Halloween movies for kids

[Blackhawk]

'Tis the season, and my kids are old enough to start appreciating the Halloween culture. We have a 'movie night' every week or two, and I'd like some suggestions for some good Halloween movies to watch with the kids (7 and 9.) I'm not overly protective of them, and they're not easily frightened, so I'm not really looking for Disney style cutesy pumpkin movies, but they're also not ready to watch hardcore horror flicks.

I was thinking some of the Tim Burton stop motion movies would be a good start. What else?

[Isgrimnur]

Hocus Pocus (1993)

And you might look at the Goosebumps series.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Monster House, Monsters, Inc. and The Dark Crystal for some Jim Henson creepiness.

[Rumpy]

What about Ghostbusters? That was always a Halloween classic for me.

[Octavious]

The Worst Witch! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUhuPn8_d0Q" target="_blank
God I think this movie ruined my mind.

[Octavious]

And for something actually useful. The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown is a must watch.

And yes I realize that probably falls into the Disney cutesy category but I don't care.

[silverjon]

Mr. Boogedy? Monster Squad?

[BooTx]

Definitely do The Nightmare Before Christmas.

I personally like to watch some Treehouse of Horror on Halloween but unfortunately Fox has yet to release a compilation of those shows (not a problem if you have the season DVDs). To my knowledge they've only released one DVD that inexplicably only has four episodes on it. They're good episodes, though, if your kids enjoy The Simpsons...

Oh, and how about The Mummy? I love the movie, personally. It does have some pretty creepy parts, like the scarabs crawling under the guys skin, so it's your call as to whether or not your children should watch it. It does have a comedic edge to it, though. The sequels aren't bad, either.

Or how about Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl or E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial? They may not be "Halloween" movies strictly, but they're good movies that can be spooky for younger children.

[Smoove_B]

Coraline

I haven't seen Something Wicked This Way Comes in a long time, but I recall it being pretty intense for a Disney film.

[hepcat]

Yeah, Something Wicked This Way Comes is a favorite of mine, but it may be a bit too intense for the younger crowd, despite it's Disney lineage.

Did they ever ever make a PG or even G remake of I Spit On Your Grave?

[YellowKing]

Did they ever ever make a PG or even G remake of I Spit On Your Grave?

A Nightmare on Elmo Street?

[Kyosho]

I seem to recall really liking Ernest Scared Stupid when I was around that age. It's a bit silly though. The Casper movie was pretty good. In fact, I still watch it once every few years. Little Monsters was a good one that was weird and fun. Stephen King's Silver Bullet is decent, though I only saw it once years ago so you might want to pre-watch it for content 'cause I can't remember how gory it was.

I know I used to watch a lot more when I was younger. I'll post them if I think of 'em.

[Mr Bubbles]

The Legend of Sleep Hallow. Still a must see every Halloween.

[CGMark]

Monster House. Great movie. Even the GF and I love it.

[Dramatist]

It's probably too old for them but the first R rated movie my kids saw was Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow. The one with Johnny Depp, very scary but really no cursing or graphic sexuality.

[Freezer-TPF-]

I suppose they are a little too young for the true classics, Fright Night and The Lost Boys.

[Octavious]

I think Lost Boys wouldn't be too bad. It really pretty tame for horror movies... Fright Night would probably be going to far. Might as well throw in Aliens, Poltergeist and Exorcist as ones to skip unless you don't like sleeping alone.

[Tommy20]

The Ghost & Mr. Chicken has been annual viewing for my (now) 6yo since he was 4.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufUgq1WQ ... re=related

[Combustible Lemur]

Monster Squad because children must be trained that wolfmen have nards.

[CGMark]

I would second Nightmare Before X Mas. its a good movie, with great music and visuals.

[hepcat]

I think Lost Boys wouldn't be too bad.

Whoa, slow down there pal. You really wanna come home one day to this?

[Blackhawk]

There are some good suggestions here, thanks. My kids aren't exactly 'delicate', far less so than I was at their age. They've already seen most of Buffy with plenty of gruesome walking dead, and they loved the Pirates of the Caribbean films, so something like Lost Boys wouldn't be an issue at all.

[Sabin Stargem]

The Halloween Tree.

[Smoove_B]

I mentioned it in some other thread, but I really don't think Lost Boys holds up. It really...did not age well.

I just remembered the made for TV movie, Dark Night of the Scarecrow which was recently released on DVD. I don't remember much about it other than being freaked out as a kid watching it.

[Kyosho]

You know, it was at about that age that I saw Stephen King's IT. I love that movie. You might consider it. It scared the crap out of me but I really enjoyed it at that age.

[hepcat]

I mentioned it in some other thread, but I really don't think Lost Boys holds up. It really...did not age well.

I just remembered the made for TV movie, Dark Night of the Scarecrow which was recently released on DVD. I don't remember much about it other than being freaked out as a kid watching it.

That and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark are considered two of the finest horror films television ever produced. They're remaking Don't Be Afraid for a 2011 release, but I'm hopeful since the screenplay is be Guillermo del Toro.

[CGMark]

Oh, i dont think I saw anyone mention, Corpse Bride. While IMO its not as good as Nightmare Before Christmas, its still pretty neat.

[Smoove_B]

That and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark are considered two of the finest horror films television ever produced. They're remaking Don't Be Afraid for a 2011 release, but I'm hopeful since the screenplay is be Guillermo del Toro.

Interesting. I don't think I've seen that; the clips online don't look familiar. It's also a bit before my time so maybe it wasn't being aired all that much anymore in the early 1980s.

[Lordnine]

The Halloween Tree.

If you can find a copy THIS. I loved it as a kid and it holds up amazingly well.

And I'll put another vote in for Coraline.

[Debris]

Beetlejuice.

My 8yo grandson loves that movie.

[hepcat]

That and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark are considered two of the finest horror films television ever produced. They're remaking Don't Be Afraid for a 2011 release, but I'm hopeful since the screenplay is be Guillermo del Toro.

Interesting. I don't think I've seen that; the clips online don't look familiar. It's also a bit before my time so maybe it wasn't being aired all that much anymore in the early 1980s.

It scared the living crap out of me when I was a kid, but I'm afraid to try and find a copy and watch it as I've discovered that early '70's production - childhood + having seen texas chainsaw massacre and the exorcist = disappointment when it comes to horror. seriously, the only older film that still gives me the heebie jeebies is the original production of The Haunting.

[Jeff V]

Let the Right One In. Kiddie vampires.

[cheeba]

An American Werewolf in London.

I mean hell I saw it as a kid and I remember the experience and being scared out of my wits to this day, probably almost 30 years later. So give them a gift they'll remember for their entire life .

[Pyperkub]

An American Werewolf in London.

I mean hell I saw it as a kid and I remember the experience and being scared out of my wits to this day, probably almost 30 years later. So give them a gift they'll remember for their entire life .

Probably a bit gory for a 7 year old.

Coraline is great, but the buttons for eyes can be really disturbing for youngsters, if they can handle it, it's worth it.

I'll also second Nightmare before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Monster House. For a couple of less gory, more PG/PG-13 movies - try Gremlins and Poltergeist (though Poltergeist could be a nightmare-fest - clowns anyone?).

[EvilHomer3k]

Hopefully my suggestion doesn't end up on the second page because there is no reason that The Goonies shouldn't be one of the first ones mentioned.

Also, the following are available on netflix watch instantly:

Ghostbusters 2
Beetlejuice
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Wallace & Grommit (a couple but not Curse of the Wererabbit)

[Semaj]

James and the Giant peach?

[BooTx]

Beetlejuice.

My 8yo grandson loves that movie.

Nice fuckin' model! *honk* *honk*

[Smoove_B]

Nice fuckin' model! *honk* *honk*

I want to say they actually edited that out when it was released on DVD - when it was decided at some point that a PG movie couldn't contain a single utterance of the F word. Regardless, I agree it's a classic.