So, I was watching The Ring last night, and I started thinking about all of the creepy kids from horror movies over the years, and just how effective it is to drop a spooky little moppet into your movie to freak people out. The Ring has not only Samara the angry ghost girl down the well who crawls out of your TV and kills your sorry behind; it also has the seriously creepy solemn little boy with the dark circles who can somehow communicate with the scary ghost girl. This becomes even more problematic in the sequel. Anytime you have a kid in a horror movie, especially if they have big eyes and are wise beyond their years, you know that trouble is afoot. Kids can be creepier than any axe-wielding psycho killer could dream of being.
Here are some other eerie little kids that make horror movies spooky.
Carol Ann in Poltergeist. How many years later, and "They're here" is still instantly identifiable as her line.
The little back from the dead boy, Gage, from Pet Sematary. It's not a great movie, but when that kid comes back from the dead full of murderous intent, he is certainly effective.
Rhoda from The Bad Seed. Have you seen this 1956 movie? Because I'm telling you, the psychopathic blonde pigtailed angel is still scary as hell.
Damien from The Omen. When your dad is Satan, you really can't help yourself.
Regan from The Exorcist. She seems like a perfectly sweet kid when she's not possessed by a demon, right?
The Children of the Corn from. . . The Children of the Corn. Isaac had some serious creepy mojo under that big old Amish hat.
The spooky twin brothers, Niles and Holland, from The Other. I first saw this movie when I was thirteen, and thought it was the coolest movie ever. Still shocking. Give it a go.
Karen, little girl gone Mommy eating zombie in Night of the Living Dead. That scene makes me flinch no matter how many times I watch the movie.
The Kids from Village of the Damned and the kids from The Brood. Similar hordes of demonic death children, here to wreak havoc with a body count.
The Shining Twins. I'm not a big fan of the movie, but these little girls saying, "Come play with us, Danny. . . forever. . . and ever. . . and ever" remains one of the creepiest scenes in movie history.
Who did I miss?
Oh here you be! The Ring scared more pants off me than all the other scary movies I've ever seen put together. Seriously - my pants would get scared off, I'd go to put on another pair and they'd just fling themselves off my legs as soon as I pulled them up. It was that freaking scary.
ReplyDeleteThat said the twins from the Shining are definitely in my top ten of people I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley.
Kids ARE freaking creepy in scary movies!
ReplyDeleteI have to say though, the movie that creeped me out the most was The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Even typing that gave me shivers.
It's a good thing I read this post in the morning because I have all day to recover before I have to go to sleep- I'm going to have nightmares!!
ReplyDeleteEven though it was a pretty bad movie I still remember that kid from pet semetary saying, "now i want to play with you Mommy."