The only movies I remember freaking me out as a kid were Sssssssssssssssss!, a TV movie about turning people into snakes (shudder) that I saw at about 7, and Poltergeist, freaked me the fuck out at about 11.

It sort of weirded me out because it was awfully scary for young children but a lot of people just don't seem to care anymore.

there was an interesting article in the Washington Post about Toxic Parents -- parents who allow their kids to do things that they shouldn't, as long as they're there (i.e. kids can drink in the house, young children seeing R rated movies and playing M video games). I know that I don't have kids, so I don't have a dog in the fight, but i was reading the article, thinking What the Hell is wrong with these people.

I went to see Hannibal at an 11PM show, the people behind me brought their two kids. One went to sleep, the other was awake and frightened, was crying quietly, saying "I'm scared, Mommy' and the mother just said "oh, close your eyes, honey". I went to see another movie with a crying kid, I was pissed, because I go to late shows to avoid kids. The usher actually came and talked to the mother, who refused to leave. After the movie, I spoke to the manager and demanded my money back (and got it).

I remember when I was little my parents were watching The Exorcist on TV (so it would have been heavily edited, but still) and I was reading in the living room, not really paying attention but looking up occasionally. And then Bad Stuff started to happen, so I decided I would not look at the TV anymore. Which was a mistake, because that meant I just heard it. And imagined what was happening. I think at the next commercial break I decided to go read somewhere else.

And later, Kingdom of the Spiders wigged me out a little, even though it was awfully funny when Shatner tried to get a tarantula off his hand by shooting it.

I don't remember how old I was, but I was freaked out by some version of A Christmas Carol when Scrooge goes to hell.

Speaking of movies and kids, Leif did something funny without realizing it. He was playing pharmacist with me, my wife, and in-laws. This entailed him cutting pills out of blue and red construction paper and giving people a choice of which pill they wanted. I was the only person in the room who got the pop culture reference though.

I know I saw Terror in the Aisles [link] in the theater, so I guess I was 10, which kind of explains why my parents weren't thrilled about the entire proposition -- someone else's father took us. It wasn't really that scary, though, because you lost so much of the context. And we were always renting horror movies for sleepovers. I don't know when kids cross the line between being too little and thinking those movies are cool.

The boys watch scary movies with the gore. I don't let them play MA rated video games. They love horror movies and don't get scared or anything. When it comes to R rated movies I either get a review from a trusted friend or watch it myself first.

Kids are different and parents should know what bothers them and what doesn't. PotC with pirates was great stuff for the boys. PotC without pirates sounded way too upsetting for them.

With violence I tend to not mind them watching the obviously fictional stuff like SciFi while I shy away from graphic violence in a realistic setting like war. With sex I don't mind them watching sex in movies when presented in a "normal" manner. It's all very subjective.

Since they are "that age" boys they love all the movies geared toward 12yo boys. And they can watch over and over and over again.

I remember when I was little my parents were watching The Exorcist on TV (so it would have been heavily edited, but still)

"Your mother sews socks in heck!"

I don't remember how old I was, but I was freaked out by some version of A Christmas Carol when Scrooge goes to hell.

I'll be it's the Albert Finney musical version because a) I saw that in the theater (that and YELLOW SUBMARINE are the first two movies I remember seeing in a theater my life) and remember that sequence vividly, and b) they always, always, ALWAYS cut that scene out when they showed it on television.

That said, it was the reveal of the ghost of Xmas future as a skeleton that really freaked me out with that one.

oh, yeah, I totally grok that the parent should be able to decide what is appropriate for their child, but if the kid is clearly frightened, or disturbing other patrons, they should leave.

With sex I don't mind them watching sex in movies when presented in a "normal" manner.

::makes note to send porn to Laura's boys::