So my 4 kids (ages 5 - 11) and I watched Van Helsing the other night. While I thought the plot was laughable, the kids loved it. They were scared but excited by the fights, the monsters…They really had a good time.
So, can anyone recommend other movies like Van Helsing? Something a kid would find scary but fun?
Thanks,
It’s not, really like Van Helsing, but when I was younger I loved “Monster Squad” an 80’s movie about a group of kids who have to fight Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and a Fish-monster. Its corny and dated, but I still like to watch it when its on. It was rated PG-13, but I’ve only seen it on TV so I can’t remember what for.
You couldn’t do any better than “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.”
I’d say Underworld. IIRC, there is no nudity at all, and maybe one kiss in the whole thing. Good clean vampires vs. werewolves fun. And Kate Beckinsale is hot, though fully clad, so even dads can appreciate it.
There’s another one I can’t think of right now. Maybe it will come to me later.
Tremors.
How about: The league of extraordinary gentleman. ?
I’ve never seen Van Helsing, so these movies may be completely wrong, but:
The Mummy movies (the recent ones with Brendan Fraser)
The Indiana Jones movies
The Goonies
Beetlejuice
Pirates of the Caribbean and the **Harry Potter ** movies if they haven’t seen them yet.
Labyrinth
**The Last Unicorn ** (not as good for grown ups, I’ve sadly discovered)
Spirited Away
Jurassic Park I-III
**Titan A.E., ** maybe? There are some hairy moments that might scare them a bit. Same goes for The 10th Kingdom.
Matthew Blackheart: Monster Smasher and Monsters! You’ll have to catch them on Scifi, but both are on a couple of times a year.
Scrooged, hey it’s seasonal, and some of those ghosts are spooky.
I second the Mummy movies. They’re written and directed by the same guy who did Van Helsing (and the special effects are practically identical), and I actually like both of them a lot, which is more than I can say for Van Helsing.
The older ones would probably enjoy The Scorpion King.
Return of the Living Dead 2? The first one in this series has nudity, and the third one has nudity and isn’t very good. Brain eating zombies, a bit of over-the-top comedy…lots of fun.
Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness? (A bit of swearing, and violence…but it’s by the guy who directed Spider-Man, and Xena.) As a plus, it teaches children valuable life lessons…like how handicapped people should be treated with fear and awe; or the value of keeping chemistry textbooks in your trunk; or the rich and fulfilling careers to be found in the retail industry. (And it has about a million skeleton warriors.) 
I don’t think it was ever actually released under the name Evil Dead 3 {even though it was}, because the first two movies had garnered a reputation as sadistic slasher flicks, and the studio thought the title wouldn’t be marketable. Still a fantastic movie - gotta love the opening credit lines: “Bruce Campbell…Vs…The Army of Darkness” If they gave out Oscars for “best beating yourself up while demonically possessed” performances, that guy would have a fine pair of bookends.
For recent movies, Hellboy hasn’t been mentioned yet. A lot less scary than Van Helsing pretended to be. If you get a chance to see Mystery Men from a few years back, that’s pretty good, and very, very silly.
Galaxy Quest
Groovy.
The Core seems to have the same feeling as Van Helsing. There’s no monsters (instead, it’s a journey to the center of the earth), but it’s similar in its over-the-top, silly, corny actionness. There’s a lot of action, some sorta scary parts, and a few people do die, but there’s no gore, sex, swearing, or nudity.
Good cinema it ain’t (lord no), but if you want a campy fun popcorn movie, it might be a good bet.
Is “The Matrix: Revolutions” to racy for kids? I can’t remember. If not, it certainly has a lot of slam-bang action, to the point of rendering an adult insensate, which was about the only thing I saw in Van Helsing.
I’d third “The Mummy” movies.
Then there are a couple of obscure movies about somebody named Indiana Jones, and a pretty good knockoff of same called “Romancing the Stone.”
Big Trouble in Little China
Your kids will LOVE it, trust me on this.
Big Trouble is a great film but your kids may miss the central joke.
The story is told through the point of view of the sidekick, who happens to think he is the hero.
Another great kid film that really only has one scary part is Explorers.
It’s a great kids sci-fi movie.
Willow and The Rocketeer.
That’s two movies, by the way.
Speaking of The Rocketeer (good choice!), they might like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow when it’s released on DVD.