Won't Somebody Think of the Children?

[Laslo Hollyfeld]

Not long ago, the IMAX Super Screen theater near my house had a midnight screening of Alien. Being a huge fan of *two* films from that series, and having never seen it on the big screen, my wife and I naturally went.

Now, as everyone knows, Alien is one of the classic sci-fi/horror films of all time. With the blood, "gotcha" moments, and general creepiness, it would seem a no-brainer that young kids ought to be left at home. Right?

Imagine my surprise to see a mom and dad leading in their three kids, ranging in age from around six or seven all the way down to one young enough to still wear diapers! Remember--this is Alien...midnight... super screen... the freakin' monster is three stories tall, for cryin' out loud!

While the film itself was great, the experience as a whole was tarnished by the fact that these poor kids ended up getting severely traumatized--at least, that's the way it sounded by the way their sobs filled the theater. Even worse was the fact that the parents didn't seem to care.

C'mon people... common sense! We're all supposed to have it!

[The Movie Mark]

Reminds me of one of my old, ingenious articles: When Ratings Mean Nothing. Check it out:

www.themoviemark.com/wwwp/youngkids.asp

It seems to be a trend that'll never end. When I saw Team America there was a 10-year-old sitting two seats down from me. It was one of the most uncomfortable movie-going experiences I've ever suffered through.

[MsCali]

Some kids can handle those movies, but when they are obviously not dealing with it well, it's time to leave the theater NOT IGNORE THEIR CRYING!!!

On the other hand, Mr. Cali's sister won't let her 5 year old see SW:Ep3. He's seen all the other movies and LOVES Star Wars, so he is heartbroken. There's nothing worse there than there was in LOTR (which he was allowed to watch), but at least she is monitoring what her kids watch.

[niko]

When I was little, around five or six, I saw the first Chucky movie. I was so scared that I threw my "My Buddy" doll in the closet. I can also remember going and seeing the first Candyman movie when it came out. I was scared for awhile. Then as I got older I found out that almost everything in movies are fake. I've seen some of the movies that use to scare me and I was like, I was afraid of that. The mind plays very bad tricks on us.

[flipmoot]

I'm trying to imagine what it would be like to have seen a movie like Alien at the age of 8 or so... I did see Walt Disney's The Black Caldron, which gave me nightmares for almost a year... and that's a friggin' cartoon!
Unbelievable...

[MrShade]

When we went to the screening of Land of the Dead on Monday night they were making parents sign consent forms for anyone under 18. There were a couple of 16 year olds in front of this who had to wait on their mom to fill out the forms. The lady taking the tickets actually asked me if I was over 18 (I turn 30 in October) and apparently carded Stephanie. As we are sitting there wondering why they are requiring forms for this movie a parent walks in with 2 four year olds and an 8 year old. While the movie wasn't scary for adults, I would have been horrified at 4 years old watching zombies eat people.

The first scary movie I remember seeing was Nightmare on Elm Street when I was 10. We watched it at home and I think I got about an hour of sleep that night. I think it took a week for me to get back to regular sleeping habits.

One of the scariest moments of my life came at the hands of Freddy Krueger. I guess I was about 14 and was watching TV late on a Saturday night. I nodded off during the Freddy's Nightmares TV series. I awoke to Freddy Krueger on the TV saying "I'm coming to get you in Memphis!" (which is where I live). I was still half asleep and almost jumped out of my chair. I quickly realized it was a local commercial.

[ntm7885]

The first scary movie I saw was Probably The Evil Dead. Its not scary now. But when your that age its really scary.

[flipmoot]

Funny how the frase "scary movie" changes over time. When I was 11 I saw Inner Space with Dennis Quaid and I was horrofied. Nightmares for weeks. When I was older I saw it again and found out it's actually a comedy... Kinda the same goes for Terminator 2 when I was 15. Been seeing killer robots everywhere for months.

So I really don't understand why oh why somebody would take their four year old to see Land of the Dead on the big screen. Maybe they like to get up during the night to go and grab their childeren from under the bed... Strange.

[ntm7885]

So I really don't understand why oh why somebody would take their four year old to see Land of the Dead on the big screen.

And youd think permission forms would be a hint.

[MsCali]

The first scary movie I saw was Scream 2...I was in college.

I still can't sleep with all the lights off.

[ntm7885]

I went on this trip with a bunch of people last week, I ended up staying in a room witha guy that slept with his light on. We fought over that quite a bit.

[spiderlou]

I was sitting in a theater during a late showing of "Hostage." It was stadium seating. By the time half of the movie was over. A baby, probably less than three months old, started crying. And not the annoying for no reason kind of crying. It was the "I'm tired, take me home and put me to bed" crying. You could hear it in the way the child sounded that he/she was tired and probably even a little hungry. But the parents stayed there with the baby till the very end. Their child's welfare meant nothing until Bruce Willis got his fake family (except his real daughter) back.

[tangentgirl]

Okay... if your kid is crying then you need to take them out of the theatre.

I will say in the parents defense... that it could be they went to a midnight showing thinking the kids would fall asleep. I am ( was and avid moviegoer, before I went back to school and am now dirt poor).

Anyhoo.... If there are movies out you want to see then sometimes it's hard on parents. I personally will probably be the type of parent who will have to get used to seeing movies out on video instead of the theatre. I know that my dad was NOT this type of parent. He took my brother w/ him to see Nightmare on Elm St. and my brother was traumatized.

I can tell you that I saw Alien when it came out in the theater. I'm not sure how old I was then, but it had to have been young.
I love that movie though and I don't feel I've been traumatized by my dad taking me to see movies of all kinds as a kid. My mom did make me leave to go buy candy during a sex scene in American Werewolf in London. I loved that movie too... quite funny.

Anyway... I see your point and concur, I think. lol/smile.
Again... just depends. My neice's first movie was Kill Bill... she was a mere baby and slept through most of it. I don't think she will be emotionally scarred. She is three now and would not be allowed to see it today.

okay... only one other thing to add... How was Alien on IMAX???

[Laslo Hollyfeld]

Tangentgirl... where the blankety blankety blank blank have you been??? Sheesh... it was getting so quiet around here that someone would post and you'd hear it echo three websites away. Nice to have you back. Is it going to be a more regular occurence?

Alien on the IMAX screen was every bit as cool as you'd imagine. And, the thing that movie shows is that at some point int he future, clothing styles from the 70's will be back in fashion... so, that's good...I guess.

[tangentgirl]

lol/smile.... I'm old, but I'm not that old... smile.

I don't think I'll be able to fit into my gr-animals (sp?) or my superwoman underoo's ... as I was still a kid in the 70's. (Although... the latter outfit might be hot).

smile. I will indeed try to make it a more regular occurrence.