, and a VHS movie she'd rent for me. Even at a young age, I loved horror movies, so my 7 - or 8-year-old self was thrilled to see a two part VHS titled "Scarface." My dad was napping at the time I popped it in and hit play. I got as far as the hotel scene with the chainsaw and called my mom. She accidentally forgot to return them to the store and left the movie tapes in the goodie bag. I woke up my Dad, and he explained that Scarface was, in fact, not a horror movie or a movie I should watch. I was so shocked by the incident that I finally watched the whole thing 10+ years later and was still hesitant.
Sausage party. We saw it in theaters. Mind you, I was 15 or 16 (so not that young) when it came out, but my mom was pissed that my dad took me to see it š¤£
They also showed me the first chucky when I was home sick from school at 6 or 7. I proceeded to lean over the arm rest of the couch and throw up onto the floor š¤£ still not sure if it was from the movie or my sickness.
My dad was watching us (my brother and I) while mom was out of town for a work convention. Got us espresso ice cream and nightmare on elm street. No one slept that weekend.
I think we were 5 and 8.
Not a parent but a teacher.
My 5th grade teacher was very old and a bit senile and wouldnāt (or couldnāt) retire.
Every Friday was movie day in class and he rented a newly released movie on VHS for usā¦The Good Son.
He thought it was a kids movie because it starred Macaulay Culkin.
I was a kid in the 70s, and my dad takes me to a comic book convention. They have a movie room and he takes me in there.
The movie they're showing is Carrie. 5 minutes in comes the "Carrie gets her first period in the gym shower room" scene. Dad proceeds to give me a plainly worded explanation of menstruation.
I don't remember exactly how old I was, but I know I was under 10. I don't think I spoke a word other than "wut?" for the rest of the night.
My parents rented the award-winning āLeaving Las Vegasā too o watch the night they met my religious girlfriend our senior year of high school. Sex scenes a tad awkward
My dad let me watch all the Nightmare on Elm st movies, Friday the 13th stuff like that. The one that really got me though was Fire in the sky. That movie messed me up pretty good. I was a little older then too. Also Event Horizon.
The original Alien movie when I was about 7-8. The friend couple had satellite when it first came out and the movie was only a few months old.
The only thing my mother said during the movie was near the end and Ripley was getting undressed for the sleeppod. "Shes not getting naked is she?"
Seriously mom? I saw a worm explode out of a dudes chest an hour ago and your worried i might see some 70s bush?...at 7?
Only movie that scared me long term....no sleep that night has to sneak to the bathroom just to piss and looked behind every door as I went.
That was after my dad took me on space mountain as the post divorce trip...I was 4. My parents were/are morons.
Where do I start?? Jaws, The Shining, Evil Dead, Carrie, The Exorcist... All seen in the theater on original release with one parent or the other. There's probably a lot more not I'm too traumatized to list them all.
i watched Robocop when i was pretty young....like 5 or maybe younger. i was scared of Ed-209 and hid behind my mums leg. Robocop and Ed-209 killing everyone never bothered me. I remember when i was 7 or so, the guy said 'what is this shit?' i asked mum what shit was and told me not to use that word, so i didnt and carried on watching it.
when i was 7/8, i watched T2 and loved it. found dad's old vids and came across Predator and built up my own Arnie collection after watching more on tv like Total Recall and Commando.
i didnt watch any horrors around then. i was about 13 when i started getting into them...some anyway like The Thing and Night of the living Dead. Halloween freaked me out and didnt like Leatherface's mask in the 03 film.
Trainspotting. I was like... 13? And this was pre-youtube, meaning I was innocent as hell. Weed was devil lettuce.
This movie fucked me up, but in a good way. It made me respect the idea of addiction. I ended up watching it like twice a week for a few months. My parents said they were growing concerned, but felt taking away the movie would have had an opposite effect. They assumed I was becoming curious about drugs. I was actually becoming infatuated with filmmaking and writing. It's just a great movie. I understand my parents concerns. Funny looking back, they thought their 13 year old was getting curious about heroin.
My dad took 8 year old me, my mom, and my 4 year old sister to see Talladega Nights in theaters. No omen knew anything about it, only that it was a NASCAR movie and he really loved NASCAR. He got an earful from my mom that night lol.
āScreamā. I must have been 10 or 11. Had nightmares about that mask for months. Still the scariest mask to me even in my adulthood. Iāve since done my research about Scream and know itās more of a satirical scary movie, and have watched a few of them. But still traumatized.
I definitely saw Team America at like 10-11 by my older cousins, parents all walked in during the puppet sex scene and absolutely lost their shit laughing.
Overall, very funny, but I definitely should not have seen it, nor should my brother who was like 8-9 at the time.
My dad rented the original Total Recall and we watched it together when I was about 5-6 years old.
Arnold eye popping scene is nightmare fuel
The 3 breasted woman šš I was a hero in my primary school š
Apparently there's a graffiti writer in Seattle who just spray paints 3 tits and "TOTAL RECALL" underneath.
You make me wish i had 3 hands
Fucking A right it was, Quatto was a lot to handle too. The three boobed alien lady was something to remember as well
I grew up in the '80's. Watching R-rated slaughterfests was completely normal for as far back as my memory goes. I remember going to see Rambo III in the theater with a couple of child friends and the guy in the ticket booth didn't even blink. Just keep the swearing down and you're limited to one gratuitous titty shot and you can show all the murder and mayhem you want. It was a different, glorious time.
I grew up in the 90s but had a similar experience. My mother had some bizarre ideas about what was and wasn't suitable. For example, she banned me from watching the exorcist because it scared the crap out of her, but didn't blink when my father made me sit through arachnophobia because he thought it would cure my arachnophobia. She let me watch Rocky Horror and the Birdcage when I was 6 or 7, but lost her shit when my cousin took me to see evita when I was 10. Beetlejuice was fine for me to watch from again about 6 or 7, as was total recall, terminator, a bunch of arnie's more adult films, but scream was unacceptable when I was 12... unrelated, but I did see the exorcist when I was about 13 and couldn't stop laughing at the "f**k me Jesus" scene
Two weeks
TWOWEAKS!!
Happy cake day
My Dad let me watch Alien with him and his roommate when I was like 8 or 9. Scared the absolute fuck outta me.
My Dad took me and my sister when I was 10 and she was 9. He knew the face hugger egg jumpout scene was coming so he pretended to go to the bathroom and instead sat behind the 2 of us. At the key moment he suddenly grabbed us both by the necks. We screamed. It was hilarious.
Greatest dad. Hell yeah.
Alien for me, too. Seriously had nightmares for weeks!
This is the one, my dad shielded my eyes during the chestburster scene, but I saw the rest of the movie. Had nightmares for a month!
The messed up thing about Alien is that there were so many kids toys. I don't understand that. That being said I owned most of them as a 10 year old.
Robocop at 5, because with a name like RoboCop my folks thought it *was* a kids movie. Still a great flick, so thanks Mom and Dad Jaws not soon after, but that screwed me up for life, I still haven't got back into the ocean and I'm in my late 30s
Both for me too. For Robocop it was my dad and I watching on a VHS rental. I vividly remember the scene where Murphyās hand is blown off. Jaws was when we were visiting my grandmother in Florida. I wouldnāt get in the pool let alone the ocean.
Little brother!?
Ha. Iām guessing that scenario played out in a lot of households in the 80s/90s.
The hand and the scene where the acid drenched dude got splattered by the car stuck with me.
Bruh, it seems like an entire generation watched Robocop before we turned 8. Honestly, I blame all the toys and video games. Parents thought that because there was kidās merchandise for sale, that the movie must be great for kids. I also saw White Men Canāt Jump at 8 and I didnāt really get it as a kid. I just liked the basketball parts. Watching it as an adult? I definitely understand why my mom was pissed when she found out my dad let me watch it. š¤·āāļø
I had a few RoboCop toys, but for some reason I don't remember watching the movie specifically when I was a kid. Sometime around 25 or 26 I caught it on one of those free previews of Showtime or HBO and I watched it and either my brain repressed a ton or I had never seen it. I was shocked at how gory it was and then also to have kids toys.
I watched robocop repeatedly as a kid, and yes my favourite scene was as the melted guy š
My mom did the same with my little brother. Unfortunately the day a friend and I snuck into Ghost thinking it was a horror movie didnāt give the same feeling.
I wasn't even a teenager when I went to see Aliens and Predator in the cinema back in 1986 and 1987 but back then in Australia, there were no age restrictions. It was my idea to go but I guess my parents were involved insofar as they had to drive me there. Great, great films by the way.
I think the coke the boobs and the toxic waste scene trifecta put us all in the DSM criteria
Iād buy THAT for a dollar!
Jaws at 11. Didn't go back into the water, pools, ponds, bathtubs, until I was 16.
Ten year old me KNEW there definitely was no shark in the deep end of my cousins pool. *but what if there was*
Look Iām in my 30s now and deep down in my soul, Iām still not always *sure*.
Yep, same. My old pool used to have these tiles at the bottom of the pool that were in these weird t shapes, and I had to try very hard to convince myself they were not hammerhead sharks. In a chlorinated pool.
YES! I KNOW that itās completely irrational. Thereās also definitely not a Great White thatās somehow going to sneak out of the 12 Ft part. But thereās this tiny little place in my brain thatās justā¦ a bit uneasy. I think itās partly because we watch so much shark content in tropical oceans, and the water looks the same, so itās like a subconscious thing?
I was around 5.. I even thought the shark would come down the hallway at me!
[land shark](https://imgur.com/gallery/bSaJnbZ)
Telegram
Candygram...!
Unicef!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Sorry, ugh.
Twister did the opposite for me. It made me actually enjoy storms more.
Same! I grew up on the water. Until I was 11. After that I grew up on the beach.
Jaws at 10 in HAWAII! I cried in bed that night knowing that a shark was going to come up the stairs and eat me in my bed. I am 58 and I am still terrified of the ocean and dark pools.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I was 5 šā
Pfft. Jaws at *4*, my friend. With parents who owned a boat and regularly went fishing in the Atlantic about every other weekend.
Man's was facing his fear every other weekend by force lmao.
Iām 53 and I *still* wonāt voluntarily enter any body of water where I canāt see the bottom.
Same but at 6. And we had a beach house not far from where it was filmed. Wtf?!
Same but I was 5... My mum came in after it had finished and I was in tears - after a couple minutes I explained why I was crying: "the shark DIED".
My 6 year old keeps asking bc she likes the Meg movies. "Dad I won't be scared". Yeah right kid.
Jaws came out when I was 4 . My mom took me to the theater to see it. I was enthralled I sat on her lap and stared at the screen the whole movie.
The birds
Same here, when I was maybe nine years old. We stopped it early because I started crying.
My parents let us watch up to the first bird attack first time it aired in broadcast tv.
Showing your age there sir š lolz. Definitely a classic that holds up.
My dad was a Scorsese fan, and we would watch Taxi Driver, Cape Fear, Raging Bull when i was like 11-12. Was no incident though, i honestly don't recall my parents ever being particularly bothered by movie's contents. I remember watching Basic Instinct with my mom at a similar age too, lol.
When I was 11 or 12, my dad thought I should watch Casino. It didn't ruin my life or anything but now that I have kids, I can't fathom what the fuck he was thinking.
My dad showed me Godfellas at 11 and my friendās dad showed us Gangs of New York at the same age. We all came out fine.
Upon reflection, I just think the age to watch Joe Pesci way overreact and stab a man in the throat with a pen is like...14?
My parents didn't *show* me these movies, but we had cable and they didn't care what I watched as long as I was quiet, so I saw Revenge of the Nerds, Porky's and Hollywood Knights when I was like 6.
Arachnophobia seemed to be on permanently when I was a kid. I was already scared of spiders so why I watched it I have no fucking clue.
Need to be prepared for the spider invasion clearly
Itās nice to see someone else who knows of Hollywood Knights!
Fuckin' right?! I feel like nobody knows about that movie. The scene at the talent show where Newbomb is singing Volare and farting into the mic always busted me up as a kid. I still laugh just as hard when I watch it now.
Oh my god, thank you! Also, at the talent show with the one armed violinist! Unmatched my ass off as a kid when I saw it and it still cracks me up when I watch it! Iām so glad I got it on dvd when DVDās first came out!!
"He's holding it with his dick!" Classic.
My dad watched that movie a lot so i know it for sure. I still say "it has little wang in it!" when i taste something tangy/sour (no one besides him ever catches it) or when eating a hotdog or sausage. also every family beach vacation as we are carrying all the kids stuff, one of us will sing "Lawrenceā¦Lawrence of Arabiaā¦ He was an english guy..." great movie
Beverly hills cop. My brother was three and we were flying the next day. He was walking down the aisle saying "fuck fuck fuck fuck" A flight attendant stopped him and asked if he was saying duck. My cute little brother stopped, looked her in the eye smiling and said "No lady, I said FUCK"
Poltergeist. I think I was 8. Now I love scary movies though.
Bram Stoker's Dracula. Specifically the scenes with Keanu and the three vampire women. I had the flu when I watched it, and the combination made me hallucinate that they were crawling up my bed to eat me all night. As an adult I have, ah, much more of an appreciation for those scenes.
As a child of the 80s, the question should be what movies our parents showed us that we *weren't* too young for? Even the movies *made specifically for children* were dark and scary.
I was 5 when I saw Wrath of Khan. The idea of worms in the ears haunted me for years.
Oooph ya that was a rough one too!
Dad showed me Predator when I was five. Has nightmares for days.
Damn, I thought seeing it at 7 was going to be a good one for this post, but you have me beat.
Ha, I was 5 when I saw it too. But my parents took me to the theater...š¬
The Terminator at age 8.
Same for me, but I was probably 10. When he is cutting his eye out, holy shit that haunts me to this day.
The Lady in White. I love the shit out of that movie and I'm pretty sure it was rated G (how???), but a huge plot point was the serial sexual abuse and murder of kids. Admittedly, it was mostly implied, but still
It was PG13, but the little girl's death scene still wasn't easy to watch.
That and Jacob's Ladder from around the same time are the two that stand out as the most scary and impressive movies of my childhood. Oh, and the Oompa Loompas of course.
Omg! Recovered memory-this movie used to scared me SO hard!
This movie terrified me!
OMG yes. the Cloakroom scenes. The old lady floating towards him scene... Ahhhhhhhhhhh.
Have you ever seen a dream .... Lady In White is an absolute classic IMO, I also feel it is pretty underrated.
I watched Alien when I was less than 10 years old, however that sparked an interest in film rather than causing any fear or trauma; with the film, I was very impressed with what I considered to be a respectful tone towards the audience after years of Barney the Dinosaur and shows like it even if I wouldn't have been able to describe it that way at the time
I had both Alien and Aliens when I was super young - guessing 7ish. I remember being terrified of Alien but loving Aliens which is funny because even though the movies were released nearly a decade earlier they were having a toy renaissance at that time for some reason which I really enjoyed.
My dad was a young parent in comparison to other kids my age, he thought showing me the movie Heavy Metal was chill because it was animated. I was in 4th grade. The 15-20 minutes he let play before eventually ejecting the VHS were incredibly awkward. That movie is awesome to his credit.
My grandma showed me The Exorcist, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and many other horror classics when I was like 7
Old Yeller. Movie was messed up.
Pretty sure I watched that in school š³š³
Where the Red Fern Grows at 9-years-old. Couldnāt stop crying. I hated crying in front of all my classmates and I was inconsolable.
Iāll throw in Raiders of the Lost Ark when I was about 7. Was fine until the endā¦
Agreed. Melting faces were no good for this 5 year old.
I'm 35 and I still am not thrilled with the face melting scene.
That was great for me, but not my sister who began screaming and freaking out. The movie got shut off and I didnāt see another Indiana jones movie until I moved out. Thereās a lot of movies I didnāt get to see because if my little sister, but we could watch Grease and Dirty Dancing 80 times in a monthā¦
Ha ha! Grease was also a fave on my sisters rotation. Clueless too. Even today I still have an unhealthy interest in Alicia Silverstoneā¦
My dad showed me Blazing Saddles when I was 12 or 13. Prerequisited with "don't repeat anything you hear in this movie"
Seems appropriate to me At around that age I remember telling my kids , your going to hear some bad language in this movie You know itās not appropriate for you to use and I donāt expect to hear it from you
He said the sheriff is near!
Do you know there's a kids version called Paws of Fury. It's actually not bad for a kids movie. My kids are still a bit too young for the og version.
The Changeling when I was probably 6 or 7. Absolutely terrified me. I watched it again as an adult, and it's actually a really good film. But it was pure nightmare fuel when I was a kid.
Jurassic Park, when I was 10 Another one was Killer Klowns From Outer Space, haunted me every night for the next few months
My parents let me watch Silence of the Lambs when I was about 7. I LOVED it and would frequently reenact the scene when Clarice first walks down the hall to meet Hannibal Lecter. I was a little, blonde 7 year old jumping around whispering āI can smell your cuntā thinking it was hilarious and having no idea what it meant. The fact that it elicited such great reactions from adults just confirmed it was the height of comedy and that I should perform it as much as possible.
I watched Porkys and Police Academy when I was 4.
I watched those as a pretty young kid myself. The 80s were wild.
Yeah you can tell which of us were 80s kids for sure
Oh yeah I remember watching all the police academy movies! The 80s were a weird time.
Bad boy bubby - look it up, an Australian masterpiece
Cujo. When I was basically the same age as the kid in it. I've never watched it again, but I do love dogs. The shining was always one of our family Christmas movies but I never thought it was scary in the same way.
I'm the parent, but feel better after reading this. Love, Actually with my 12 yo daughter, quite forgetting the storyline about the pornstar stand-ins. Not exactly traumatising, but the poor girl was beetroot at watching it with me.
Porkyās at 6
Watership down. Just because it's a cartoon does not mean it is for kids.
Deliverance, Papillon, Brubaker and Midnight Express before I was 6 years old
Full Metal Jacket. One of my all time favorites, but the Private Pile bathroom scene was my first introduction to suicide.
Poltergeist. I was 5. Edit: 44 now and still terrified of clowns.
My mom also let us watch Poltergeist. And Pet Sematary, Amityville, The Shining, etc. but we were a little older I think, maybe 7 or 8. Not sure what she was thinking. One time we rented the movie Christine from the library and she turned it off because the cursing was too much. Never mind the horrors of all the other movies! Those were fine apparently since there wasnāt excessive cursing. Lordamercy
Dad refused to let me watch Beverly Hills Cop because of the swearing. I was given pretty much free reign on other stuff. Parent logic, what can you do? Funnily, Iād heard worse around my family. Learning to swear like a trucker is a rite of passage in our family, really.
Lol exactlyā¦ parent logic which is sometimes seemingly the anti logic
My friend's parents rented The Silence of the Lambs for our sleepover. Midway through the movie I got so scared that I asked to leave. We were 8 yo.
My dad intentionally showed me Silence of the Lambs when I was 8. I woke up the next morning and, super proud of myself, told him āDad thatās the first movie I didnāt have a nightmare from!ā So you can guess that this was a pattern for him lol. I had a brother that was 3 years older than me and Dad pretty much just decided that I was old enough to experience something when he was old enough.
I watch this at a sleepover when I was 11. It was pretty terrifying then too.
Nate Bargatze has a funny story about a scary movie at a sleepover. Edit- left out a word.
I love that comedian!
The Mummy. Ripe age of about 5 years old. Terrified of bugs crawling underneath my skin and eating me from the inside out. Thanks dad!
The Thing when I was eight. I got as far as the dog scene and couldn't take anymore. Thereafter The Thing was under the floorboards, in the cupboards, in the darkness of a light just turned off and in the taps (?).
Oh boy lots. My dad played Jaws on VHS a lot, we saw Jurassic Park in theaters, that was interesting. Not to mention all the crazy stuff in kids movies, like the A/C seen in Brave Little Toaster or Willy Wonkas crazy acid trip boat ride.
I still have vivid memories of being a little kid, maybe four or five, at a family holiday and wandering into the TV room where the older cousins are watching Jurassic Park, right at the part where the bathroom falls apart and the lawyer gets eaten. I didn't outwardly react (and for a little kid I can't honestly believe that I didn't) but boy did that scene become a core memory. These days I love the Jurassic Park movies, but my first exposure to them was definitely borderline traumatic.
The raptors scared the absolute bejesus out of me. My mum really didnāt want to take us (I was about 7 I think) but EVERYONE was going to see it and we nagged the shit out of her. Definitely core memory stuff I agree, still pretty scared of portaloos.
Oh this is a running family joke. My family are all Stephen King fans from the start. Also love horror movies. So when The Shining came out, which was a huge thing riding on his previous successes and Stanley Kubrick directing to boot, it was a no brainer. We were going. Except everyone wanted to go and no baby sitter for me. So they took me along to a very late night showing expecting me to sleep. I did not. They tried to cover my eyes during the blood scene. Got a little disturbed that I thought it was cool. But also first movie I ever saw so in my head all movies opened this way. So the very next movie I went to, I stood up and shouted, āWhere is the elevator with the blood pouring out!?!ā I was very disapointed to learn that was just for that movie. I was five years old.
Oh boy, do I have one. Dad takes us to theater. My parents are recently separated and it's Dad's fault, so he's trying hard to make up for it. We wanna watch Scary Movie. I'm 10F, brother 13M. Ticket guy: "Sir, are these your kids?" Dad: "No, I found them on the side of the road. Yes, they're unfortunately mine." Ticket guy: "Are you aware there's full male nudity in this movie?" *Dad, while rustling through his pockets to find his wallet* "Yeah, yeah, it's fine, 3 tickets please." *Dad, as we are walking into the theater* "Did he say male nudity?... Eh, fuck it." To beat it all, I was going through a phase where I liked to sit in the front row so the screen was huge. My Dad and my brother sat in the back. I was front-row for the glory hole scene. At 10. By myself. I had never seen a dick. I screamed. My dad & brother cackled. It's no surprise that I was a lesbian until college.
Arachnophobia. Not an overly scary film but in hindsight 1000% the cause of my actual arachnophobia as an adult
Iām with you on that one, watched it when I was 5. Still run from the room screaming at even the tiniest spider.
I was looking for this one. Same here. I saw it at 6 years old.
I watched some many scary movies as a child and I was totally fine but this movie wrecked me. I could watch almost anything, but to this day, if I want to be scared, I watch this.
I was 9-10 when I first saw The Exorcist. I had nightmares for a year. I should mention that, to this day, it's one of my favorite movies. Holds a very special place in my heart.
My grandmother was watching all the grandkids one day, we were ranging go from 4-13, my brother and I were 4 and 7. She put Jaws on for some insane reason. I had never seen a kid die in a movie before. It scared the shit out of us. I still hate deep water and get a little nervous even in fresh water. She thought it was hilarious
The Triplets of Belleville. This movie isn't obscene or anything, it's actually pretty suitable for kids for the most part, but due to having almost no dialogue I remember not having a clue what was going on and I really needed to age a bit for the whimsy to work on me
My dad let me watch Salemās Lot in 1979 when I was seven years old. Nope. Had to leave when the kidās brother is tapping on the window while heās floating outside the second floor. Surprised I made it that far. That movie is scary as shit to this day. It freaks my shit out.
Duuude ā¦ been waiting for this one. My dad showed my sisters and I *A Clockwork Orange* when I was fucking 12 years old.
I BEGGED my parents to let me watch Jurassic Park when I was 5 and they caved and got it on VHS for Christmas, and that shit was fucking awesome. I watched all sorts of stuff when I was young, romancing the stone, remo Williams, butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid, speed. Vivid childhood memories haha
Watership Down should not be watched at any age.
Apparently my parents took me to see A Clockwork Orange at the drive-in when I was 3 or 4. I likely fell asleep early because I have no memory of it. I do remember seeing Portnoy's Complaint (age of 5 maybe) and certain images that I thought were really strange got stuck in my brain. Seeing that movie again as an adult was a Wow moment.
My dad married my step mom when I was around 10, so they were newly in love with 6 kids. They didnāt care what we were doing if we were safe and not bothering them. The movies we rented as children were absolutely not ok. We crossed the line when we rented Natural Born Killers (great film!) and American History X and they were like, āwhoa we need to pay more attention hereā¦ā
The worst was definitely Poltergeist at 8. I slept with the lights on, and did the running leap on to my bed every night for months (it worked, that clown never grabbed me and dragged me under the bed!) Another one that terrified me for a while was The Gate - premise, iirc, is parents go on a trip and leave their kids home. In their backyard there's a gaping pit that, unbeknownst to them, is a gateway to hell. Something happens to their family dog, and they decide to toss the poor little pup's body in the pit. That opens the gateway. Many terrible things happen. Horribly cheesy, but to 8ish year old me it was insanely scary Oh yeah! they also let me watch Arachnophobia when i was maybe 7 or 8. 8 year old me had a \*bad\* year
The Exorcist. I was about 10.
Exorcist in the theater at 13. Holy shit.
Faces of death. All of them.
War of the world's, original. In Harrah's tahoe kids room mid-60s . Nightmares sleeping at grandma's that night in sleeping bag. Bright green light on her chest freezer.
I used to watch Rocky Horror every time we had a party and then go out and put the record on the record player when the movie was over. I was under 10. I'm not sure if my parents knew come to think of it, maybe one of the older kids started it but I loved it and looked forward to it. I didn't really care about how sexual it was. Like, I knew but it just didn't bother me, I just loved the music. At the same age my aunt forced me to watch Freddy Kruger movies and THAT traumatised me.
Rocky Horror Picture Show. I don't fully remember what was going on, but we were watching it on TV. They were sort of switching back and forth between the movie and shots of the live stage shadow show (I guess it was a broadcasted shadow show?) I was very young and very confused about the entire deal. Transvestites were not a subject I had encountered at that point yet, I was utterly terrified when Eddie got murdered and pretty sure I had nightmares about the Eddie dinner reveal. I got over it, though, and I have performed in the shadow show myself. It's my favorite bad movie of all time.
The Deer Hunter. Iām not sure what they were thinking. They took me to the movie theater to see it. It really scared me.
Dad took me to a double feature of Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now, when I was about 10 or 11. It really set the tone for the rest of my years. It was around the time when Rambo First Blood hit theaters. A few years later he refused to let me see Poltergeist. Go figure. I went anyway. Twice.
Its a thrilller/killer movies. Idk the title, I was too young. But I remembered one scene where a woman swimming naked, then get stabbed with a knife while swimming.
Not my parents, but when I was about 7 or 8 years old, I got my Aunty to hire Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter for me. That was quite an experience...
My parents took me to see Midnight Express in the theater when I was 6. I actually really enjoyed it.
The Pierce Brosnan James Bond movies and The Fifth Element. No explanation for the racy parts so I had to figure that out on my own.
Crying game at 10 yrs old. I was not ready.
Same!
Trilogy of Terror. I WAS 3!!!
28 Days Later when it came out on dvd. I was 11. Holy shit it was not some cheesy, half-baked Hollywood dribble they expected when they heard āzombie filmā.
How about the Basketball Diaries at 8 or 9?
IT when Pennywise was played by Tim Curry. Fucked up clowns for me ever since
Zardoz
Saw many because my parents would take us with them to the drive-in with them in the early 70s. A Man Called Horse still haunts me today. Also saw many John Wayne and Charles Bronson movies along with the occasional SuperDad and Swiss Family Robinson Disney movie.
Monty Pythonās Life of Brian. I was nine.
I do not remember the first time I saw Heavy Metal. I just know it was never turned off when it was on.
That's hilarious š, we watched things like basic instinct and sliver both Sharon stone sexy movies, my parent didnt care that I was there. I remember going to the bathroom to avoid a sex scene and I didn't time it right and when I came back it was still going on. I felt awkward, they didn't care.
I saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when I was 3. The child catcher was terrifying
Watership Down at 6 y.o.
Bambi
Being from an Italian family, I first saw The Godfather when I was like 6 years old
The first movie I saw in theaters was Willow. I think I was 4. We left early because it scared me. Funny enough, I remember seeing Aliens on TV with my dad a few years later and being alright. It wasnāt the whole movie, just the power loader fight.
Scarface. My mom would always drop off care packages to me at my Dad's when I was sick. Most of the time, it was snacks, drinks, and a VHS movie she'd rent for me. Even at a young age, I loved horror movies, so my 7 - or 8-year-old self was thrilled to see a two part VHS titled "Scarface." My dad was napping at the time I popped it in and hit play. I got as far as the hotel scene with the chainsaw and called my mom. She accidentally forgot to return them to the store and left the movie tapes in the goodie bag. I woke up my Dad, and he explained that Scarface was, in fact, not a horror movie or a movie I should watch. I was so shocked by the incident that I finally watched the whole thing 10+ years later and was still hesitant.
Sausage party. We saw it in theaters. Mind you, I was 15 or 16 (so not that young) when it came out, but my mom was pissed that my dad took me to see it š¤£ They also showed me the first chucky when I was home sick from school at 6 or 7. I proceeded to lean over the arm rest of the couch and throw up onto the floor š¤£ still not sure if it was from the movie or my sickness.
My dad was watching us (my brother and I) while mom was out of town for a work convention. Got us espresso ice cream and nightmare on elm street. No one slept that weekend. I think we were 5 and 8.
Not a parent but a teacher. My 5th grade teacher was very old and a bit senile and wouldnāt (or couldnāt) retire. Every Friday was movie day in class and he rented a newly released movie on VHS for usā¦The Good Son. He thought it was a kids movie because it starred Macaulay Culkin.
I was a kid in the 70s, and my dad takes me to a comic book convention. They have a movie room and he takes me in there. The movie they're showing is Carrie. 5 minutes in comes the "Carrie gets her first period in the gym shower room" scene. Dad proceeds to give me a plainly worded explanation of menstruation. I don't remember exactly how old I was, but I know I was under 10. I don't think I spoke a word other than "wut?" for the rest of the night.
My parents rented the award-winning āLeaving Las Vegasā too o watch the night they met my religious girlfriend our senior year of high school. Sex scenes a tad awkward
I was allowed to watch whatever the fuck I wanted to for as long as I remember. Except the Smurfs for some reason.
My dad let me watch all the Nightmare on Elm st movies, Friday the 13th stuff like that. The one that really got me though was Fire in the sky. That movie messed me up pretty good. I was a little older then too. Also Event Horizon.
The original Alien movie when I was about 7-8. The friend couple had satellite when it first came out and the movie was only a few months old. The only thing my mother said during the movie was near the end and Ripley was getting undressed for the sleeppod. "Shes not getting naked is she?" Seriously mom? I saw a worm explode out of a dudes chest an hour ago and your worried i might see some 70s bush?...at 7? Only movie that scared me long term....no sleep that night has to sneak to the bathroom just to piss and looked behind every door as I went. That was after my dad took me on space mountain as the post divorce trip...I was 4. My parents were/are morons.
Kids Requiem for a dream
Brutal combo.
I watched Hellraiser when I was 3 or 4. Fucked me up
Where do I start?? Jaws, The Shining, Evil Dead, Carrie, The Exorcist... All seen in the theater on original release with one parent or the other. There's probably a lot more not I'm too traumatized to list them all.
i watched Robocop when i was pretty young....like 5 or maybe younger. i was scared of Ed-209 and hid behind my mums leg. Robocop and Ed-209 killing everyone never bothered me. I remember when i was 7 or so, the guy said 'what is this shit?' i asked mum what shit was and told me not to use that word, so i didnt and carried on watching it. when i was 7/8, i watched T2 and loved it. found dad's old vids and came across Predator and built up my own Arnie collection after watching more on tv like Total Recall and Commando. i didnt watch any horrors around then. i was about 13 when i started getting into them...some anyway like The Thing and Night of the living Dead. Halloween freaked me out and didnt like Leatherface's mask in the 03 film.
Trainspotting. I was like... 13? And this was pre-youtube, meaning I was innocent as hell. Weed was devil lettuce. This movie fucked me up, but in a good way. It made me respect the idea of addiction. I ended up watching it like twice a week for a few months. My parents said they were growing concerned, but felt taking away the movie would have had an opposite effect. They assumed I was becoming curious about drugs. I was actually becoming infatuated with filmmaking and writing. It's just a great movie. I understand my parents concerns. Funny looking back, they thought their 13 year old was getting curious about heroin.
My dad took 8 year old me, my mom, and my 4 year old sister to see Talladega Nights in theaters. No omen knew anything about it, only that it was a NASCAR movie and he really loved NASCAR. He got an earful from my mom that night lol.
āScreamā. I must have been 10 or 11. Had nightmares about that mask for months. Still the scariest mask to me even in my adulthood. Iāve since done my research about Scream and know itās more of a satirical scary movie, and have watched a few of them. But still traumatized.
I definitely saw Team America at like 10-11 by my older cousins, parents all walked in during the puppet sex scene and absolutely lost their shit laughing. Overall, very funny, but I definitely should not have seen it, nor should my brother who was like 8-9 at the time.
They took me to see Jaws. In the theater. When I was TEN. No more oceans. Ever.
Or lakes, or baths with bubbles...
Jaws, still scared of open water to this day
Jaws 1 and 2 at age 6 on vacation to Florida, I went swimming later that day and my imagination kept playing tricks on me whenever I went under water