Special thanks to Daulton Morrison, Chris Conte and Kiki Akpunonu for their contributions to this post.
Few topics are as contentious in the realm of film discussion are as contentious as the question of what films qualify as suitable for young viewers. This question is one that I am particularly frustrated by, mainly because it has greatly affected what films are successfully marketed towards children. While I’m in firm agreement that we shouldn’t desensitize (or worse, traumatize) child moviegoers through early exposure to violence and intense themes, I’m also one to believe that there exists an opposite extreme- the kind of film that treats younger audiences like absolute cretins. It’s this way of thinking that leads to the marginalization of the medium of animation as “kid’s stuff”, and perpetuates the output of relatively toothless children’s entertainment, with films being especially susceptible to this over saturation (see the typical “Illumination” film for proof positive of that). What frustrates me the most about the notion that children cannot be introduced to more mature media, however, is that there exists so many shows and movies explicitly targeted towards children and family audiences while aiming for dark or even horrific undertones beyond one-off Halloween episodes or other such outliers to the established tone of an established franchise. There are so many films and shows dedicated to what I’ll call “young/juvenile horror” media that I could make a more traditional “Top 10” list about them, but in the interest of keeping things varied, I’ll instead be briefly listing examples that I and some longtime friends of the blog brought in conversation, and using them as examples of how to strike a great balance between the horrific and the lighthearted. With this approach, I hope to give a tentative piece on how and why we should introduce the horror genre to our children.
Examples of Child-Appropriate Horror Films/Media
Looking back at some of my favorite films and shows from my youth revealed a lot of potential gateway drugs to the larger horror cannon for younger viewers, and those aforementioned collaborators only revealed even more candidates that I previously overlooked. For instance, the Cartoon Network animated series “Courage the Cowardly Dog” is a very important show on a personal level, as its surreal animation, dark humor, and surprisingly grim monster-of-the-week formula served as my first introduction to the sort of horror-comedy that made Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson famous in their early days. The show might have been responsible for many a nightmare (especially with the imagery it made use of), but it also had its share of comedic and even wondrous elements in some places, and some episodes (“Last of the Starmakers” and “The Hunchback of Nowhere”, to name two) could more accurately be classified as “dark fantasy” than outright horror. Friends and longtime brainstorm contributors of mine have also pointed to shows like “Invader Zim” as surreal and gruesome, yet still light and funny examples of shows for kids that weren’t afraid to be visually or thematically macabre. Horror animation wasn’t just a reality for televison, however. The motion-capture film “Monster House”, for instance, is one I consider an underrated example of the “spooky kids adventure” genre, populated by such films as “The Goonies” and “Monster Squad”, as it takes advantage of its often unsettling animation and focus on prepubescent characters to create a fun and creepy monster movie. The three protagonists’ banter and “Scooby-Doo” styled antics are undoubtedly amusing, but the accerbic and sardonic nature of the suburbs’ inhabitants and the origin story of the titular house makes for an endearing and fun movie for both kids wanting a light scare and adults feeling nostalgic for horror films of their youth. This kind of balance made these shows and films accessible while also having its own unique and mature edge, and that sort of balance is key to having a piece of media qualify as good “juvenile horror”.
Especially interesting to revisit, however, were the types of “baby’s first horror” films that I would have never considered until getting second opinions on the ideal introductions to the genre. For instance, horror fanatic and longtime friend of the blog Daulton Morrison pointed to “Ernest Scared Stupid”, the Halloween-themed installment of the Ernest P. Worrell films starring the late Jim Varney. Though primarily a comedy film (and a fairly silly one at that), there are elements that Daulton pointed out as being highlights that helped the film qualify as a good first horror movie for kids. The film’s antagonist, for instance, is a fairly creepy troll that, while not outright scary, benefits from a detailed and ugly design and the sub-textually horrifying power to drain the life force from children by turning them into wooden dolls. Re-watching the movie might not have endeared it to me completely, as I’m still of the opinion that the Ernest character can be fairly grating and stupid even by kid’s movie standards, but I will concede that there were some good “jump scare” moments involving the troll and even some good camera work here and there, such as the troll’s chase with his first victim in the 19th century, during which the POV shots pay clear homage to “Evil Dead’s” first-person tracking shots. Leaning further into slightly darker horror material in the midst of this discussion revealed a lot of good introductory media for kids in the world of T.V., what with anthology shows like “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” and “Goosebumps” ruling the roost on Nickelodeon and Fox Kids. Though the episodes of both shows naturally varied in terms of individual quality, the best of these episodes tackled very age-relevant themes through supernatural elements, and the stories were not afraid to have dark twist endings. “Goosebumps” in particular proved an interesting case study for the necessity of the genre in children’s media diets, as the books on which the show was based have a long and proud history of getting children invested in reading. One book/episode in particular, “The Girl Who Cried Monster”, is not only a legitimately creepy story about a young horror lover and prankster learning to be careful what she wishes for, but is bolstered by a menacing antagonist in the form of a librarian who threatens to eat her once she discovers his true monstrous nature. This monster teacher is not only imposing on the surface level, but also on a meta-textual level, as his condescending chastisement of the girl’s interest in pulp horror over more traditionally “classic” literature is a clear reflection of the snobbish teachers that once tried to remove the literary gateway drugs from school shelves during the height of the series’ popularity. Furthermore, the ending, while fairly dark, ends on a relatively happy note with the girl coming to an understanding with her family (revealed to be peaceful monsters) and the librarian dispatched, making it a creepy, yet accessible example of children’s horror. The fate of that librarian is meant to deliver a message to anyone, young or old, who has been shamed for liking horror stories- people who actively insult your interests are inflexible, disconnected elitist bullies that deserve to be called out as such, if not necessarily to be eaten by monsters.
On my end, however, films I consider the best examples of horror films for more general audiences are the early works of Tim Burton, namely “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and especially “Edward Scissorhands”. Both have dark visuals and narrative elements contrasted by an overall wondrous tone, but the latter is one of those stories that qualifies as “so simple it’s classic”. The titular protagonist is the center of a narrative reminiscent of the more misunderstood of the Universal monsters (especially Frankenstein’s monster), and tells a story of a gentle soul turned into a pariah and a monster by the worst of the neighborhood under his old, gothic home. Dark as that story gets, it’s an ultimately fulfilling story about love and its redemptive power, and about how fear, not “monstrosity”, is the root of humanity’s ills. I could go on and on about the movies perfect for introducing younger audiences to kids (Especially since “Ghostbusters”, “Beetlejuice”, and other such lighter horror-themed movies exist), but that still leaves room for the ultimate question:
“Why do Children need Horror Stories?”
Horror films, shows, and stories of this sub-category serve all sorts of purposes, among them being entertaining the family together (especially on Halloween), but the most worthwhile is a deeper function: to get children ready to think about darker fiction and darker elements of reality. Horror fiction is, in essence, our struggles and primal fears crystallized into fantasy, and the material I’ve thus far listed serves as a primer to those themes for children. Horror in kids’ films also offer much-needed variety in young audiences’ media diets, as the over-saturation of saccharine shows encourages a one-note mindset for developing audiences. Films like “Monster House”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, and the aforementioned “Edward Scissorhands”, among many other examples, can be funny, heartfelt, and chilling in equal measure, and that wide spectrum of tones, while risky in how uneven it can be, is important for young audiences’ ability to adapt to different moods and situations, both in and outside of fictional stories. In short, introducing horror to children is not just necessary because of the basic amusement of spooking children, but also because of the important phase of development: coming to terms with negativity and fear. After all, if life is capable of being any one thing at any time…
Why shouldn’t family entertainment?
Rich Reviews 