**remember** that this is a list of movies targeted and marketed towards Kids...AND I usually keep my lists to "Live Action" films unless otherwise noted BUT there are certainly some VERY creepy animated movies!!
To me, Stand By Me is one of the most beautiful movies of all times, and, again, to me, I find it wholly appropriate for children - especially boys. It's a snapshot of a world lost. Late 1950s. Kids are feeling pressure from societal changes, growing up, pop culture of the time, and also have to find solace and dignity in one another because the rest of the world is either indifferent to their concerns or, as the older kids, hostile to them. It opens with a reference to one of them, who, in spite of all the odds, made it only to die by being who he had always been, the protector. That role is played by River Phoenix and given his own story, it makes it more poignant and emotionally crushing. Corey Feldman, who would face his own painful realities in life, plays the son of a World War II vet who lost his mind coming home. Feldman was very protective of his dad and his legacy as much as an extension of himself as for his dad. In the fifties, kids were really like this. It's a world that's wholly familiar to me because I lived in it, but it's also foreign to most people alive today. It's as though that world simply disappeared in the mists of time. We became the body by the tracks.
I've never really seen stand by me as anything other than a family friendly movie. Stephen king is known for horror but I think he shines (pun intended) when he writes coming of age stories. I think revival is one of his best stories despite never hearing anyone talking about it outside of the very last chapter and of all of the stories in hearts in Atlantis, low men in yellow coats is the stand out, so much so that they skipped the rest of the book for the movie. Oh and lardass throwing up at the pie eating contest will never not be funny!
Watcher in the Woods. Old Bette Davis…Disney when they loved to scare kids. I still get creeped out and if I ever hear the name Karen I immediately think Nerak.
I think what was so great about kid’s Films & TV in both the 80’s & 90’s is that they never insulted the target audience’s intelligence unlike today where most are just more dumbed down with that short attention span style of media making
I live near the grand canyon of the south and we used to take day trips and go to the lookouts hike etc my best friend told me et lived up there and it took awhile for me to be comfortable there again. P.s. she got married there years later 😅
I have such a love/hate relationship with ET. That movie terrified me to the point that they put it on in after school daycare one time, when I was about 5 or 6, and I had a meltdown and climbed up into the big kids' loft and refused to come down. My grandma had to leave work and come pick me up bc neither of my parents could. But I still wanted to watch it and read the sequel book. I tried watching it again a couple of years ago. It's not as bad, and overall, it's actually kind of a sweet movie. But I still want to fight him.
@@Embatsky its prob the undertones of rape in Hollywood and Spielberg and Heather o Rourke and drew Barrymore. Look at puffy his fave guest is dicaprio. Boy wonder was over there raping trafficked girls.
Not all from the 80s but we watched these as well and could show up on a future list: Watership Down, Old Yeller, Plague Dogs, The Other, Salem's Lot (the 79 tv miniseries), Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973 tv movie). I subscribed!
This is maybe the CREEPIEST list I have done when you think about how these movies were meant for kids lol!!! Pop that tape in, I got you, let's go do this!
Labyrinth had a totally different vibe for us Gen-X girls; we swooned over Jared and wanted to be her in the ballroom scene so badly! We related to her so much, as well as Lily in Legend (especially us goth-y girls). We heavily romanticized those two movies! Losing Artex in the swamp, however, scarred me for life. The Last Unicorn was so weirdly scary I can't even explain why. And Return to Oz...you nailed that one. Thanks for the great video!
Good list! I thought for once I’d own every one you mentioned. Got all but the last 2. I thought for sure you would mention The Dark Crystal. Some I would at least mention are Secret of Nimh, The Last Unicorn, The Watcher in the Woods & The Brave Little Toaster.
Me and my siblings grew up on all these films and honestly I love it. I love that the 80s and 90s weren't scared to do things differently and that we get such classics. Labyrinth is honestly my favourite love the sound track and it introduces me to the amazing David Bowie and his music. Stand by me is also a favourite it's one of those films that you can't help but watch. Ok all of them are my favourite but those are the best. I think if it wasn't for our dad we wouldn't have watched any of these ( I was born in 88 and siblings born in to the 90s) and I'm glad we did because movies know seem to sterile and bland they don't seem to hold a story. All of these shaped how we grew up even if the Never ending Story did make us cry with Artex.
@@AVAPopCulture i know you are a huge fan of Bava's Demon films...and I mentioned i produced hip hop before..you need to check out my 3 part song that are story rhymes inspired by Evil Dead, Demons, Dawn of the Dead and Fulci. Tons of references and samples. The track are called "Nuclear Cannibal Holocaust pt.1 2 3" by The Longfellow Project. I made the beats and rapped on it. If you ever need a score for a movie hit me up man, I would collaborate in a heartbeat. One of my hip hop projects (Vivid) has 34 million streams rn!
I know it is an animated movie, but dang! The brave little toaster! Nightmare juice! And disguised under such innocent childish animate style! Shivering!
Yes! You mentioned The Brave Little Toaster too! I personally think that's the most nostalgic kids movie ever. It's actually about nostalgia and it's nostalgic. Lol.
When I was a kid in the 70s, the kid's movie that scared me the most in a theater was the original "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (1971) with Gene Wilder. It was based on a book by the British author Roald Dahl, and he must have liked scaring children with his novels. Some scenes were intense, such as the girl Violet who turned into a giant blueberry after eating the four-course meal chewing gum, and the ferry boat going through that scary, dark tunnel with all those hallucinogenic scenes on the tunnel walls. In the 90s, Jim Henson's Workshop made another Roald Dahl novel into a movie called "The Witches." I am sure children would have been scared seeing the grand-high witch played by Anjelica Huston after she took off her normal-looking human mask from her head. She made a time-controlled potion that turned children into mice after they had eaten some chocolate. The special effects were perfect for its time. It's still a very good movie.
My 2nd grade teacher showed our class The Witches (this was like 35 years ago). To this day, I think about the scene where the little girl (who was the grandmother's classmates when she was a child) got taken by the Witches. The little girl showed up in a painting at her parents house. She aged and eventually disappeared from the painting (signifying she died). That is some creepy stuff.
I talked about this movie for years and everyone thought I'd made it up till around 2019 and I saw it was on Tubi and I showed everyone I was NOT crazy
@AJ21743 thanks! Yeah, there are some seriously creepy animated movies from the 80s but I usually keep the lists to "live action" so that's the only reason it isn't there
Something Wicked This Way Comes is among my favorite movies. The part with all the tarantulas creeped me out as a kid. And, at 48 years old, that part still creeps me out.
Too funny- I never thought about Goonies like that before but you are right! They would never let that stuff in a “kids movie” today! It’s still a family fav in my house.
When my kids ask if they can watch a movie from back then, I tell them I have to watch it first to see if I will let them because that’s when PG actually meant ‘parental guidance’
Ah, my childhood, how I loved all these movies to bits😊. You forgot the Lost Boys, and Fire starter, though I was still very surprised you remembered the Last Unicorn and Secret of Nimh. It would have been nice if you mentioned Watership Down and Plague Dogs.
Lost Boys is fantastic but I don't think that one is actually for kids. I had the VHS and it was rated R. This was in the 90s though so maybe they updated it and it was originally PG in the 80s?
I forgot about Gremlins! Yep, parts of that I had a hard time watching as a child. I might have closed my eyes during a few parts. LOL. But I did like Gizmo.
Rodger rabbit definitely freaks me out, The neverending story scared me also HOWEVER The return to Oz was absolutely terrifying and gave me nightmares. Even as a kid in the 80s, I was like what the hell!
LOL the same! and when I was making this video I realized I hadnt seen Return to Oz in a very long time and still didnt feel the need to re-watch it - I still remember how it creeped me out way more than remembering the movie itself lol
I agree with all these. Disney made another film that was bizarre, but I liked the atmosphere - 1980’s “The Watcher in the Woods”. From 1976, “Burnt Offerings”, though I’m not that it was targeted at kids. Also not targeted at kids, but “The Changeling” was enjoyable
Return to OZ is nightmare fuel. A messed up movie if you pay attention. They go t away with alot of stuff in the 80's in PG rated movies that they couldn't get away with now. Poltergeist anyone??
I agree Poltergeist is super scary and creepy BUT remember that this is a list of movies targeted for Kids... I dont think I can make an arguement that Poltergeist was marketed or targeted as a kid's movie! Return to Oz is messed up for sure!
Wow I was born in 81 and i totally loved all these movies. My kids watched em too. The monster squad was one of my favorites. Think i was 8 or 9 first time I saw it. Wolf mans got nards!!!
Love Monster Squad and I got my nine year old into it too! It was a good film to show before introducing them to the actual classic B&W Universal monster movies!
“Monster Squad” was definitely a gateway to horror picture for childhood me. And surprisingly gory, even for 80s PG-13. I’m surprised the scene of the Wolfman being blown up and the aftermath didn’t get it an R rating. Then, something I didn’t pick up on until I watched as an adult, Scary German Guy is a Holocaust survivor. Out of the blue, suddenly there’s a closeup of his concentration camp number tattooed on his arm. That flick took a lot of dark turns.
Lol @ that turtle voice impression from Neverending Story. Haha love it. Actually sounded pretty close! I have the German 4K with the extra scenes and alternate music. Love it so much
@@suzybearheart530 for fans of the film you need to watch it. The only caveat is the opening theme song (Limhal) is not used at all in the German version. So the tone is entirely different from the jump and tbh fits the storytelling better, considering Bastian has lost his mother, the somber tone is more suited for it and less "spielberg". And the score is amazing too, everyone loves the Limhal song (me included) but that score is incredible!
@beyondz55 I'm a fan of the book and have a feeling the German film might be a little more true to the book even though the movie only covers the first part. It's a shame a proper full adaptation has never been done. It would be amazing as a mini series like Game of Thrones.
@@suzybearheart530 Agreed, the book is incredible and that sequel film never did the second half of the book justice. I love the desert of many colors chapter in the book....absolutely amazing.
The 80's had some creepy movies for kids. The thing is. When I was growing up. Most of these movies didn't scare me. My mom let me watch horror movies. My dad didn't like anything scary. The Never Ending Story. Is a sad movie.
As an 80’s kid, I loved all of these! Great list and you had me laughing. One not on your list we loved was The Beastmaster 1982! The ferrets were so cute, but there is some brutal stuff going on there. I was 9 and my brother was 5 yrs old. We loved it so much we our parents allowed my brother to have a ferret because he wanted to be like Dar.
@@juliestl5737 I 1000000% agree on The Beastmaster being super creepy - the bird people that eat you are disturbing as can be! But I couldn't make the argument that the movie was actually made for kids lol
This unlocked a memory of a weird movie called Dungeon Master. My parents rented it for the family one night and were shocked at all the "sexiness" - I don't recall actual nudity, but it got quite steamy at times. We were all mortified and I don't think my parents let us watch the whole thing.
I did too LOL... I just cant imagine them making anything like these nowadays for kids -though they make plenty of stuff for kids that isnt really suitable for them, it is just different lol....the pit is a good call for sure
I would have loved to be in on the marketing for Never Ending Story. “Last year, Wolfgang Peterson showed us the horrors of war and the futility of loyalty with Das Boot. Now, he brings us something for ze kids.”
I would add Mr. Boogedy. Also, maybe not creepy but the car smashing scene in The Brave Little Toaster got me, the cars singing about how "Worthless" they are, and the hunter shots in The Fox and The Hound. But Return to OZ was a favorite of mine and Who Framed Roger Rabbit! 😊 What about the scorpion in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids? If you had included the '70s and '90s I'd say Watership Down (one of my favorites) and Raggedy Anne and Andy, The Rescuers, and from the '90s Witches, and Spaced Invaders.
I'm so glad that you mentioned it, The Black Cauldron was indeed very creepy. For me, Labyrinth is not creepy at all. It is my all time favourite movie, with at least 100 viewings. And, of course, Transformers was utterly devastating. But there are some you did not mention. The Dark Crystal, those Skeksis. Flight of the Dragons, that final conflict with the evil wizard... The Last Starfighter, the scene where the Beta Unit was still trying to "grow", amongst other scenes.
Temple of Doom was rated PG and came out in the 80s. The character shortround was created i suppose for kids to identify with. But that movie had bats, snakes, creepy crawlies, monkey brains, eyeball soup, blood drinking, mind control, child sacrifices in fiery pits with hearts being ripped out of their chests. How was this movie not Rated R? 😅
@AX5Terminator Temple of Doom was legitimately creepy - I thought about adding it but I can't make a good argument that it was created directly for kids...totally creepy though
@AVAPopCulture well they for sure had kids in mind. At least that's why I think they created the character ShortRound. But because it has so much dark scenes and death, we typically don't think it's a kids movie. Those crocs took many lives that day.
That movie terrified me as a kid! I still remember seeing that beating heart. Or the kid telling them "once you drink the blood, you no wake up from nightmare" or something like that.
Great video! Growing up in the 80s I've seen a lot of these, but I thought for sure The Dark Crystal would have been on your list. I watched this video with my 10 year old and she wants to watch some of these now lol
thank you! I just never got into The Dark Crystal...maybe saw it once when it came out but never revisited it so I didnt add it to my list because I dont pitch movies I am not familiar with but a lot of folks have mentioned it for sure!
Most of these are on a huge list I’ve been showing my kids. Two more to add: Fantastic Planet and Jack & the Witch. Not from the 80s but both creepy nightmare fuel!
I was thinking Neverending story right before you mentioned it Haha I was born in 1980... one movie that creeped me out was Indiana jones and the temple of doom. I was 5 when I saw tjat with the dude getting his heart ripped out.. nasty lol. Another one that was creepy was the princess bride and the ROUSs lol.. Great list bro!
When I was a child, I was easily scared by even slightly spooky things in kids' fantasy movies or fantasy comedies so I was scared by parts of the Gremlins, Labyrinth, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice. I would cover my eyes or freakout during certain scenes. Now I'm devouring horror movies! 😂
How about The 5000 fingers of Dr. T? I grew up in the 70s and 80s and this was on TV fairly regularly, although it was from the 1950s. It was super creepy though. It’s a film that has stuck with me my entire life. It’s about a child who falls asleep and dreams that his piano teacher kidnaps him to a world where him prisons children and they are forced to play 24 hours a day on the world‘s biggest piano. The kids wear hats with hands on the top that wave at you. Oh, and it’s a musical.
Great list! I hadn't thought of some of these, but they are creepy! As a kid I was only allowed to watch kids movies and no horror, so many of these were rented from the video store a number of times. The Watcher in the Woods (Disney, 1980) is pretty creepy as well. And the Princess Bride has some creepy.
As a kid, the creepiest part of Labyrinth was The Fire Gang, and their pulling their heads off. Legend totally kicks ass. Tim Curry was amazing as Darkness.
Funny to think that movie ratings haven’t always been around. Some of the stuff that was PG would never pass today! While we love Disney in our house, some of the “classics” have some hard scenes to watch. My daughter (who’s grown) will never watch a few of those again or will not watch certain parts. Looking back now, there is a lot my daughter watched I probably would think twice about letting my granddaughter watch. 😬
There was a movie I saw as a very young child that was geared toward kids that gave me nightmares. A knight on horse back gores a cyclops in the stomach with a lance AND a beautiful woman suddenly turns back into a hideous witch when a knight kisses her.
Huh, I never thought of Stand By Me as a movie for kids. It's *about* kids, but it's an adult thinking back on his childhood. It's a nostalgia movie by an adult, for other adults.
Except for Gremlins, you hit all my favorites. I’ve always thought that the 80s movies had gone back to how really dark the original faerytales were before they got Disneyfied. Much more interesting and exciting. I think you might add the original “The Witches” though it might be early 90s. Book by Roald Dahl.
This was a lot of fun! Dude, SO much creepy stuff in the flicks we grew up on and a great subject for a vid. Gen X, homie! Neverending Story is one of my all time favorites and I love Return to Oz. Transformers movie messed me up, not only because of Optimus Prime going down but they are just straight out killing off some of my favorite Autobots and Decepticons like they are red shirt extras in a Star Trek ep hahaha. I actually quit watching Transformers series after that lmao.
I'm 46 years old and when I get asked what I'm most afraid of, I say, "Nothing." They don't know I'm talking about The Nothing from The Neverending Story 🤣 the only thing that scares me more is Tar Zombie from Return of the Living Dead!
@@AVAPopCulture to add, I grew up watching scary movies with my dad & he knew how much The Nothing scared me so he has always messed with me about it & to this day, he tricks me into saying the word 'nothing' then I get "zapped" which means he makes a "zzzzzzzz" sound & taps them me with his finger to shock me 😂 that's our thing & no one else's! I freaking love my dad especially bc he never let me watch The Thing
I have another one for you. It was a British animated movie. About good rabbits and evil rabbits. Watership down very scary movie I saw in theater in the 80's as a kid.
Here's a deep cut for ya. The Peanut Butter Solution! It seems like no one else has ever heard of it. I saw it in the theater and had nightmares for weeks.
The Princess Bride sure had some scenes that could be pretty rough for kids. I was a morbid kid in the 80s, so I could take some rough stuff, BUT the horse scene in The Neverending Story fucked me up. I won't even lie. It felt like I lost my best friend lol
Also, I'm glad to hear you're getting the Neverending Story set. I was fortunate enough to order the set, but I felt so bad you couldn't get it that even I was trying to think of a way to help you. I'm glad to know the members helped out.
@@bmg5015 I really appreciate that man! yeah, an incredible channel member put $100 down on it to help me get it and I sold a 4k of Texas Chainsaw Massacre that got me $50 and a couple copies of my own movies that got me $50 more dollars, so I was able to grab it during my buying freeze
**remember** that this is a list of movies targeted and marketed towards Kids...AND I usually keep my lists to "Live Action" films unless otherwise noted BUT there are certainly some VERY creepy animated movies!!
One I noticed you didn’t mention. The Canterville Ghost with Sir John Gielgud and Alyssa Milano.
To me, Stand By Me is one of the most beautiful movies of all times, and, again, to me, I find it wholly appropriate for children - especially boys. It's a snapshot of a world lost. Late 1950s. Kids are feeling pressure from societal changes, growing up, pop culture of the time, and also have to find solace and dignity in one another because the rest of the world is either indifferent to their concerns or, as the older kids, hostile to them.
It opens with a reference to one of them, who, in spite of all the odds, made it only to die by being who he had always been, the protector. That role is played by River Phoenix and given his own story, it makes it more poignant and emotionally crushing. Corey Feldman, who would face his own painful realities in life, plays the son of a World War II vet who lost his mind coming home. Feldman was very protective of his dad and his legacy as much as an extension of himself as for his dad. In the fifties, kids were really like this.
It's a world that's wholly familiar to me because I lived in it, but it's also foreign to most people alive today. It's as though that world simply disappeared in the mists of time. We became the body by the tracks.
I've never really seen stand by me as anything other than a family friendly movie. Stephen king is known for horror but I think he shines (pun intended) when he writes coming of age stories. I think revival is one of his best stories despite never hearing anyone talking about it outside of the very last chapter and of all of the stories in hearts in Atlantis, low men in yellow coats is the stand out, so much so that they skipped the rest of the book for the movie.
Oh and lardass throwing up at the pie eating contest will never not be funny!
Watcher in the Woods. Old Bette Davis…Disney when they loved to scare kids. I still get creeped out and if I ever hear the name Karen I immediately think Nerak.
I think what was so great about kid’s Films & TV in both the 80’s & 90’s is that they never insulted the target audience’s intelligence unlike today where most are just more dumbed down with that short attention span style of media making
100% agree!!!!
Exactly!
Totally should’ve mentioned Little Monsters. Loved it, but a little creepy. Especially the way they died at the end.
that's a good call for sure!
I saw Return to Oz when I was 4 years old and I still maintain it's one of the scariest movies ever!
@@angtheintrovert I always remember the headless body lol
Dark Crystal actually made me sick and have nightmares for years. Also E.T.
Me too....ET scared the f outta me as a little kid. Like nothing else since has scared me as much as that demonic design of ET lmfao
Lol I love Dark Crystal
I live near the grand canyon of the south and we used to take day trips and go to the lookouts hike etc my best friend told me et lived up there and it took awhile for me to be comfortable there again. P.s. she got married there years later 😅
I have such a love/hate relationship with ET. That movie terrified me to the point that they put it on in after school daycare one time, when I was about 5 or 6, and I had a meltdown and climbed up into the big kids' loft and refused to come down. My grandma had to leave work and come pick me up bc neither of my parents could. But I still wanted to watch it and read the sequel book. I tried watching it again a couple of years ago. It's not as bad, and overall, it's actually kind of a sweet movie. But I still want to fight him.
@@Embatsky its prob the undertones of rape in Hollywood and Spielberg and Heather o Rourke and drew Barrymore. Look at puffy his fave guest is dicaprio. Boy wonder was over there raping trafficked girls.
The dip killing the shoe will stay with us all forever
100% absolutely brutal and scarring!!!!
Not all from the 80s but we watched these as well and could show up on a future list: Watership Down, Old Yeller, Plague Dogs, The Other, Salem's Lot (the 79 tv miniseries), Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973 tv movie).
I subscribed!
We were tough! We handled it! Not a “sawft” generation that’s for sure!!
Facts!
I agree. My daughter could absolutely handle a lot more as a child than her nieces can as young girls.
This is maybe the CREEPIEST list I have done when you think about how these movies were meant for kids lol!!! Pop that tape in, I got you, let's go do this!
You can’t ❤️ your own comment. That’s like triple stamping a double stamp! 😂
@gallynuts it is all about the algorithm man! Look it up! Lol
Anyone who thinks that THE MONSTER SQUAD is lame? No! YOU'RE the lame one. THE MONSTER SQUAD is cool AF!
agreed lol
Thank you for including Something Wicked This Way Comes 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 I was ready to comment if you hadn’t 😂
I called it,"IT", light. That's exactly what I thought when my son and I watched it, years ago. Probably shouldn't have done that.
Labyrinth had a totally different vibe for us Gen-X girls; we swooned over Jared and wanted to be her in the ballroom scene so badly! We related to her so much, as well as Lily in Legend (especially us goth-y girls). We heavily romanticized those two movies!
Losing Artex in the swamp, however, scarred me for life. The Last Unicorn was so weirdly scary I can't even explain why. And Return to Oz...you nailed that one. Thanks for the great video!
@@LeslieisintheImajica as a gen x boy, it just creeped me out lol...and the Artex thing was scarring 😆
@@LeslieisintheImajica and thank you 😊
Good list! I thought for once I’d own every one you mentioned. Got all but the last 2. I thought for sure you would mention The Dark Crystal. Some I would at least mention are Secret of Nimh, The Last Unicorn, The Watcher in the Woods & The Brave Little Toaster.
thank you! I usually always keep my lists to Live Action movies only BUT there were certainly some creepy kid's cartoon movies lol
@@AVAPopCulture animated movies could have a list of their own. 😂
@@nita409 they sure could! Even Bambi is kinda messed up
@@AVAPopCulture yes it is.
Me and my siblings grew up on all these films and honestly I love it. I love that the 80s and 90s weren't scared to do things differently and that we get such classics.
Labyrinth is honestly my favourite love the sound track and it introduces me to the amazing David Bowie and his music.
Stand by me is also a favourite it's one of those films that you can't help but watch.
Ok all of them are my favourite but those are the best.
I think if it wasn't for our dad we wouldn't have watched any of these ( I was born in 88 and siblings born in to the 90s) and I'm glad we did because movies know seem to sterile and bland they don't seem to hold a story.
All of these shaped how we grew up even if the Never ending Story did make us cry with Artex.
my kids were born in 2010 and 2012 and I have had them watch all these!!! gotta pass it on!
Return to Oz is so underrated. ABSOLUTELY A CLASSIC. BTW the artists for The Last Unicorn went on to do Nausicaa for Miyazaki and created Ghibli
The Last Unicorn is legit creepy to me too lol
@@AVAPopCulture i know you are a huge fan of Bava's Demon films...and I mentioned i produced hip hop before..you need to check out my 3 part song that are story rhymes inspired by Evil Dead, Demons, Dawn of the Dead and Fulci. Tons of references and samples. The track are called "Nuclear Cannibal Holocaust pt.1 2 3" by The Longfellow Project. I made the beats and rapped on it. If you ever need a score for a movie hit me up man, I would collaborate in a heartbeat. One of my hip hop projects (Vivid) has 34 million streams rn!
Neverending Story was super, as well as the book❣️
The lady in white is a creepy kids movie and perfect for the fall and Halloween season.
@vorhees2093 yes it is!!! And it is coming soon on another video lol
@@AVAPopCulturelooking forward to it
😂 Have you ever seen a dream walking, well I have. I haven't seen that movie in multiple decades but I still remember that song.
I forgot about that one. I watched it a lot when I was a kid in the 80s, but haven't seen it since.
@voegees2093 --- good one! The part where *****spoiler***** the kid is about to be chucked off the cliff was really intense for a kid's movie!
I know it is an animated movie, but dang! The brave little toaster! Nightmare juice! And disguised under such innocent childish animate style! Shivering!
LOL yes it is!
Yes! You mentioned The Brave Little Toaster too! I personally think that's the most nostalgic kids movie ever. It's actually about nostalgia and it's nostalgic. Lol.
@@benbelzer8303 I was so inconsolable when my mother threw away the old coffee maker... it felt like my first real bereavement!!!
@@sandralachance1424 That movie is like the show Hoarders. Everything is so sentimental. I loved the radio in it.
Very good list. One to add would be the 1985 claymation film The Adventures of Mark Twain. It's got some real messed up shit in it.
@kevinthomas7382 thanks man! I don't know if I have seen that one!
I loved that Mark Twain claymation! Very memorable.
When I was a kid in the 70s, the kid's movie that scared me the most in a theater was the original "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (1971) with Gene Wilder. It was based on a book by the British author Roald Dahl, and he must have liked scaring children with his novels. Some scenes were intense, such as the girl Violet who turned into a giant blueberry after eating the four-course meal chewing gum, and the ferry boat going through that scary, dark tunnel with all those hallucinogenic scenes on the tunnel walls.
In the 90s, Jim Henson's Workshop made another Roald Dahl novel into a movie called "The Witches." I am sure children would have been scared seeing the grand-high witch played by Anjelica Huston after she took off her normal-looking human mask from her head. She made a time-controlled potion that turned children into mice after they had eaten some chocolate. The special effects were perfect for its time. It's still a very good movie.
that one is definitely creepy!!!!
My 2nd grade teacher showed our class The Witches (this was like 35 years ago). To this day, I think about the scene where the little girl (who was the grandmother's classmates when she was a child) got taken by the Witches. The little girl showed up in a painting at her parents house. She aged and eventually disappeared from the painting (signifying she died). That is some creepy stuff.
The Boat Ride is probably the creepiest scene in any movie that was marketed/geared for children.
Pee wees big adventure. The large marge scene was nightmare inducing as a child.
Dont forget watership down. Terrifying
You forgot a little known film called "The Peanut Butter Solution". Easily the creepiest movie marketed to kids.
i was here to see if it was on the list
OMG YES
The Unico movies as well, oh and The Great Land Of Small with the Slime O thing 😂😂
You beat me to it! That movie is super creepy.
I talked about this movie for years and everyone thought I'd made it up till around 2019 and I saw it was on Tubi and I showed everyone I was NOT crazy
Time Bandits was one from my childhood
that's a good one! that one has an Arrow release too I beleive
@@AVAPopCulture I recently found an original DVD copy still sealed in its original wrapping
Totally agree with the list -The Last Unicorn belongs on there somewhere
@AJ21743 thanks! Yeah, there are some seriously creepy animated movies from the 80s but I usually keep the lists to "live action" so that's the only reason it isn't there
Something Wicked This Way Comes is among my favorite movies. The part with all the tarantulas creeped me out as a kid. And, at 48 years old, that part still creeps me out.
Too funny- I never thought about Goonies like that before but you are right! They would never let that stuff in a “kids movie” today! It’s still a family fav in my house.
@@RyetteJ-gk8hx that's because Goonies never say die!!
When my kids ask if they can watch a movie from back then, I tell them I have to watch it first to see if I will let them because that’s when PG actually meant ‘parental guidance’
This was a fun list! I’d probably have The Gate higher on mine. That movie scared the shit out of me when I was a kid lol.
Ah, my childhood, how I loved all these movies to bits😊. You forgot the Lost Boys, and Fire starter, though I was still very surprised you remembered the Last Unicorn and Secret of Nimh. It would have been nice if you mentioned Watership Down and Plague Dogs.
Watership Down and Plague Dogs!
Lost Boys is fantastic but I don't think that one is actually for kids. I had the VHS and it was rated R. This was in the 90s though so maybe they updated it and it was originally PG in the 80s?
@@suzybearheart530 yeah I think Lost Boys was rated R even in the 80s!
Watership Down was technically the '70s but it's one of my favorite animated films ever. Beautiful, yet very graphic.
I *HEART* The Plague Dogs. The movie is better than the book.
The Witches (1990 version) has some horrific scenes for a kids movie, I saw it when I was 8 years old and I didn't sleep well that night.
The women are creepy in that!!! The little girl disappears in the picture. 😮 I love how the grandma describes the telltale features of a witch! 😊
I forgot about Gremlins! Yep, parts of that I had a hard time watching as a child. I might have closed my eyes during a few parts. LOL. But I did like Gizmo.
@@MandoMandalorian-ds5qf who doesn't love Gizmo!! Lol
Rodger rabbit definitely freaks me out, The neverending story scared me also HOWEVER The return to Oz was absolutely terrifying and gave me nightmares. Even as a kid in the 80s, I was like what the hell!
LOL the same! and when I was making this video I realized I hadnt seen Return to Oz in a very long time and still didnt feel the need to re-watch it - I still remember how it creeped me out way more than remembering the movie itself lol
Mombi scared me the most
Willy wonka still gives me nightmares
The Witches in 1990 was a fun creepy movie, and Silver bullet made 1984 was also a great Kids Move. Werewolves.
I thought about Silver Bullet but it was rated R when it came out so I couldnt make the arguement that it was for kids
I agree with all these. Disney made another film that was bizarre, but I liked the atmosphere - 1980’s “The Watcher in the Woods”.
From 1976, “Burnt Offerings”, though I’m not that it was targeted at kids.
Also not targeted at kids, but “The Changeling” was enjoyable
I have never seen Burnt Offerings beleive it or not!! I need to see that one.... WAtcher in the Woods is damn good call on creepy!
Monster Squad was pretty much the Goonies with Universal Studios monsters, and had the Wolfman get kicked in the nards.
Wolfman's got nards!
Lmfao
Bruh , both movies had the same mom Mary Ellen Trainor, RIP.
Return to OZ is nightmare fuel. A messed up movie if you pay attention. They go t away with alot of stuff in the 80's in PG rated movies that they couldn't get away with now. Poltergeist anyone??
I agree Poltergeist is super scary and creepy BUT remember that this is a list of movies targeted for Kids... I dont think I can make an arguement that Poltergeist was marketed or targeted as a kid's movie! Return to Oz is messed up for sure!
Genx baby even our kid movies were badass...😂
@@jameslitke451 yep!!! Lol
Wow I was born in 81 and i totally loved all these movies. My kids watched em too. The monster squad was one of my favorites. Think i was 8 or 9 first time I saw it. Wolf mans got nards!!!
Anyone ever see Watcher In the Woods
Love Monster Squad and I got my nine year old into it too! It was a good film to show before introducing them to the actual classic B&W Universal monster movies!
@beyondz55 it js a favorite and I love the use of the classic monsters
“Monster Squad” was definitely a gateway to horror picture for childhood me. And surprisingly gory, even for 80s PG-13. I’m surprised the scene of the Wolfman being blown up and the aftermath didn’t get it an R rating. Then, something I didn’t pick up on until I watched as an adult, Scary German Guy is a Holocaust survivor. Out of the blue, suddenly there’s a closeup of his concentration camp number tattooed on his arm. That flick took a lot of dark turns.
Return to Oz and Something Wicked this way Comes were the 1st two that came to mind... great list
so many people forget about Something Wicked this Way Comes!!!
Lol @ that turtle voice impression from Neverending Story. Haha love it. Actually sounded pretty close! I have the German 4K with the extra scenes and alternate music. Love it so much
@@beyondz55 lol I hear that voice in my head so clearly 🤣
I would LOVE to see the German version.
@@suzybearheart530 for fans of the film you need to watch it. The only caveat is the opening theme song (Limhal) is not used at all in the German version. So the tone is entirely different from the jump and tbh fits the storytelling better, considering Bastian has lost his mother, the somber tone is more suited for it and less "spielberg". And the score is amazing too, everyone loves the Limhal song (me included) but that score is incredible!
@beyondz55 I'm a fan of the book and have a feeling the German film might be a little more true to the book even though the movie only covers the first part. It's a shame a proper full adaptation has never been done. It would be amazing as a mini series like Game of Thrones.
@@suzybearheart530 Agreed, the book is incredible and that sequel film never did the second half of the book justice. I love the desert of many colors chapter in the book....absolutely amazing.
The Witches 1990 is a very creepy kids movie
The 80's had some creepy movies for kids. The thing is. When I was growing up. Most of these movies didn't scare me. My mom let me watch horror movies. My dad didn't like anything scary. The Never Ending Story. Is a sad movie.
Watership Down! A cartoon about rabbits that NO CHILD should watch! I'm scarred from it!
I have actually not seen that one!
@@AVAPopCulture I highly recommend it -- and Plague Dogs.
Same director as Plague Dogs 😢
As an 80’s kid, I loved all of these! Great list and you had me laughing. One not on your list we loved was The Beastmaster 1982! The ferrets were so cute, but there is some brutal stuff going on there. I was 9 and my brother was 5 yrs old. We loved it so much we our parents allowed my brother to have a ferret because he wanted to be like Dar.
@@juliestl5737 I 1000000% agree on The Beastmaster being super creepy - the bird people that eat you are disturbing as can be! But I couldn't make the argument that the movie was actually made for kids lol
@@AVAPopCulture That’s true, probably not for kids lol. I don’t think my parents actually watched it and assumed it was 😂
@@juliestl5737 LOL and I think about Rip Torn's character throwing kids into the fire pit too!!! so messd up lol
This unlocked a memory of a weird movie called Dungeon Master. My parents rented it for the family one night and were shocked at all the "sexiness" - I don't recall actual nudity, but it got quite steamy at times. We were all mortified and I don't think my parents let us watch the whole thing.
@@suzybearheart530 haha! Yeah, I know that movie. Not for kids either ! 😂
Growing up, I loved those creepy movies. Some other creepy movies I remember watching as a child were, The Pit, Monster In The Closet.
I did too LOL... I just cant imagine them making anything like these nowadays for kids -though they make plenty of stuff for kids that isnt really suitable for them, it is just different lol....the pit is a good call for sure
I would have loved to be in on the marketing for Never Ending Story. “Last year, Wolfgang Peterson showed us the horrors of war and the futility of loyalty with Das Boot. Now, he brings us something for ze kids.”
I would add Mr. Boogedy. Also, maybe not creepy but the car smashing scene in The Brave Little Toaster got me, the cars singing about how "Worthless" they are, and the hunter shots in The Fox and The Hound. But Return to OZ was a favorite of mine and Who Framed Roger Rabbit! 😊 What about the scorpion in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids? If you had included the '70s and '90s I'd say Watership Down (one of my favorites) and Raggedy Anne and Andy, The Rescuers, and from the '90s Witches, and Spaced Invaders.
I'm so glad that you mentioned it, The Black Cauldron was indeed very creepy. For me, Labyrinth is not creepy at all. It is my all time favourite movie, with at least 100 viewings.
And, of course, Transformers was utterly devastating. But there are some you did not mention.
The Dark Crystal, those Skeksis.
Flight of the Dragons, that final conflict with the evil wizard...
The Last Starfighter, the scene where the Beta Unit was still trying to "grow", amongst other scenes.
I like your Dog Soldiers shirt!
Dog Soldiers is my favorite werewolf movie.
Something Wicked This Way Comes is my favorite book and I love the movie!
Neverending Story was super! Loved the book, too❣️
Monster squad was one of my favorites, and it still holds up pretty much today, the special effects and make up!
agreed! I think it holds up very well and the wolfman is actually underrated in my opinion! always loved that one
Temple of Doom was rated PG and came out in the 80s. The character shortround was created i suppose for kids to identify with. But that movie had bats, snakes, creepy crawlies, monkey brains, eyeball soup, blood drinking, mind control, child sacrifices in fiery pits with hearts being ripped out of their chests. How was this movie not Rated R? 😅
@AX5Terminator Temple of Doom was legitimately creepy - I thought about adding it but I can't make a good argument that it was created directly for kids...totally creepy though
The 80's you could get away with shit that wouldn't slide today
@AVAPopCulture well they for sure had kids in mind. At least that's why I think they created the character ShortRound. But because it has so much dark scenes and death, we typically don't think it's a kids movie. Those crocs took many lives that day.
That movie terrified me as a kid! I still remember seeing that beating heart. Or the kid telling them "once you drink the blood, you no wake up from nightmare" or something like that.
@@AX5Terminator, I believe they created the rating system because of temple of doom, if I remember correctly.
Great video! Growing up in the 80s I've seen a lot of these, but I thought for sure The Dark Crystal would have been on your list. I watched this video with my 10 year old and she wants to watch some of these now lol
thank you! I just never got into The Dark Crystal...maybe saw it once when it came out but never revisited it so I didnt add it to my list because I dont pitch movies I am not familiar with but a lot of folks have mentioned it for sure!
Most of these are on a huge list I’ve been showing my kids. Two more to add: Fantastic Planet and Jack & the Witch. Not from the 80s but both creepy nightmare fuel!
oh, my kids have grown up watching them too lol
Oh! And not scary in a spooky way, but scary in a deeply disturbing way - Plague Dogs 😢
Fantastic video! The Dark Crystal was very creepy.
thank you!! and yeah, it could easily be on here but I havent seen it since I was a kid!
I was thinking Neverending story right before you mentioned it Haha
I was born in 1980... one movie that creeped me out was Indiana jones and the temple of doom. I was 5 when I saw tjat with the dude getting his heart ripped out.. nasty lol. Another one that was creepy was the princess bride and the ROUSs lol.. Great list bro!
@dnad8034 thank you! We come from the same time lol and Temple of Doom is very creepy and kinda GROSS lol...
Great video! I remember all of these, as well & they ARE all very creepy movies!! I agree with all your picks!!
Thank you!! Glad you had fun with it!! To me they are all creepy too but I love them lol
When I was a child, I was easily scared by even slightly spooky things in kids' fantasy movies or fantasy comedies so I was scared by parts of the Gremlins, Labyrinth, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice. I would cover my eyes or freakout during certain scenes. Now I'm devouring horror movies! 😂
I often was very scared of them as a kid BUT I'd want to watch them anyway lol and now I love them!!
@@AVAPopCultureI love them too ❤
How about The 5000 fingers of Dr. T? I grew up in the 70s and 80s and this was on TV fairly regularly, although it was from the 1950s. It was super creepy though. It’s a film that has stuck with me my entire life. It’s about a child who falls asleep and dreams that his piano teacher kidnaps him to a world where him prisons children and they are forced to play 24 hours a day on the world‘s biggest piano. The kids wear hats with hands on the top that wave at you. Oh, and it’s a musical.
I cant say I have ever heard of that one!
Great list! I hadn't thought of some of these, but they are creepy! As a kid I was only allowed to watch kids movies and no horror, so many of these were rented from the video store a number of times. The Watcher in the Woods (Disney, 1980) is pretty creepy as well. And the Princess Bride has some creepy.
thank you!! yeah, I think it was just different...people felt kids could handle more and that certainly is not the case nowadays lol
Love your choices. Classic! Going to subscribe 😀
Yay! thank you! I appreciate that! I'm always going to lean fun old school lol...glad you had enough fun to hang around and talk movies with me!
I loved watching all of these when I was growing up in the 80’s
me too! and I still watch them a lot
Awesome list, I've seen all but 3 of them.❤
thank you! sounds like you have 3-movie homework lol
As a kid, the creepiest part of Labyrinth was The Fire Gang, and their pulling their heads off.
Legend totally kicks ass. Tim Curry was amazing as Darkness.
Funny to think that movie ratings haven’t always been around. Some of the stuff that was PG would never pass today! While we love Disney in our house, some of the “classics” have some hard scenes to watch. My daughter (who’s grown) will never watch a few of those again or will not watch certain parts. Looking back now, there is a lot my daughter watched I probably would think twice about letting my granddaughter watch. 😬
There was a movie I saw as a very young child that was geared toward kids that gave me nightmares. A knight on horse back gores a cyclops in the stomach with a lance AND a beautiful woman suddenly turns back into a hideous witch when a knight kisses her.
Huh, I never thought of Stand By Me as a movie for kids. It's *about* kids, but it's an adult thinking back on his childhood. It's a nostalgia movie by an adult, for other adults.
Except for Gremlins, you hit all my favorites. I’ve always thought that the 80s movies had gone back to how really dark the original faerytales were before they got Disneyfied. Much more interesting and exciting. I think you might add the original “The Witches” though it might be early 90s. Book by Roald Dahl.
Return To Oz and Garbage Pail Kids really stick out in my mind as some of the creepiest films not just of the 80’s, but of all time.
Don't forget Goonies starts out with one of the bad guys breaking out of jail by fake hanging lol
I totally forgot about that, and then I fired it up for my 3 year old (because he's super into pirates and treasure lately) and was like OOOPS!!!
I ran out of the theater SCREAMING when the damn trees started walking, I was like 4....never ending nightmare fuel was the second one
I adored every one of those movies except Stand By Me. Return to Oz is so awesome
Ah, the monster squad. I haven't seei it in literal decades. Such a good movie.
Growing up in the 80's with the movies was where it was at. Enjoyed the video.
thank you! and yes it was a great time to grow up!
Man, I’ve never even heard of Return to Oz, need to check that out. Your movie narration is next level today 😅
It isn't anything like the first film no sing songs or happy shit it is very dark and disturbing especially The Wheelers and Mombi
@@stickywicked447 imagine wizard of oz in creepy hell land lol
Great list, I would agree with all of them but I would probably add Dark Crystal.
We were hardcore in the eighties...
"Monster Squad" was awesome!
a classic!
I was watching for the First time saying to myself you better put the Gate on the list ! Then boom you just got a new SUBSCRIBER! 😅
ha! you know it had to be there !!! thanks for deciding to hang around!!!
The Dark Crystal is infinitely more creepy than Labyrinth.
This was a lot of fun! Dude, SO much creepy stuff in the flicks we grew up on and a great subject for a vid. Gen X, homie! Neverending Story is one of my all time favorites and I love Return to Oz. Transformers movie messed me up, not only because of Optimus Prime going down but they are just straight out killing off some of my favorite Autobots and Decepticons like they are red shirt extras in a Star Trek ep hahaha. I actually quit watching Transformers series after that lmao.
Gen X baby!!!! I remember being so crushed by the Transformers movie like WTF!?!? lol
I'm 46 years old and when I get asked what I'm most afraid of, I say, "Nothing." They don't know I'm talking about The Nothing from The Neverending Story 🤣 the only thing that scares me more is Tar Zombie from Return of the Living Dead!
hahahah TARMAN!!!! and yep, the nothing is absolute!
@@AVAPopCulture to add, I grew up watching scary movies with my dad & he knew how much The Nothing scared me so he has always messed with me about it & to this day, he tricks me into saying the word 'nothing' then I get "zapped" which means he makes a "zzzzzzzz" sound & taps them me with his finger to shock me 😂 that's our thing & no one else's! I freaking love my dad especially bc he never let me watch The Thing
I have another one for you. It was a British animated movie. About good rabbits and evil rabbits. Watership down very scary movie I saw in theater in the 80's as a kid.
Here's a deep cut for ya. The Peanut Butter Solution! It seems like no one else has ever heard of it. I saw it in the theater and had nightmares for weeks.
almost picked that one up on Severin's sale...havent seen it in forever
Return to Oz is a good choice for #1, but The Dark Crystal deserves a place on the list -- creepier than Labyrinth, IMO.
The lady in red needs to be on this list! The little girls ghost repeatedly Re-enacts her own death. Very disturbing kids movie.
The Princess Bride sure had some scenes that could be pretty rough for kids. I was a morbid kid in the 80s, so I could take some rough stuff, BUT the horse scene in The Neverending Story fucked me up. I won't even lie. It felt like I lost my best friend lol
I think most everyone aged 40ish to maybe 50 was scarred by the Artex scene in Neverending story lol
RIGHT!
Also, I'm glad to hear you're getting the Neverending Story set. I was fortunate enough to order the set, but I felt so bad you couldn't get it that even I was trying to think of a way to help you. I'm glad to know the members helped out.
@@bmg5015 I really appreciate that man! yeah, an incredible channel member put $100 down on it to help me get it and I sold a 4k of Texas Chainsaw Massacre that got me $50 and a couple copies of my own movies that got me $50 more dollars, so I was able to grab it during my buying freeze
The Watcher in the Woods - still gives me the creeps as an adult! It has to be the original one with Betty Davis, not the remake.
@@suzybearheart530 there have been a bunch of comments on that one! I need to go re-watch it!
@AVAPopCulture The DVD has a hilarious alternate ending so make sure you watch both to compare 😂
Kids these days would be much better off living through the 80's than now! Kids are so overprotected it really hurts them when they're older!
I agree!
"Child of Glass" is a pretty creepy old Disney movie. Especially for a 7 year old.
I only vaguely recall seeing that one...I may need to re-watch
Loved the list! You missed a good one, TROLL that movie was dark too!