Did you ever see a movie as a child that really messed you up? Did it leave you with an irrational fear of wardrobes, quicksand or bunnies? Oh god, did you ever see BAMBI?
Members of Reddit have been making a list of the films that destroyed their childhood – the movies that made them hide behind the couch, left them terrified of water or plunged them into deep existential torment at age 6.
If you’ve ever needed therapy because some bright spark thought Simba watching his father die was OK, then this list is for you… (warning: you WILL have flashbacks):
1. Gremlins (1984)
“When I was like 6 or 7 my big sister, who would have been about 11 at the time, showed me Gremlins. I wouldn’t go near our pet guinea pig for weeks thinking it was going to turn into a Gremlin.”
“My step sister watched the Gremlims 2 movie when she was eleven, and had such bad night-mares that she had to see a psychologist for months. Whenever she was being a bitch, I’d rasp the word ‘Greeeemliiiinss!’ She’s not my step-sister any more.”
2. The Neverending Story (1984)
“Watching Artax drown in the mud from losing hope and giving into The Nothing…that’s some heavy shit to put on a kid’s shoulders.”
“The Artax scene was bad…but when Atreyu is walking through the cave and seeing the murals of everything that had happened, then gets to a picture of green eyes and fangs in the darkness..Only to hear a growl, turn around and realize he’s living that scene? Do you want to paralyse children with fear? Because that’s how you paralyse children with fear.”
3. The Witches (1990)
“I still remember Anjelica Houston peeling off her “face” to reveal her real self… That movie was pretty disturbing at 4 years old.”
“You know the movie of the Roald Dahl book? There should be a warning on the cover saying ‘even though this says its a child’s movie it should not be viewed by anyone under the age of 21.’ Although even now it still scares the crap out of me.”
4. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
“Turns out letting a 5 year old watch a screaming man have his still beating heart ripped out of his chest by Indian Satan before he’s dipped shrieking into boiling lava isn’t the best idea.”
“I watched that movie at about the same age, then got convinced the elderly Indian couple who lived down the road were out to get me.”
5. Watership Down (1978)
“My dad brought it home from Blockbuster when I was about 5 thinking an animated movie about rabbits would be a good kids movie for me. It’s one of the most fucked up movies I’ve ever seen. To this day rabbits still give me the creeps.
Top Comments
Poltergeist... the tree part and the bodies coming out of the ground.
One of the Goosebumps movies gave me nightmares from age 5 to 10. Still refuse to go near dolls that even slightly resemble them. Also, The Jungle Book scene in which the snake "hypnotizes" the boy with his eyes... Still have not finished the movie and I first tried to watch it almost 20 years ago.
War of the Worlds also gave me nightmares but I guess that it isn't a kid's movie.