From little kids to teenagers: Scary movies for every stage of family movie night

SALT LAKE CITY — There are a lot of lists out there recommending scary movies you can watch with the family. But most haven't figured out that "family" means a lot of different things.

If your kids are 5 and 7, your definition of scary might involve a friendly ghost, a talking skeleton, and maybe a villain who raises his voice a little too loudly.

If your kids are 15 and 17, you may need something considerably more terrifying to get their attention. Or just because you're a mean parent like me and love scaring them to death, just a little bit.

We're not all at the same stage. My brother-in-law has a 10-year-old, 8-, and 5-year-old twins. I have ages 16, 13, and 10. Since our 10-year-old is the youngest, she's been exposed to more than she probably should be, but it is what it is. Since his 10-year-old is the oldest, she can't handle the same scary things as mine. So, the list for his family and the list for mine would be very different.

Some have little kids running around the house. Some have elementary-age kids who are ready to be a little scared. Some have tweens insisting they can handle a "real" scary movie. And some have teenagers who are ready for horror, but maybe not everything the genre has to offer.

What it comes down to is that all of us, no matter which age group our family falls into, want a great Halloween movie night.

So, instead of one giant list of supposedly family-friendly scary movies, I've compiled some recommendations for different stages of the family.

Obviously, these aren't hard-and-fast rules. You know your kids better than I do. For example, my 10-year-old loved "Knives Out" and my 19-year-old niece would likely be sleeping in mom and dad's room until senior year if she saw it right now. One isn't right. One isn't wrong. It's just that we're all different, so make the best choice for your unique family.

Use your judgment, check the content, and adjust accordingly.

Little kids

"Coco"

I know "Coco" isn't a Halloween movie, but it has skeletons, the Land of the Dead and a kid accidentally crossing over into the afterlife. I'm counting it.

More importantly, it's a beautiful movie about family, memory and the people who came before us. There are a few mildly spooky moments, but Pixar wraps everything in so much color, humor, music, and heart that younger kids can get a taste of the supernatural without being genuinely frightened.

And good luck making it through "Remember Me" without getting a little misty-eyed.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas"

Is it a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? Yes. And I'm tired of answering that question.

The stop-motion classic has monsters, skeletons, ghosts, and plenty of wonderfully creepy imagery, but Halloween Town also has a playfulness that keeps things from getting too frightening.

Plus, watching it in October gives you a perfectly reasonable excuse to watch it again in December.

"Orion and the Dark"

Being afraid of the dark is practically a childhood rite of passage, which makes "Orion and the Dark" a particularly fun choice for younger kids.

Orion is afraid of just about everything, but his biggest fear is the dark. Then Dark himself shows up and takes Orion on an adventure designed to prove that maybe the thing he's terrified of isn't quite as scary as he imagined.

It's funny, imaginative, and deals with childhood fears without talking down to kids.

"Mickey's House of Villains"

Sometimes you don't need to scare your kids. You just need Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and a bunch of Disney villains.

"Mickey's House of Villains" is an easy Halloween choice for younger kids because it has all the trappings of the holiday without much real fear.

I'm in my 40s and, honestly, this is a bit of a guilty pleasure. When my kiddos were little, they LOVED this. Sure, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is better, but I thought I might throw something new your way.

Elementary age

"Goosebumps"

"Goosebumps" brings R.L. Stine's creations to life as monsters escape from his books and begin terrorizing a town.

That sounds considerably scarier than the movie actually is. Jack Black is hilarious and the monsters are more fun than horrifying.

For kids who have started asking for something "actually scary," this is a pretty good place to begin.

"Cruella"

No, "Cruella" isn't horror either.

But Halloween doesn't have to be exclusively about horror.

Emma Stone's take on the famous Disney villain has elaborate costumes and just enough wickedness to feel right at home in October. It's especially good for families with kids who aren't interested in ghosts or monsters but still want something that feels a little different from the usual family movie.

"Hocus Pocus" and "Hocus Pocus 2"

By now, "Hocus Pocus" has basically become required Halloween viewing in a lot of homes.

The Sanderson sisters are witches who want to steal the life force of children, which sounds horrifying when you actually write it out like that. Thankfully, the sisters are so ridiculous and entertaining that the movie stays firmly on the fun side of scary.

The sequel doesn't have the nostalgia of the original, but it offers another easy night with the Sanderson sisters.

"Haunted Mansion"

Disney has taken a couple of swings at turning its famous theme park attraction into a movie, but the 2023 version is the better Halloween-night option.

There's an actual haunted house, plenty of ghosts, and a few moments designed to make younger viewers jump. But there's also a lot of comedy and a surprisingly heartfelt story underneath everything.

It's a nice middle ground for kids who want ghosts but aren't quite ready for those ghosts to follow them into their dreams.

Tweens

"Coraline"

I don't know exactly how "Coraline" manages to be both a children's movie and more unsettling than a lot of movies made specifically for adults, but it pulls it off.

The stop-motion animation is gorgeous and the story is so imaginative. Be warned, however, those button eyes are going to stick with you.

This is a great gateway into darker storytelling because "Coraline" isn't interested in gore or cheap shocks. It creates an atmosphere that just feels slightly wrong.

"Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark"

Remember those books with the illustrations that seemed specifically designed to traumatize an entire generation of children?

Well, they made a movie.

"Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" follows a group of teenagers who discover a book whose terrifying stories begin coming to life.

This is definitely a step up from "Goosebumps." The creatures are disturbing, there are legitimate scares, and younger or more sensitive kids may want to wait.

But for tweens who are genuinely ready to dip their toes into horror, this feels like a natural progression.

"The Sixth Sense"

If your kids think scary movies are just monsters jumping out from behind doors, "The Sixth Sense" is a great way to show them how much more the genre can do.

There are frightening images and some genuinely creepy sequences, but the reason "The Sixth Sense" has endured isn't because it's scary. It's because we care about the characters.

Teens and older teens

"A Quiet Place"

I love this movie. "A Quiet Place" is a wholly unique experience and it has plenty of tension, scares, and an emotional center you can't help but fall in love with.

This isn't just about surviving monsters. It's about parents desperately trying to protect their children in a world where even the smallest mistake can have devastating consequences.

"A Quiet Place" is a brilliant example of horror being about much more than the thing chasing you.

"10 Cloverfield Lane"

If your teenager tells you monsters don't scare them anymore, put them in a bunker with John Goodman.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays a woman who wakes up after a car accident to discover she's being held in an underground bunker by a man who insists something terrible has happened outside.

Is he telling the truth? Is he dangerous? Is the outside world really worse than staying underground with him?

That's the fun of "10 Cloverfield Lane."

It's tense, claustrophobic, and built around uncertainty rather than gore.

"Happy Death Day"

Horror can be fun and "Happy Death Day" totally understands that.

The movie takes the basic idea of "Groundhog Day" and turns it into a slasher comedy, with a college student repeatedly reliving the day she is murdered.

That sounds grim, but the movie has a playful energy, solid laughs and scares along the way.

For teens interested in slasher movies but not necessarily ready for the nastier corners of that genre, this is a fun entry point.

"Insidious"

All right.

You wanted scary. "Insidious" is where this list stops playing around.

A family begins experiencing terrifying supernatural events after their son mysteriously falls into a coma, and director James Wan has absolutely no problem trying to make you jump out of your seat.

There are ghosts, creepy imagery, things lurking where they shouldn't be, and at least one moment that has probably caused thousands of people to look over their shoulder afterward.

This one is definitely for older teens who genuinely want to be scared.

And if they're awake half the night afterward, remind them that this was their idea.

"The Mothman Prophecies"

Not every scary movie needs something jumping into the frame.

Sometimes you just want a movie that makes you feel uncomfortable for two hours.

"The Mothman Prophecies" stars Richard Gere as a reporter investigating a series of strange events in a small West Virginia town. The deeper he gets, the harder it becomes to explain what is happening.

This is slower and more psychological than most of the other movies on this list. Its strength is the feeling that something isn't right, even when you can't quite explain why.

For older teens who have moved beyond simply wanting jump scares, this is a great introduction to a different kind of horror.

Find the scary movie that works for your family

Part of the fun of Halloween is being scared together. But "scary" changes as kids get older.

The trick isn't finding the definitive family Halloween movie, but finding the right one for your family right now.

You know your kids and what scares them, what they'll laugh at, and what might have them standing next to your bed at 2 a.m.

Choose wisely, and maybe, just in case, keep a light on in the hallway.

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