Halloween is just around the corner and it's time to decide which scary movie to watch when all the Trick or Treating is finished. I've decided to compile a list of horror films I enjoy that I think would be ok to watch with your teenage kids. I have a love/hate relationship with the horror genre, I really love a good horror film but most of the time I'm disappointed as most horror films (especially more recent ones) are pretty boring and predictable. These choices are films I'm ok with letting my 12 year old son to watch, the list may be controversial as contains a few 15 rated films and one which is rated 18 but I look at the BBFC rating as more of a suggestion than an actual age limit.
Final Destination
Alex is going on a school trip when he has a dream that the plane they're on is going to crash. When he wakes up he causes a scene that leaves a few of the group being thrown on the plan. As they argue about missing the trip the plane then crashes. The first film in the Final Destination series was really refreshing when it came out. The idea that the deaths were all down to bad luck or weird coincidence and that the 'bad guy' was death itself trying to get the survivors was really different. Some of the death scenes are gruesome but really over the top to the point where you're trying to figure out what will kill them. Sadly the rest of the series ended up going the same way as most horror franchises with each instalment being a lesser re-hash of the film before it but the original is still a really good watch.
The Woman in Black
A post Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe plays Arthur Kipps, a grieving husband who has to go to a remote village in Edwardian England to collect some documents to begin the sale of an abandoned house. The villagers are hostile to outsiders and the house is haunted by the Woman in Black. Kipps has to find out who the Woman in Black is so he can find a way to put her spirit to rest. This is a proper old fashioned haunted house film. Lots of jumps, very creepy but not overly scary so I think perfect for older kids and teens.
Jaws
Who doesn't know this one, a huge Great White Shark is stalking the waters of Amity Island, an idyllic resort in New England. Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) enlist the help of geeky marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and gruff local fisherman (Robert Shaw) to hunt down the shark. I think this was the first horror film I ever saw and I it is still one of my favourites. Some of the scenes, especially the opening 10 minutes, are pure terror and there are plenty of shocks throughout and of course it has that ominous theme.
Scream
A masked killer, Ghostface, is murdering the students of Westboro High School in California. Sydney Prescott Played by Neve Cambell is the killer's main target. This is an Homage to Slasher films of the past like Friday 13th or Halloween and there are loads of horror clichés but with a little knowing wink to audience. This is probably the most gruesome of the films on this list and even though it is rated as an 18 I think this is still ok for younger teens to watch too.
It
The most recent film on the list is the latest adaptation of the Stephen King novel. The children of Derry, Indiana are being terrorised and murdered by Pennywise the Dancing Clown who is actually a supernatural being that wakes every 27 years to feed on children and uses their own fears against them. I remember watching the 1990 version with Tim Curry as Pennywise when I was a kid and it scared the hell out of me and still gives me the heebie-jeebies now. This version isn't quite as full on scary so think kids will still get a scare but not be left traumatised.
My oldest son Harry (who is 12) has been itching to watch some horror films and I think he is now at an age where he will be able to handle some proper shocks so I think this Halloween we will be watching some of these. What do think of this list? Would you let your teens watch them? Do you have any suggestions for horror film to watch with teens
Well, that's all for now.
S
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