Now that I’m a parent with two girls, monitoring what they watch on TV can be tricky. Bad dreams can make EVERYONE cranky from loss of sleep, especially when you’re on bedside night watch patrol. It got me thinking about the movies that scared me as a kid, enough to remember them with amazing clarity even now. So, here’s a list of the 21 most traumatizing kids films from the 80’s. If you cut your teeth on flicks like The Goonies and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, this list is for you. Feel free to add on any movies I may have left out, or comments on your memories from the ones included. (I’ve tagged a few of my friends in the age range who I thought would appreciate this post. If I didn’t tag you, it was probably just an oversight.)
THE 21 MOST MEMORABLE TRAUMATIZING MOMENTS FROM 80’S KIDS FILMS
1. The White Queen’s transformation in Alice Through the Looking Glass.
This trippy TV movie, based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland books, took a creepy and unexpected turn when the batty White Queen (Carol Channing) pricks her finger on her broach, prompting a concerned Alice to ask her if she’s OK. The White Queen answers in a disturbing, mumbling voice, “Betttter, much vettttter,” before morphing into a sheep.
2. The leech scene in Stand by Me.
OK, so this wasn’t a kid’s movie — it was rated R, after all — but its sweet coming-of-age theme made it a staple for many ’80s kids. This scene in the swamp, where Gordie finds a leech in his underpants, was every boy’s nightmare.
3. The first glimpse of the Skeksis in The Dark Crystal.
These reptilian bird creatures were nightmare inducing.
4. Sykes’ death on the Brooklyn Bridge in Oliver & Company.
Not only was his death extremely violent – especially for a Disney film – but, because of the film’s modern-day setting, also completely plausible.
5. Stripes’ death in Gremlins.
This seriously might be one of the most grotesque deaths on film…ever.
6. Everything about the Horned King in The Black Cauldron.
While Maleficent may be Disney’s greatest villian, (and my Halloween costume as a sophomore in college) she’s certainly isn’t the scariest; that honor goes to the Horned King.
7. The scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when Mola Ram sacrifices his victim by ripping out his still-beating heart.
Worse yet, his victim continued to live as he was lowered into molten lava. The eery chant from the cursed hoarde of slaves all during this scene still gives me goose bumps.
8. When the Fratellis try to chop Chunk’s hand off in a blender in The Goonies.
Seriously, what kid didn’t have a deep fear of having their hand cut off by a blender or kitcheb garbage disposal?
9. The scene in The Adventures of Mark Twain where Satan shows the children how easy it is for him to destroy human life.
Satan’s calm, eerie voice claiming “people are of no value” and his clay stop motion animation face mask only makes the scene that much more disturbing.
10. Optimus Prime’s death in Transformers: The Movie.
The movie that taught 80’s kids everywhere that even heroes can die. Plus he left with some heavy final words:
“Until that day…till all are one..” instant tears.
11. The scene in Return to Oz where a headless Princess Mombi chases after Dorothy.
If you think Fairuza Balk grew into her creepiness during her “The Craft” performance, you’d be wrong. This entire movie is creepy and traumatizing, from Dorothy (Balk) being taken to the asylum, to the creepy Wheelers (the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz were nothing compared to those Wheelers!). But the scene that probably made you pee in your neon pants is when Dorothy accidentally awakens a headless sleeping Mombi while trying to retrieve her Powder Life. And, to add to the horror of it all, Mombi’s collection of stolen heads start screaming in unison.
12. Large Marge in Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.
This scene was so unexpected in this otherwise lighthearted film. When my youngest daughter watched it for the first time, I vaguely recall diving and tackling her in hopes of protecting her young eyes from the gruesome scene. She then of course demanded to rewind it so she could see it, and it barely fazed her. I believe she was more traumatized by my actions than the truth of Large Marge’s death.
13. The death of Littlefoot’s mother in The Land Before Time.
Littlefoot’s mother makes the ultimate sacrifice protecting him and Cera from an attack by a Sharptooth. Her last words are immortalized in many minds…”I’ll be with you, even if you can’t see me.” The death of patriarch Mufasa in The Lion King years later in film didn’t illicit half as many wails of despair as this scene.
14. E.T. dying in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Everything leading up to this scene is traumatizing, from E.T.’s sickly body being discovered facedown in the river, to Elliot and E.T. lying together dying on the bathroom floor, to the government raid on the house. But the scene that really left an impression on us: seeing E.T. whisper a final “Be Good…” and then flatline as Elliot screams out to him. Just heartbreaking. Even though Drew Barrymore got all the child acting points for this film, little Elliot (actor Henry Thomas) can be proud of his performance.
15. The scene where Artax drowns in the Swamps of Sadness in The NeverEnding Story.
Yes the scenes with the Gmork were scary as crap, but this scene stands out not only for being deeply traumatic, but also extremely depressing. The Equine actor playing Artax deserved an Oscar win for that. His eyes had hopeless defeat in them like few human actors can pull off even today.
16. Judge Doom’s reveal in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
If Judge Doom’s bulging red eyes weren’t enough to scare you, then his accompanying high-pitched banshee squeal probably did. I was shocked when I learned this villian was played by the same actor (Christopher Lloyd, I salute you) who also portrayed the beloved Doc Brown in the Back To The Future Series. As the Doc would say, “Great Scott!”
17. The back story of how the evil wooden doll “Lord Kuruku” evolved in the second full length Anime cartoon film titled Unico In The Island Of Magic.
The evil Kuruku was creepy enough with his huge bulging eyes (which managed to be bulbuous and beady all at once) and the nails-on-chalkboard voice. But his rage over being mistreated then tossed aside by his one time owner made us all give a little more respect and a bit of paranoia to our own seldom-used toys.
18. The scene where Mr. Boogedy appears in Mr. Boogedy.
Mr. Boogedy’s horrifying face was as scary as anything in a real horror movie.
19. The baby-napping scenes with the goblins in Labyrinth.
These gruesome monsters managed to out-creep even the sight of David Bowie in his blue spandex pants and conspicuous bulge.
20. Will Halloway watches himself get guillotined in Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Yes, this happened in a kids film. IN A DISNEY KIDS FILM. If you didn’t remember the book from your mandatory school summer reading list, you definately did after cheating and watching the movie instead.
21. The clown doll scene in the Poltergeist.
Scary clowns are cliche for a reason. Although this isn’t a kids film, it was rated PG (this was before the PG-13 rating was created) and it was shown almost non-stop on HBO, making it very likely that kids caught multiple views of it. While the whole film is creepy, this traumatic scene stands out above all. Just a friendly reminder that, yes, there IS in fact something lurking under your bed, waiting for it’s moment of revenge.
Sweet dreams!
angelaburkevoellm 