Prior to the PG-13 rating there were all sorts of movies that would now have zero chance of getting rated PG that were.
In fact, IIRC, Temple of Doom was part of the inspiration for the PG-13 rating.
A few years ago, I tried to find this online, if only to convince myself that I hadn’t nightmared the whole thing…I could never find anyone who remembered it. My sisters remember the movie, since we watched it several times, but they didn’t remember this scene when I tried to explain.
I want to sincerely thank you for that clip. I had long ago given up looking for it, but what a treat it was to see it again.
That’s the exact scene I came to post. Shudders
I guess only one person mentioned “Bambi” because it’s pretty much a given for traumatizing young children, myself included.
The olden-days “The Wizard of Oz” - when the Wicked Witch of the West is riding her bicycle flying through the sky scared the bejeezus out of me as a kid.
“Coraline” was creepy from start to finish. That movie was NOT for children, even if it was animated.
And Gremlins, though neither film was ever re-rated, and remain “PG” to this day.
Another vote for Coraline.
Thank you all for bringing alot of childhood nightmares back to me.:eek:
Disney’s The Black Hole - pretty much the whole movie is creepy I remember vividly the scenes where a servants mask is ripped off to reveal just circuitry and eyeballs and when Maximillian uses his blades to shred up Dr. Reinhardt.
Flash Gordon (1980) - The tree stump scene with Timothy Dalton and when Mariangela Melato melts into black goo.
Watership Down - I had a teacher in 2nd grade make us watch this!
If it makes you feel any better, you just dredged up my repressed memory of it. I wasn’t aware that was in my brain, but the instant you mentioned it, I knew exactly what you were talking about! EEK!
My daughter is going on ten, and I’m wondering when I should spring The Watcher in the Woods on her. I couldn’t have been older than that when I first watched it. I think it’s the movie that made me love the horror genre.
The scariest thing I ever saw was The Devil and Daniel Mouse. According to my Baptist upbringing, this hellfire thing was not at all fictional…in fact, I think this movie alone kept me professing Christianity for some time after faith was lost. Check the Devil at about 2:09 in this clip: The Devil and Daniel Mouse (3/3) - YouTube
A scene from the claymation Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, where they meet the Devil. I think I saw it in college and it freaked me out - I can’t even imagine how it would traumatize a child.
Here it is. (I must not be alone in this, as it was the first hit when I searched for “Huck Finn creepy”)
Child of Glass anyone?
Seconding The Black Hole. I had feeling of dread throughout that movie. And last time this topic came up, I posted The Wiz subway scene where the pillars come alive.
I vividly remember getting up to change the channel after the twin dancing dolls were introduced…they creeped me out something fierce for some reason.
what did you see
what did you see
tell us Annie what did you see
Just clicked your link, made it 8 seconds in and… nope! Creepy.
My daughter is 14 and has been a fan of creepy stuff since she was a toddler, talking to her monster imaginary friend named ‘Goo’ who was, “up on the ceiling mommy!” Shudder.
I have a 51 YO daughter and a 47 YO son, and they still remember, and occasionally mention, that banshee scene in Darby O’Gill
Babe, Pig in the City has some creepy stuff and you might argue that it’s not really a kid’s movie but my daughter loved it when she was 4 or 5 and it creeped my wife and I out. More specifically, there’s a scene with monkeys and Mickey Rooney as a sad old clown.
The girl being mauled nearly to death by an ant in Honey I Shrunk the Kids.
The whole movie was a nightmare truckfest of “giant” insects.
I think any of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s and saw that movie as a child got nightmares from those two scenes.
The incinerator scene fromToy Story 3 was hard to watch as an adult. Seeing these characters that we loved resigning themselves to a horrible death was gut wrenching. My niece was sobbing and screaming that we had to save them.
Watching “Open Season” last night, during the scene where the bear “Boog” gets caught in the hunter’s cabin: I had to go drag her out from behind a chair, she was too frightened even to walk across the room for a hug.
Why, oh why do they do this to children?!?