Horror
Horror movie reviews
Coraline Review
Coraline is about an eleven year old girl whose family had just moved from Michigan to Oregon, where it’s rainy and gloomy. Coraline is continuously being brushed off by her parents, who both work from home. While investigating their new house, Coraline discovers a door that leads to a world in which she gets everything she wants. Her parents in this new world play games with her, make great meals, and give her plenty of attention. The only upsetting thing about her new world is that the “other mom and dad,” have black buttons instead of eyes. However she still continues to make return visits, until her “other mom” reveals her true self.
Rating: Two out of five buckets
Release Date: July 21, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Moderate
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Talking Points:
The 3D affects are not overdone, shows brilliant colors and life of the new world she goes into.
The movie takes on the theme of ” The grass is always greener on the other side.” Which is demonstrated to be not true. In her new world she gets everything she wants, but it’s shown to be empty. Coraline learns to appreciate reality.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Sexual comments are made.
- Characters wear really short shorts, and other revealing outfits.
Violent Content: Moderate
- The movie is scary. It includes dark, creepy and spooky scenes throughout the movie. They show visions of monsters and ghosts of murdered children.
- I read that the director said, “We’re hoping for an edgy PG. We’re trying to send a signal with the trailer that it’s scary and only for brave children of any age.” It’s not for little kids under 8.”
Crude or Profane Language: Mild
- “Creep,” dingbats,” and “wusspuss” are some of the name-calling that’s said in the film.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- Coraline’s mom comments on her husband being drunk.
If you like scary movies, you may lie this. I would recommend it for children 10 and above.
ParaNorman Review
Norman is a different type of kid; he’s popular, however not with the living. Norman is popular with zombies and ghosts.He not only speaks to dead people and understands them; he’s also very nice to them. The townspeople of Blithe Hollow think that Norman is a strange kid who continuously speaks to himself. His parents don’t understand him, and his teenage sister thinks he’s weird. Then one day Norman is accosted by his smelly, hairy uncle. His uncle tells him that it’s up to Norman to stop a witch’s curse which was conjured up to 300 years ago. If he doesn’t stop this curse, the dead will rise from their graves. Now it’s up to Norman to become a hero and save his town from this ancient curse. ParaNorman is an animated, comedic horror film for kids.
Rating: 3 and 1/2 buckets
Release Date: November 27, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 8+
Sexual Content: Mild
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
The premise of this film is a little creepy; a boy speaking to ghosts and zombies; however it has a very clear and powerful message to be kind to one another. It highlights the fact that if you’re upset and angry with someone you will be miserable – don’t let your anger consume you and get the best of you. The film also focuses on the problems of bullying, acceptance of others, and most importantly forgiveness!!!
Norman’s dead grandpa says to him, “There’s nothing wrong with being scared, Norman, as long as you don’t let it change who you are.”
Norman tells a witch that it’s okay to be different, that differences make us who we are, and gives us the power to help others. Great parent/child conversation.
This film may scare younger kids as Norman has many encounters with ghosts. Having said that, many of the scenes are portrayed as silly rather than gory. Kids were laughing throughout the film.
Norman first sees the ghost of his uncle in a toilet bowl; this was a very strange scene.
Sexual Content: Mild
- Norman’s sister flirts with a big muscular guy.
- Another character tries to impress girls by break dancing; he also talks about an adult video store.
- Norman tells his parents that Courtney (Norman’s sister) hides pictures of the high school quarterback in her underwear drawer.
Violent Content: Excessive
- The zombies are scary looking and rotting away. Ones ear falls off.
- There are battles with the zombies and the living, we see the zombie’s body parts flying all over the place.
- Villagers assault the zombies, and try to burn down city hall.
- Aggie (a witch) has dangerous powers. She caused wooden thorns to pop up from the ground, almost impaling Norman.
- We see Norman watching a movie, in the movie there is a zombie attacking a women.
- As Norman tries to retrieve a book from his uncle’s corpse, he repeatedly knocks the dead man’s head on a table.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- Words such as “a–,” and “sucks,” are said, and one character says “the f-word.”
- Name calling such as, “diarrhea mouth,” “stupid,” “fatty,” and “weirdo,” are used. Character’s also say “boobs.”
Drugs and Alcohol Content: None
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Overall this is an entertaining film. Parents need to be aware of the strange premise, which may scare kids, and also the moderate profane language. Depending on the child, I’d say this is appropriate for kids ages 8 and up.
The Roommate Review
This is the story about Sara (Minka Kelly), a young ambitious college freshman, with hopes to be a major fashion designer. Things start out well for Sara in her first year of college; she’s likes her classes, she’s got a nice, cute boyfriend, and a roommate she likes to hang out with. When Sara gradually comes to realize that her roommate is very possessive and creepy, it’s too late. Now Sara and her friends try to survive the evil threats from Rebecca.
Rating: One out of five buckets
Release Date: May 17, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group:
Sexual Content: Excessive
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language:
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Talking Points:
This is a psychotic, disturbing movie, and a situation that could really happen, which makes it even more disturbing.
I interviewed four 16 year old girls at the end of the movie. They thought it was disturbing, but they liked it. They said it was one of the better horror films.
Leighton Meester(from Gossip Girls) who plays Rebecca, the creepy roommate, does an excellent job. I had nightmares about her! Her portrayal of a creepy, possessive teenage girl is amazing. I was impressed, especially after just seeing her in Country Strong, playing a sweet country singer.
Sexual Content: Excessive
Besides the creepy element of this movie, there are a lot of sexual scenes, that parents may feel uncomfortable with. To name a few:
- Sara and her boyfriend take off their clothes, it’s implied they’ve slept together.
- Rebecca (creepy roommate), poses as Sara, and has phone sex with Sara’s ex-boyfriend. This scene is interwoven with Sara and her boyfriend’s first sexual encounter.
Violent/Disturbing Content: Excessive
The disturbing element of the movie is what really bothered me. There are many intense, uncomfortable scenes.
- Rebecca attacks a girl in the shower.
- Rebecca stabs Sara’s ex boyfriend to death.
- The part that disturbed me the most was when Rebecca wanted to trick Sara into thinking she had been raped and beaten. So Rebecca punches herself in the face, and cuts her stomach with a knife.
- Rebecca pierces her own ears with Sara’s earrings.
- She kills their cat by putting him in the dryer.
Before seeing this movie I asked some girls, ages 12 to 14 years old, if they wanted to see this movie. They wanted to see it because of the familiar actors such as Leighten Meester from Gossip Girls and Minka Kelly from 500 Days of Summer. This is not a movie for young teens, for that matter it’s not a movie for anyone. Overall this was a very disturbing movie, one that kids should not see. I couldn’t wait for the torture to end.
Frankenweenie Review
“A dog is man’s best friend,” that was the case for a young boy named Victor. The day his dog, Sparky, ran into traffic and died, was the day that changed Victor’s life. Feeling sad and depressed, Victor came up with the idea to bring his best friend back to life by an experiment he learned in science. Victor succeeded in resurrecting his dog, however he didn’t succeed in keeping it a secret. When Victor’s friends and family discovered that Sparky was alive, chaos began as many other kids tried the same experiment on several deceased animals. Frankenweenie is based on Tim Burton’s original 30 minute short film from 1984, however I read the film was never released because it was too scary for kids.
Rating: 2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: January 8, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG
Best Age Group: 10+
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Excessive and Disturbing
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
Will Kids Like It? No
Talking Points:
This is a dark creepy movie, though at times very heartwarming. When Victor’s dog dies, his mom tells him, “When you lose someone you love, you never really lose them. They just move into a very special place in you heart.” A great parent/child discussion.
The idea of bringing a pet back to life is a confusing concept for kids.
This film was in black and white, which made it even more disturbing.
Sexual Content: None
Violent Content: Excessive
- It’s disturbing when Victor resurrects Sparky. The dog is shocked, it reminded me of charging a car battery, though it was a cute dog with bolts screwed in his head.
- Kids found or dug up animals and brought them back to life. These animals became scary, destructive creatures.
- A turtle becomes a monster and crushes cars and smashes buildings.
- A rat becomes a large beast that claws people.
- A cat, holding a dead bat in his mouth, is transformed into a creepy flying creature that hisses at people.
Crude or Profane Language: None
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Mild
- We see animals drinking from a keg of beer.
Will Kids Like It? No
- It wasn’t a suspenseful, scary movie..it was an old time horror film.
It’s Halloween season and your kids may want to see a scary, gory film; however with the subject matter of resurrecting your deceased, beloved pet, might not be the movie for your child. I recommend Hotel Transylvania, especially for younger kids who want to see a good Halloween flick.
Dark Shadows Review
I bet Barnabas wished his ex’s lived in Texas.It’s the late 1700’s where we first meet Barnabas Collins, an extremely handsome and wealthy man. So when Barnabas breaks up with his girlfriend, Angelique, for another women, his life dramatically changes… for the worse. Angelique, who happens to be a witch, is so furious with Barnabas that she not only kills Barnabas’ parents and his new girlfriend, she even turns poor Barnabas into a vampire and puts him in a coffin; hoping he’ll suffer for eternity. Two hundred years later, Barnabas is set free, and returns to his ancestral home , where he’s desperately needed to protect the family from his evil ex-girlfriend. Based on a television series, Dark Shadows has it all; romance, comedy, sci-fi and horror, but not the right movie for kids.
Rating: 2 out of 5 buckets
Release Date: October 2, 2012
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 14+
Sexual Content: Excessive
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drug and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids Like It? Yes
Talking Points:
Barnabas’ father tells him that “family is the only real wealth.” It’s quite apparent that Barnabas truly cares for his family. He tries to restore the family fortune and good name.
Barnabas is a vampire, and by nature he is thirsty for human blood, therefore he kills many people throughout the film. However Barnabas is a good guy, he truly cares for a young disturbed boy, who sees visions of his deceased mother. Barnabas comforts him and becomes an important influence in his life.
Though I liked the movie, and found it to be strange, but entertaining, I strongly feel this is not for kids. Parents need to be aware of the excessive violence and sexual contents in the film. Depending on the child, I would say that this is appropriate for kids ages 14 and up.
Sexual Content: Excessive
- Barnabas and Angelique are shown having a sexual encounter. They roll around all over the place, clawing each other, and destroying everything around them.
- It’s implied that a couple is having oral sex, we see the women’s head moving towards the man’s waist.
- Angelique takes off her panties and puts them on Barnabas’ face.
- Two character’s engage in sex, while another character guards the door.
- Angelique and Barnabas discuss all the places they’ve made love.
- Angelique forces Barnabas to press his hand on her chest, while she reaches down to touch his privates.
Violent Content: Excessive
- Barnabas kills many innocent people.
- We see Barnabas hit one man’s head against a pipe, and he bites another man’s neck.
- We hear several victims scream.
- There’s a scene where statues come to life and attack people.
- We see a child taken into an insane asylum; she is treated with shock therapy and is shown screaming in pain. This was disturbing to me, and will most likely disturb kids.
- Barnabas grabs a man by his neck and lifts him up.
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
- The “sh-t,” “a–,” ‘b–ch,” “b–tard,” “h–l,” and “d–n,” are all used.
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
- Characters smoke marijuana, drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes.
Overall this film has many inappropriate parts that parents need to be aware of before sending their kids. If your pre-teen wants to see this film, and you’re okay with it, I recommend going with them, but be ready to cover their eyes.