With spooky season just around the corner, the list of horror movies to watch can be long and overwhelming. Of killer clowns, evil spirits or even a villain Winnie the Pooh – there’s a type of horror for everyone this Halloween. A big trick used in horror movies is the use of subversion – whereby something perceived as innocent, like a doll, suddenly becomes a murderous villain who will stop at nothing to kill it (we’ve all seen chuckyand we don’t want to play).
A version of this in horror movies is the use of children as antagonists, often evil at the hands of another being. There’s nothing scarier than a sweet little kid turning into a demented soul – and these kid-based horror movies are nature’s best form of birth control! Of Orphan at The ExorcistHere are ten horror movies where kids go wrong.
“Orphan” (2009)
Orphan is one of the best-known psychological horror thrillers of the 2000s, featuring a very bad kid. After Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John (Pierre Sarsgaard) miscarry their third child Jessica, they decide to fill the void by adopting a child – who happens to be nine-year-old Estonian girl Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman).
Seemingly the perfect child, Esther seduces her adoptive father, while Kate, her son Daniel (Jimmy Bennett) and her daughter Max (Engineer Ariana) be suspicious of circumstances that involve him in any way. When Kate begins to uncover more of Esther’s past, Esther’s true self is revealed. Orphan is a must-see horror film with a (sort of) child antagonist.
“The Omen” (1976)
The ultimate story of an evil child, the omen is a supernatural horror film that follows the repercussions of Robert (Gregory Peck) secretly adopting orphaned child Damien (Harvey Spencer Stephens) according to his wife Kathy (Lee Remick) loses her child after birth.
After a series of unfortunate events surrounding the Thorn family, Robert ventures to understand the origins of his misbehaving child alongside photographer Keith (David Warner) in Rome, after having been warned by Father Brennan (Patrick Troughton) that Damien may not be all human. Preoccupied with the notion of the Antichrist, the film has a sense of urgency to save the world from Damien’s life-threatening actions, where the omen stands out in the 70s trend of evil horror.
“Rosemary’s Baby” (1968)
In this 1968 film, evil reigns from conception, where pregnant Rosemary (mia farrow) gradually becomes thinner and sicker, suffering from weight loss and severe abdominal pain. After moving to an apartment in New York, Rosemary and her husband Guy (John Cassavetes) soon become close to their neighbors Minnie (Ruth Gordon) and Roman (Sidney Blacker); who become increasingly bossy when Rosemary reveals her pregnancy.
Insisting that she see Dr. Sapirstein (Ralph Bellamy), Rosemary suspects there is more to her neighbors’ involvement in her pregnancy. Notably one of the first films revolving around an evil child, Rosemary’s baby inspired the plethora of similar horror films.
‘Case 39’ (2009)
Case 39 is a supernatural horror film which, like Orphanfollows a child welcomed by a new family, only for traumatic things to happen to his loved ones.
Emily social worker (Renee Zellweger) takes on a case beyond what she expects when she abuses ten-year-old Lilith (Jodelle Ferland) temporarily moves in with her after her parents (CallumKeith Rennie and Kerry O’Malley) attempt to incinerate it in their furnace. When the vulnerable girl shows disturbing links to murders, Emily realizes her case notes don’t tell the whole story.
“The Corn Children” (1984)
Stephen King is well, the king, of horror films, and his 1984 child-centered film, Corn Children, is as exciting as expected. The supernatural slasher is set in a small country town, where a murderous gang of children have made adults disappear under the instructions of a mysterious deity, known as “He Who Walks Behind the Rows”, in the hope for a successful harvest.
Corn Children is a horror film with not only one killer child, but many of them involved in a corn-obsessed cult led by a misfortune-wielding Isaac (John Franklin) and his bloodthirsty sidekick Malachi (Courtney Earnings).
“The Prodigy” (2019)
supernatural horror movie, The Prodigy, focuses on an exceptionally intelligent child, who exhibits disturbed behaviors beyond comprehension. Miles (Jackson Robert Scott) is a young boy who is both above average and backward; worry his mother Sarah (Taylor Schilling) when his behavior changes on his eighth birthday.
Consulting Psychiatrist Arthur (Colm Feore), who has a particular interest in reincarnation, Sarah delves into the twisted story of who Miles really became.
“The Good Son” (1993)
In the good sonHenry (Macaulay Culkin) is far from being a good boy when his cousin Mark (Elijah Wood) moved there after the death of his mother. The Alone at home The star works as a sadistic child with an unsettling fascination with death, showing his younger cousin his darker side as the two explore the city.
Stephen King’s Scariest Movies, Ranked From Scary To Downright Terrifying
Mark soon realizes that his cousin has more than meets the eye, but he is unable to convince his Aunt Susan (Wendy Crewson) and Uncle Wallace (Daniel Hugues Kelly) that their son is dangerous, until Henry takes his terror too far. While not particularly scary in the traditional sense, the good son is a downright scary film, thanks to the innocent-looking child actors who find themselves in serious situations.
‘Pet sematary’ (2019)
Dead for good, or death is useless: the thriller that is Stephen King’s second remake Pet sematary warns to venture beyond the cemetery. When the emergency doctor Louis (Jason Clark) moves his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz), and the Ellie children (Throw Laurence) and gauge (Hugo and Lucas Lavoie) in Ludlow, they did not expect to live in a grim environment.
Yet not far from their home is a cemetery that houses dead pets; and beyond, an old cemetery. Louis learns that sometimes death is better, but that may be a lesson learned too late.
‘Village of the Damned’ (1960)
As Corn Children, Village of the Damned features a bizarre brood of kids who stick together to make trouble. The sci-fi horror film is set in the British village of Midwich, which experiences a supernatural phenomenon when the entire village suddenly falls unconscious.
Months later, it is discovered that all women of childbearing age are pregnant and give birth at the same time. The new inhabitants of Midwich are strikingly similar: with platinum blonde hair and cold eyes, they age well beyond the natural rate of maturity and communicate with each other telepathically. However, the creeps continue as children learn to read minds and force actions on their victims against their free will.
“The Exorcist” (1973)
*The* movie every spooky viewer should see, The Exorcist remains a quintessential horror film, featuring a controversial but effective role of a child actor Linda Blair. The basis of the film seems pretty basic: young girl Regan (Blair) becomes progressively more violent, and her dismayed mother Chris (Ellen Burstyn) sends him for medical tests to get to the root of his problems. Father Karras (Jason Miller) gets involved and offers an exorcism to rid Regan of the evil spirit inhabiting her body.
Yet it’s the finer details and special effects that separate The Exorcist other horror movies; and the controversial and cheeky scenes Linda Blair films that give her the creeps like no other. Known as the film that started the evil children movie trend, The Exorcist features the scariest, meanest kid on the block.
