Last night I went and saw the new Sam Raimi film, "Drag Me to Hell". Admittedly, I was pleased with the movie. It delivered on the jumps and suspense, as well as the trademark Raimi macabre humor. It is a modern film with a classic horror feel, and it was well worth the $11 and change.
However, my purpose in writing this is not to review a film, but rather to call into question a parental choice. Am I a parent? No. However there are certain things that, foolishly, I thought would be considered "common" sense (evidently no such thing exists).
Based on the title alone, I need to ask; would you ever consider bringing a small child to this film?
I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing most parents would say a hearty no. A small child has no place in a dark theater showcasing a horror film.
However, it was made clear last night that there are parents out there who lack any manner of sense. For, sitting two seats away from me and my fiance, was a young family. The youngest member being no older than four and requiring a booster seat to ensure the highest quality viewing experience.
Four!
When I was four, the scariest film I was allowed to watch was Snow White (the witch at the end was just plain creepy). I couldn't imagine my parents, or many parents at all, dragging their child to a very clearly marketed Horror. But no, there she sat with her parents on either side, swinging her legs through the previews, waiting for Drag Me to Hell to begin.
By the halfway point, she was sobbing. Her parents gave her a quick hug and then continued to watch the film. They didn't leave to calm her down, they made no effort to cover her ears or eyes (not that in a cinema it would make much difference). They sat and enjoyed themselves, while their daughter sat terrified.
The film made me jump. I'm a horror junkie and I was spooked. But I know the difference between a good show and reality. At four, most kids still think that they can fly. To take a small child to this kind of film is neglectful of the emotional needs of the child, in my opinion.
If her parents so desperately wanted to see the 10:30 pm show, they could have hired a sitter. And if no sitter was available, then tough luck: Stay home. You have a kid, your priorities are very different than what they were before you made the choice to raise a child.
Would you take a child to go see a scary movie?
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Comments (68)
Maybe not, but despite our answers here the reality is, it's their kid, not anyone's here. It's not our job to tell parents how to raise their children, if they think it's okay then really no one can argue.
That being said, I probably wouldn't do that. However, I was watching things like Freddie Kruger when I was two, yes two. Did I have nightmares? I don't know, I can't remember. Am I scarred for life? Absolutely not. Do I like horror movies? Hell, yes. Do I get frightened of any horror or 'scary' movies? No. While my friends jump and have to leave while watching horror movies I watch intensely hoping that just once I'll get freaked out... but it never happens.
Worst case scenario when I was a kid, I was creeped out until my brother assured me Wolverine could totally, any day of the week, kick Freddie Kruger's butt. And I was fine.
I don't know about saying they're bad parents for taking their child to see the movie. I wouldn't take my 4 year old to see anything rated over PG, and even then I'd probably watch it before I let him watch it. BUT when the child is terrified and sobbing through the movie and they don't take her out? I would consider that emotional abuse. I took my son out of Tarzan, for Heaven's sake, because he was scared of the leopard.
=[ parents today... society keeps on going downhill
Wow, I definitely wouldn't do that.
My sister works at a theater where this kind of thing happened all the time so they no longer allow any children under 13 in the theater after 9pm on week days and 1030 on weekends...period. When I went to see the Dark Knight at like 11pm there was a family with several small children under the age of 5...not only was I concerned for their hearing they were screaming, crying, and squirmming the whole time. Eventually the family was asked to leave.
Whether or not it is a bad parenting call or if the kids have been watching horror films since birth the child was crying and obviously in distress any good parent would react to that by comforting the child and LEAVING...not continuing to watch the movie. I am surprised they let the child in at all and I feel that the movie theater should have made a better judgement if the parents could not. I am 21 and am terrified of horror films ( I have an overly vivid imagination) so I could not imagine being 4 and sitting through a movie like that...get a baby sitter or don't go wait for it to hit the red box.
that poor little girl :(
wow that parenting makes me mad!! what the heck?? i'm not a parent, but I would never take a 4 year old child to see a horror movie. ... not to mention I can barely watch horror movies mySELF... but that's really besides the point lol. To just stay in there while your child is crying/sobbing? I mean, either you have some crazy skills/practice in neglecting the needs of others (..but your child's?), or you just don't understand... that you can't take a small child to watch a movie like that.
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No, I would not.
Those parents are horrible!!! Some younger kids aren't much for the fairytale thing and mentally, they like horror films. I get that. But this kid OBVIOUSLY didn't, and the parents shouldn't have just given her a hug and gone back to the movie. They should have LEFT. They should have taken their daughter out of the theater, consoled her and taken her home and hoped she didn't have nightmares for weeks. i was one of those kids, i vividly remember what that was like. my parents wouldn't let me watch horror films because they terrified me when i was little. my older brother, on the other hand, decided when i was 4 to take me with him to a friends house to watch the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. i STILL remember the nightmares i had, and i'm turning 19.
Now, i'm a horror movie buff, despite the fact that they usually scare me half to death. And speaking as a mother, i will NEVER let my child see a movie like that until i know they can handle it. my husband and i have the advantage of having family who love to watch the kid, so we could go out to a thing like that. But if we're unable to get a sitter of some kind (be it grandma or a paid sitter), we STAY HOME. If nothing else, it doesn't take long for a movie to come out on video. They could have waited and rented it to watch while their child was sleeping. You don't have to see movies while they're in theaters after all.
@kbrogan@xanga - If the kid enjoys that kind of movie, that's one thing. i've seen kids less scared at a scary movie than i was, so i know there are ones out there, and taking them to a movie like this is fine in my opinion. But this little girl was obviously terrified, and her parents didn't do anything. A hug and then turning back to the movie is not enough to make a little girl feel like its okay.
I've been watching horror movies, since that age and I'm so happy that I have been.
It's not that big of a deal. If they get scared, it's a lesson to teach them that there's nothing to worry about.
that's disgusting!!
my son is almost two years old. he's probably seen some stuff that he really shouldn't at his age. as i've become a parent i'm not as strict as i thought i would be but i would NEVER take him to see that or any other horror film!!
the other day i had the tv on and i change the channel because a trailer for Drag Me To Hell came on. i was worried about the two seconds my son saw before i raced to the remote. i was upset that the commercial had aired in the mid afternoon. (though i don't remember what i was watching, it could have been a talk show which isn't geared towards a child audience) needless to say i put it on the treehouse channel which has shows for toddlers.
we have a PVR, so we're able to record the shows we want to watch and then we watch them after our son's gone to bed.
we're movie junkies, i love horror flicks. but my son will NOT be exposed to it that young.
i'm excited to take my son to his first movie when he's a little bit older. i hope that there are some good pixar movies coming out. even with that, i think i'll see a movie first and THEN bring him to see it. even some of the children movies are scary. Monster House would have scared the crap out of me when i was a kid and Igor had it's moments.
i think if i saw a young child in a movie like that i would ask the parents to take her out of the theater. i'd even offer to go out myself and wait with her in the lobby. (of course, another bad move on the parents for trusting a stranger with their young child)
i just find that extremely disgusting.
@babykittytara@xanga - well said. i completely agree.
i think a good point to make is how clearly upset the child was. like you said in your next comment, if the child seems ok with it then that's one thing.
but even with that. for myself, sometimes i'm fine when i watch the movie, then when i'm laying in bed by myself.... THAT'S when i get scared....
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wasn't the movie rated r? i didn't think kids could enter the theatre if they were that young and the rating was higher than pg