My 80s dad: Alien, Aliens, Terminator, The Thing, The Fly, Leviathan, World at War, Jaws…

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msnowxs@reddit

Mine: Twin Peaks 😅 (while it aired and we gathered round the telly to watch cozy firewood and Killer BOB)

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BSugaHi@reddit

I saw T2 in the theater with my parents... I was 8.

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Animal40160@reddit

Lol.😆 Well, of course! And you guys turned out fine....

Sorta

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The first movie I saw in a theater was The Lost Boys. I was four or five, but once it came out on Beta/VHS, I watched it on repeat. That said, I had no clue what was going on; I just liked the vampires, frog brothers, and the music. Also, dad was only 19 when he had me, so that didn't help.

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TheDukeofArgyll@reddit

Predator and Total Recall waaaay to young

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InkFiend341986@reddit

I was definitely like 11 or 12 when I saw Se7en for the first time. My dad and brother are my heroes lol.

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Itchy-Noise341@reddit

Pink floyd The Wall when I was like 7.

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BUNNIES_ARE_FOOD@reddit

I saw Alien, Aliens, multiple Friday the 13ths, Nightmare on Elm St, and god knows what else all before the age of 9. 😂

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Dirt_Downtown@reddit

I saw Robocop at 7 and it took me 30 years to be able to watch the scene where the bad guys kill Murphy. Nightmare fuel for a kid that age.

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Designer-Travel4785@reddit

I grew up watching Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm St. 😆

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Fresh-Toilet-Soup@reddit

I plan on showing my 4 year old this movie soon. I don't really see the problem with it, it's not too graphically violent or gorey.

I saw it when I was a kid and it didn't scare me or anything.

Is there a problem I am missing?

Input appreciated.

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Datsunoffroad@reddit

4 years old me in “Raiders of the lost ark”. Geez 🙄

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emjay144@reddit

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Abject_Elevator5461@reddit

A buddy of mine ran a movie theater when the South Park movie came out and he said there were tons of parents who unwittingly took little kids to that movie because they thought it was for kids.

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Aggravating-Alarm-16@reddit

Im amazed at peoples stupidity sometimes. There were at least two seasons released before the movie.

They knew what it was, it was rated R

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False-Cookie3379@reddit

Oof. The first time I saw Jay and Silent Bob it was a friends house. Our parents were all friends so they were there as well. That was kind of awkward for a while then shut down around the time the Clit Master part was showing.

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thewilldog@reddit

Clit Commander, sir

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Mabvll@reddit

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False-Cookie3379@reddit

My bad lol

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DickBurns01@reddit

My mom took my son to the theater to see Borat. He was probably 8 or 9.

As a kid with parents that didn't care what I watched and with cable I was watching everything from Children of the Corn to Porkeys.

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alehanjro2017@reddit

I also got the Porkeys viewing as a kid. Holy shit.

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Ok-Grocery-151@reddit

Same lol I've been hoping that one of my streaming services will have them but I've never seen them on any. I feel like they would make it to pluto or Tubi

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Ok-Grocery-151@reddit

Watching porkys as a kid was amazing 😂

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LilDanglyOnes@reddit

Yeah, my mom ran our Catholic church youth group when South Park was probably in season 2 or 3 - she almost hosted a South Park night for the youth group. My brother and I almost let her.

We eventually talked her into sitting down and watching an episode first. She the decided we were the ones who had originally suggested the whole thing and got mad at US.

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ouijahead@reddit

I swear I never play the boomer card. I really don’t. But that is some strait up boomer behavior to turn around and blame you for it.

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LilDanglyOnes@reddit

It became a pattern: Came up with dumb idea / does dumb thing / resolves cognitive dissonance by convincing self that someone else talked her into doing dumb thing.

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Kellzy1212@reddit

Which is an absolute riot, since that the exact plot of the movie. 😂

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LazarusDark@reddit

When I went to see Pan's Labyrinth in theater, a mom with three kids like 5-8 yo came in and sat down in front of me and my wife. We looked at each other with concern, we hadn't seen it yet but we knew this was not a kids movie, it's rated R for a reason, and we were familiar with Del Toros work. Thankfully as soon as it started and it was subtitled, the mom was huffy and left and didn't come back. To be fair, a basic American theater should absolutely clearly indicate a movie is subtitled since a lot of Americans aren't used to it, but even moreso they should have had some clear sign that Pan's Labyrinth was not a kids movie, I think it's fair to understand that some parents would be confused by it's posters. Though the trailer I feel was pretty clear it was a creepy weird movie more than a fairy tale, but the trailer didn't tell you how violent it would be.

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fungusamongus8@reddit

i remember watching the company of wolves as a kid. that's is not a kids movie!

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Key_Street1637@reddit

I worked in a video rental store when Pan's Labyrinth was released on DVD. We had to put up signs stating that it was NOT a children's film.

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BaronSwordagon@reddit

I feel like everything that parents need to know about taking their kids is communicated by the R rating.

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wolfattack81@reddit

My dad and I got turned away from a drive in theatre trying to watch Rambo 3...

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apocbane@reddit

Exorcist at 9

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HylanderUS@reddit

When I was about 11 my dad went to the video store to rent RoboDog for me, and came home with RoboCop. Mom confiscated it though :(

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bownt1@reddit

then hit you with rocky horror picture show

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kestrel79@reddit

I am still scarred from IT.

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Adventurous-Fox-6766@reddit

My aunt took my sister to see saving private ryan at 8

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pumkinut@reddit

My mother took me to a midnight showing of Night of the Living Dead when I was 5.

I didn't sleep right until my 20s

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ScientistAsHero@reddit

1987 dads like, "RoboCop for my seven-year-old? Sure, sounds good."

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PhatBoyFlim@reddit

Oh, yeah. Right there with you. RoboCop, too. Fuck, that movie is nightmarish.

I, of course, own all of those movies and display them prominently.

Like traumas I have conquered instead of mounted hunting trophies….

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ouijahead@reddit

Ed -209 malfunctioning still kinda scares me if look at it through my childhood eyes.

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Leakrate@reddit

Saw it at a drive in when I was around 8yo and that was the scene that really got to me!

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SonicDethmonkey@reddit

I was terrified of acid for years because of RoboCop.

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nhaines@reddit

And don't even get me started about quicksand...

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palvaran@reddit

I mean I am still afraid of even Peroxide. Have you tried that in yours ears? I'm like I am melting from the inside out.

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koei19@reddit

RoboCop was one of the first movies I remember seeing on VHS. My dad brought it home from Blockbuster the week it came out for rental. The scene where Murphy is killed really bothered me for a long time. Definitely too violent for an eight year old.

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eLishus@reddit

That scene was visually brutal, but the guy getting shot in the dick let your imagination due the work to what damage was done. At least that guy deserved it. 😅

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nhaines@reddit

Of course, if you don't want to let your imagination do the work, you could always watch that one fan video...

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PhatBoyFlim@reddit

Dude. The directors cut of that scene is somehow even worse.

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cmaxim@reddit

I remember going to my friends place when I was like 5, and we watched Robocop on his TV no hesitation. He even had a Robocop toy set.. they actually fucking made Robocop toys for kids lol.. what a time..

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Xiunte@reddit

It was RoboCop and Aliens for me.

Funny thing is, I loved movies like this. It wasn't until much later as an adult that I looked back and thought, "Can't believe Dad thought RoboCop was okay for kids our age."

It wasn't just Dad's idea either. There was a whole line of toys and action figures for these movies. So EVERYONE'S kids were watching them and toy companies knew it.

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palvaran@reddit

Superb choices. Both had nightmare fuel in them and as a dad I’m like 80s dads were out of their mind taking us to these things. How did a kid even get into an R rated movie anyway.

I forgot about the toys. Good point. I bought a Mad/Cracked magazine back when it came out just because it had Ed-209 as a drawing in it I think.

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Metamodernist82@reddit

I was so young when I watched that in the car chase/acid tank scene I was very confused why a monster casually lived inside it and it was too random for me to make sense of that

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Steelysam2@reddit

Robocop is scarier for me as an adult. Man got killed and STILL had to go to work.

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palvaran@reddit

That's true darkness. Even in death he was not allowed peace.

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cobe656@reddit

Robocop, aliens, predator and the thing for me.

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zerocoolforschool@reddit

The scene in Robocop where the dude is literally melting is burned into my mind.

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Opposite_Floor7735@reddit

I saw robocop at a birthday party. I remember hiding my head under couch cushions.

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Current_Working_2103@reddit

Same here. I was the youngest kid there & didn't sleep for weeks after. The first guy blown to chunks in the first five minutes - I was shaking.

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foozebox@reddit

This is the one. Body count gotta be > 1000 and marketed directly to children.

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zombie_overlord@reddit

The toxic waste guy from Robocop stuck with me like from then on. Still hard to think of a more gruesome on screen death.

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palvaran@reddit

Parts of him are still buried in my psyche and when I look at my windshield full of lovebug corpses I mourn his passing.

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JeerzQD@reddit

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palvaran@reddit

I’d buy that for a dollar and did… criterion edition with extended board room scene with ed 209.

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Da12khawk@reddit

Oh I thought you meant scenarios. Not watching the movie.

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broadwayallday@reddit

haha I saw Platoon @ the movies with parents

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casdoodle527@reddit

Full Metal Jacket too

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PickledPixie83@reddit

My parents let me watch Pet Semetary when I was like 8.

What the fuck mom and dad.

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casdoodle527@reddit

I was probably younger than that…my mom LOVES horror movies 😭

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CanOfPenisJuice@reddit

This is probably the most twisted one I've read yet.

What fuck your mum and dad

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casdoodle527@reddit

Hell Raiser, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Puppet Master, Poltergeist…..I’ll be 44 next month and I can not handle scary movies, like at all

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RGDJR@reddit

I’ll add Predator to OP’s list. But every movie mentioned was on my dad’s “Yeah, he’ll be fine seeing this” list. Alien was my first R rated movie. Saw the Thing shortly after. Both fucked me up. Both among my favorite films to this day and the reason I love the horror genre. Thanks Dad!

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Waiting2Sneeze@reddit

My dad took me to see this in theaters when I was 9

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MrThouu@reddit

T2 is fine for a 6 year old.

Robocop 2 sure as hell wasn't.

Yes I am talking from family movie night experience.

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arafella@reddit

I used to come home from school in 1st/2nd grade and watch Rambo 2 & Commando back to back.

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Rough-Instruction-29@reddit

I was allowed to watch anything, war no problem, murder go right ahead, cursing who the fuck cares. As long as there were no boobs it was all good

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ChazzLamborghini@reddit

This was my household too. My dad showed my sister and I Cronenberg’s version of The Fly when I was like 7.

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Top-Elephant-2874@reddit (OP)

That weird aversion to sex, meanwhile we were watching people’s limbs get ripped off!

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Digital_NW@reddit

Yah, that’s weird on this side of the pond. People fucking, no issue, just make it classy. We know what you are doing! Geez.

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herzmaedchen@reddit

Meanwhile us European kids got it all!

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jb@reddit

As an elder Xennial, i saw Nightmare on Elm St waaaay too young. Thanks Home Box Office.

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TheF1na1Countdown59@reddit

I count myself amongst the lucky 80's kids. My parents took me to the movie theater to see EVERYTHING, regardless of rating. We're talking 'Die Hard' (1988), 'Hunt for the Red October' (1990), Arachnophobia' (1990), Dick Tracy' (1990)**, etc. (1990 was apparently a big movie year for 9 year old me!) - If my parents wanted to see it, I went, too... unless, of course, it was a rare "date night"...

And that was only a handful of movie theater examples. My movie education was largely supplemented in the home: 'Them! (1954), 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' (1956), 'Black Scorpion' (1957)**, 'Jason and the Argonauts' (1963), 'Dawn of the Dead' (1978), countless marathons of 'The Twilight Zone' (1959-64) + shelves upon selves of Stephen King, and Dean Koontz novels that I was free to read... and I did! 🥰

The biggest influence on my overall movie tastes, however, was my introduction to the original 'Night of the Living Dead' (1968). I saw it around Halloween 1986, when I was only 5 years old, which was also the age I got my first book of ghost stories. I became INSTANTLY hooked to all things creepy, but ESPECIALLY zombies!

The sweetest thing about NOTLD is that it was my parents' favorite date movie back in 1968. They loved introducing new people to it... 💞

Was I "too young" for a lot of this stuff? Maybe to some people... but, my parents have ALWAYS known me best! I was an unusual kid in many ways: I could read & comprehend books WAY beyond my age range by 2 years old. I never got scared by anything. Horror and Sci-Fi always excited me...

Bottom-line: I was their child, through and through. Still am. 😁

P.S. \~ The picture below is when I was blessed to meet Bill Hinzman - the very first zombie I EVER saw - at a horror convention in 2004! He was a wonderful man who took 20+ minutes of his day to talk about the making of zombie movies, and about our mutual families. Just a beautiful, crystalline memory of an April day 22 years ago...

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BeSound84@reddit

This was my uncle’s sworn duty, show his nephews (my brother and I) dope movies my parents wouldn’t. Nothing too offensive, but like Conan’s the Barbarian and Cliffhanger. It was a good time

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remberrr@reddit

My 11 year old has seen all of these except for The Fly. We're gonna watch Cold Storage tonight, I'm prettyyyyyyyy excited

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NoOccasion4759@reddit

It was 100% my older brother's fault that I watched all kinds of inappropriate things before the age of 10 lol

More recently my BIL let the kids watch Aliens and told them not to tell me....my kids snitched on him right away 😂 I'll be real though, nowadays with so much unsupervised internet use, kids are MUCH more jaded and worldly than we were at their age back then.

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nhaines@reddit

I was the same age in theaters and was bawling my eyes out because my favorite was Optimus Prime. At least I did get a new Ultimus Prime toy out of it eventually.

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Conversation-Fear@reddit

I remember watching Poltergeist and Stripes on HBO in the 80s when I was like 7 or 8.

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Timmonidus@reddit

Add in Blazing Saddles, Beverly Hills Cop, and Fast Times

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taleofbenji@reddit

Not quite the same era, but I swear to God there was a five year old sitting next to me at The Butterfly Effect.

He was loving it too..

In that scene where someone gets stabbed with a blunt object, the kid goes, "That's what he gets!"

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JerkfaceMcDouche@reddit

And that kid didn’t lie at all

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nhaines@reddit

Little guy taking notes.

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Love-Bitter@reddit

It was different back then. Still, I do believe watching inappropriate movies at a stupidly young age can teach kid’s lots of things.

For example I learned very early I was not homosexual thanks to Jenny Agutter.

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Santos_L_Halper_II@reddit

The library ghost lady in ghostbusters is literally my first memory ever.

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NFL_MVP_Kevin_White@reddit

For any parents looking to introduce ghostbusters to their kids, I am willing to bet that you have forgotten the scene where a ghost gives (an implied) blowjob to Ray

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nhaines@reddit

I was 4 when the movie came out, and very much remember that Ray rolls his eyes back and collapsed on the bed, I laughed because I thought the ghost was being naughty and just trying to pants him, and he got scared by a those being so close to him and fainted.

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Santos_L_Halper_II@reddit

Yep. I'd actually forgotten that despite seeing it again when I was older. That ghost lady though - core memory. My mom probably still has claw marks on her shoulders from me trying to climb over her to get the hell out of there.

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Rombonius@reddit

Slimer scared the shit out of me, my parents still talk about it. I was terrified.

then he became my favorite like everyone else when the cartoon was out, sippin' on Ecto Coolers

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Mcdiglingdunker@reddit

Actually, it was my mom

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Hiryu-GodHand@reddit

Are you kidding!!?

I do that now.

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Gusto36@reddit

I saw t2 in the theater as an 12 year old. Pretty normal stuff honestly.

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Groovychick1978@reddit

They were right.

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elysiumstarz@reddit

Stephen King's It (tv miniseries edition) scarred 8 year old me for life

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Passtenx@reddit

Weird, before reading this I was just trying to remember how old I was when my mom showed me Lost Boys.

I’m agonizing over when I can show my 5 year old Star Wars.

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therealRustyZA@reddit

I watched the OG Robocop recently. I can't believe my folks allowed me to watch that. We generally grew up with "Unless there's S or N in the age restriction, you can watch it".

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ProfZussywussBrown@reddit

Toht’s face melting off in Raiders of the Lost Ark

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El-Royhab@reddit

I think I was 7 when my dad decided we were old enough for Nightmare on Elm Street

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frederichenrylt@reddit

My uncle let me watch Powder when I was 6

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This_is_Not_My_Handl@reddit

My dad took me to see A Nightmare on Elm Street. In the theater. I was six. My mom was pissed because it gave me nightmares.

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ladyeclectic79@reddit

Lmfao my 4th grade class got to watch “Killer Clowns from Outer Space”!! 🤣

So it wasn’t just dads. 😁

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bluemitersaw@reddit

Full Metal Jacket for me.

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Everwhim4Ever@reddit

My parents thaought a ten year old could handle Schindler's list

I'm that ten year old

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Cryptic1911@reddit

I saw t2 in the theater when I was 8 and its been my favorite movie evwr since

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ButterscotchAware402@reddit

My '80s/'90s dad: "My 4-10 year old daughter will love Gremlins, Pet Semetary and Carrie!" (amongst many others)

He wasn't wrong.

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saison257@reddit

My dad absolutely said this to me about Terminator 2. I distinctly remember him saying, "You'll love it!" and then promptly reminding me that it was completely made up and nothing to be scared of. I was the first girl and have 3 Gen X brothers so I actually was kinda used to it, and I legitimately loved that movie. I remember watching Predator after that and thinking Predator was kinda cheesy 🤣

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Masters_of_Sleep@reddit

I mean, just look at what the "made for kids" movies were: The Neverending Story, My Girl, The Secret of Nim, Watership Down. You are almost better off with Terminator, or Gremlins.

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joe-gonna-go@reddit

Lethal weapon, die hard, even one of the hellraiser movies I think.

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Wendy-Windbag@reddit

Stayed over at my uncle's house and we stayed up late watching Critters. I couldn't fall asleep that night because I kept imagining the bedroom walls turning into wall of ravenous hairy critters. I couldn't have been older than 5.

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Eleuth1@reddit

My dad took me (9 year old girl) to see Total Recall in theatres…

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Zickityzickrubin@reddit

I was like 9 and my dad put Clockwork Orange on for me to watch when I was sick.

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Baelgul@reddit

Shit, you know that was the first movie I remember watching in theaters with my father

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ExistingBathroom9742@reddit

As a six year old in the 90s, was fine.

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One-Dragonfruit1010@reddit

I remember laughing my 7 year old ass off at Phantasm. The Gate messed me up for a few weeks at about 6 years old “You’ve been bad, Boy!” John Carpenter’s The Thing at 8-9 was probably one of most traumatizing. He actually kicked me out of the room after the dog kennel scene for that one. It was a mixed bag.

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Dog_Baseball@reddit

We were shown Deliverance.

What the fuck.

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TomPalmer1979@reddit

Back then it was generally (depending on the family) violence is fine, so long as there's no tits. Kids can see extreme gore, but naked bodies is where they drew the line.

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Silly_Scientist_007@reddit

Hilariously, I was THAT 6 year-old :D I loved Arnold, and JCVD so much. I watched all their movies "way too early" by today's standards.

I loved Arnold so much that I cried at the end T2 when he lowered himself into the molten metal...

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ButtyMcButtface1929@reddit

When I was 6 my mom left town and my old man watched Angel Heart with me. I never looked at Denise Huxtable the same way again.

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MlsterFlster@reddit

My dad was excited about T2. He never got to see it...

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frougle_mcdugal@reddit

Fuck off, the worst movie from all of our childhoods was a PG movie.

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Alternative_Share559@reddit

Lethal Weapon, as a 8 years old. hooker does blow, jumps from building. childhood complete

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BusinessYou1657@reddit

Is bothering about classifications an American thing or something? None of the movies in this title are restricted in my country. A six year old could buy tickets and go in on their own.

And viewing a restricted movie underage is not considered anything special as well. From the earliest days of Primary School the greats of horror were talked about in the school yard. My parents would take me to any movie I wanted to see, and rent anything I asked for. And this was just normal.

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ReinaShae@reddit

ARACHNOPHOBIA

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mikezer0@reddit

My cousin came and picked me up from school early one day to take my brother and I to see Blade. I was 8. My cousin is the fucking coolest. He also came and got us for Pokémon the movie: more hilariously that one was more for him I think. People are too careful these days. Have fun.

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tivvybrixx@reddit

My dad showed my the clockwork orange at 8... still love that movie

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Nuker-79@reddit

Terminator / terminator 2 was less terrifying than watching terror hawks.

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Jimmygimme@reddit

My dad showed me Deer Hunter way to early and very little explanation lol.

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moooghan703@reddit

Bloodsport ☺️

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TabChomper@reddit

I watched Romero’s Dawn of the Dead and tried to act like it did not scare the shit out of me! -My room was in the basement so at bedtime when the fam was walking around I was scared they were zombies and would not go upstairs!! 😬

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Evocatorum@reddit

I still remember seeing Aliens in the Theatre at the age of 8. At night... and my father ended up having a flat tire, so there was great concern the aliens were gonna get us...

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jon_cybernet@reddit

A combination of it being one of the earliest anime releases on VHS in the UK and a general ignorance of the adult nature of some Japanese animation led to a very memorable sleepover at a friend’s house, where we, an unsupervised group of seven 12 year olds, were treated to a screening of Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend.

If you’ve not seen it, it’s an anime probably best known for popularising the concept of “tentacle porn”.

I think we all went to bed with a lot of questions racing round our heads that night.

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Dean_Proffitt@reddit

I spent years trying to figure out what movie my dad had watched in front of me with a sharp toothed mouth on a man’s hand! (Leviathan)

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hisamsmith@reddit

My mom got upset when my dad let my 6 year old nephew watch Ghostbusters around Halloween. I laughed and called her a hypocrite. That’s when I reminded her that I saw Childs Play with her and dad at the same age.

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IIFireMissionII@reddit

My dad showed me Faces of Death. Probably shouldn't have showed me that actually.

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1radgirl@reddit

My dad: a horror fiction buff with a home library full of scary books, and saw no problem letting us read anything we wanted.

My mom: why do my kids have so many nightmares?!?!

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RedDirtPreacher@reddit

I remember Mom being super creeped out when we watched Silence of the Lambs one family movie night. Nothing really bothered me until we watched Fire in the Sky. That movie can fuck all the way off. I didn’t sleep right for months. We watched Predator when my little brother was like five and it instantly became his favorite movie. My parents had to sit him down and stress the importance of not repeating the pussy joke after an incident at church.

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nopester24@reddit

And they were right

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Kellzy1212@reddit

I watched a ton of horror/ sci-fi way too early, but edited for TV. We had a local horror host in Tampa Bay and they played crazy movies on weekend afternoons in the 80s/90s.

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krusty_yooper@reddit

I watched Nightmare on Elm Street when I was like 5 or 6.

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Crusader1865@reddit

Go through this movie list, then see how many Saturday morning kids cartoons where generated from the movies in this thread that scared us.

Rambo, RoboCop, Ghostbusters, Toxic Crusader, Conan, The Crypt Keeper...

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coopnjaxdad@reddit

I got a solid dose of Clockwork Orange as well! That sticks with a kid.

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skeezy@reddit

I remember being on the phone long distance with my Aunt and telling her I was watching Die Hard With a Vengeance with my dad. She was like “does your MOTHER know?!’

Dad was not happy

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Freiverse@reddit

70’s dads were like “sure, my 6 year old can handle The Deer Hunter…

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jambr380@reddit

I saw Nightmare on Elm Street 3 in the theater

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LazarusDark@reddit

Freddy Krueger was my favorite, I went as Freddy for Halloween when I was 6 with official plastic knife gloves that were sold in stores. My grandmother didn't like it, lol.

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ouijahead@reddit

I remember my ex stepmother shaking her head in absolute judgmental disgust at a child dressed as Freddy on Halloween. It Halloween lady. Chill. That’s the point . She cheated on my dad.

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jambr380@reddit

Yeah, 6 year olds going as Freddy and Jason was totally normal back then lol

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sweet_pickles12@reddit

My cousins showed my this when I was staying there over new years… my aunt and uncle went out, I woke up on the couch in the middle of the night, terrified Freddy was going to come out of the wall. I had to pee, and they had a terrifying (to a 5 year old) bathroom with a drippy faucet and flickering lights.

Anyway, thanks guys, top ten babysitting decision right there.

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PoorGovtDoctor@reddit

I saw the first one on home video that my parents got. They didn’t know my brother and I watched it and was scared $#!tl€$$ for months!

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turds_n_whey@reddit

What age?

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zombie_overlord@reddit

4 was the first one I was allowed to see in the theater, but before that, all my friends would talk about the other ones at school because their parents let them watch it.

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dusktreader@reddit

Leviathan fucked me up for at least a year. Taking a shower was my own little horror movie every time.

That, and unsolved mysteries...tough sledding for an 8 year old!

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Hossflex@reddit

I think I was 9 when I saw Terminator 2. It was such a big deal to see that movie. I remember my dad tried to cover my eyes during the knife through the milk carton scene.

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blue-marmot@reddit

Robocop at 10

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michael41973@reddit

Need to add Robocop

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Austaras@reddit

I got smuggled into the drive in for Dream Warriors one of my earliest memories

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poofyhairguy@reddit

Terminator 2 leaned in on that, which is why there was no sex or nudity compared to the first movie or using the F word. Dads of the era didn’t think there was a limit for violence and kids, just sex and some back words.

It’s also why it kept the title of highest grossing R rated movie until Matrix Reloaded.

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OhWhatever_Nevermind@reddit

Don’t get me started on all the horror movies my Gen X cousins exposed me to in childhood, and the dark, violent dramas that I just watched by myself on broadcast television. Where were my parents!? 🤪

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PapaTua@reddit

Alien was literally the first movie I saw in a theater.

I was 6.

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Digital_NW@reddit

Ya’ll watched fiction and got trauma? That’s like saying you have trauma from your parents teaching you to use the toilet. I really hope this is all a joke.

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OhWhatever_Nevermind@reddit

My dad thought it’d be a good idea for my brother (at age 10) and me (an incredibly sensitive 12 year old) to watch Schindler’s List with him. The fact that it is based on real life events DID NOT help!

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noonesaidityet@reddit

My mom saw T2 when she went to visit family, and she came home and rented it so I could watch it. That was/is is so unbelievably far out of character for my mother. It was the first Rated R movie I was allowed to watch all the way through that wasn't edited for tv.

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nuskit@reddit

My dad took me to see The Blob, back to back showings of the 1958 version and then the 1988 version.

Guess who's a little terrified of movie theaters now as a 45 year old? That scene was the scariest for me. Also, no slime is allowed in the house.

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Afootinafieldofmen@reddit

I mean my sister lets her six year-old watch streamers on YouTube which I find more concerning than the classic works of James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow but different strokes!

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GotRocksinmePockets@reddit

Don't forget Predator. My grandmother rented it for my brother and I when it first came out on VHS.

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zerocoolforschool@reddit

Yup. Aliens, Predator and Robocop. They all scared the shit out of me and I loved them.

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bananaHammockMonkey@reddit

I was 4 and my dad took me to the theater to watch Aliens... that shit was GOOD. Must have watched it another 10 or 20 times as a kid after it came out on VHS.

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IslingtonCrane@reddit

The first movie my parents took me too was Phantasm. At the drive-in. It explains alot.

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NoIncrease299@reddit

My dad took me to see freakin Robocop in the theater when I was 9 years old.

Over the top violence? Totally ok. Boobs? NOT OK.

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catschimeras@reddit

Robocop. Why, dad. Why.

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helloaaron@reddit

For real. I watched that shit waaaaay too early lol.

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johndicks80@reddit

My first movie on the theater was Predator in 86. My dad was 26 and thought that would be a good one for me. Just remember him occasionally reaching over holding his hand over my eyes.

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NativeFlowers4Eva@reddit

True. Watched predator when I was 8 with my father.

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Smolshy@reddit

Meanwhile, my 90’s single mom: “is that MTV?! That’s disgusting!”

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yournamehere10bucks@reddit

gif

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AngryTree76@reddit

My mom and I had a tradition on the weekend. After grocery shopping, we’d stop by the video store and pick up a couple of videos. The one for Saturday night was something she wanted to see, like Witness or Officer and a Gentleman. The Sunday morning one was something family friendly, like one of those 70s Disney live action movies, like Herbie Goes Bananas or the Apple Dumpling Gang.

This Sunday’s movie was supposed to be The Devil and Max Devlin, a Disney movie with Elliot Gould as a guy who died and went to hell, and Bill Cosby playing Satan (I suppose the juxtaposition of America’s favorite pudding salesman playing a devil was supposed to be ironic back then; now not quite so much). But when we opened the case, instead of a Disney movie we found Cujo; someone at the video store had mixed up the tapes. My mom looks at 8 year old me, and says “You think you’re old enough for this?” And of course, I said yes. So we watched it.

Plot twist: I was not.

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drrj@reddit

Honestly even some kids stuff was pretty intense - the lack of a PG-13 rating let some pretty scary stuff slip in with a PG rating.

Or I’m a chicken shit.

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fungusamongus8@reddit

i still remember this couple bringing thier toddler to Species.

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blanksix@reddit

I didn't have guardrails, so... I think chainsaw massacre or poltergeist were probably the least age appropriate things little-me watched. But there was a lot to choose from. I think my dad figured that if I say through the whole thing that was on me. The Fly, Alien and The Shining were also watched but I'll argue that those were probably more acceptable than chainsaw massacre. I guess. My perception is probably warped. I had the same mindset when I eventually started babysitting my younger sibling. "Rocky Horror? Sure, why not? It's campy enough..."

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SonoFactori@reddit

When I was 13, my dad took me to see Schindler’s List at a midnight showing.

Don’t get me wrong: it’s a great movie and definitely worth seeing, but you’ve got to imagine how weird it was to be woken up, made to get dressed, get taken to the movies, be shown images from the Holocaust, and then put back to bed with the intent that I’d have to be up a couple hours later to go to school.

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El_Galant@reddit

For me it was Friday the 13th... The shhh ah ah... low noises were scarier than Jason to me when I was 8...

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GlitteringCobbler987@reddit

Return of the Living Dead. Why tf did they do that to me

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hotdoghelmet@reddit

Poltergeist left an impression on my 4 or 5 year old self. The face peeling scene in particular has stuck with me my entire life.

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webjocky@reddit

This wasn't as big of a deal back then because fathers were present, many (more than now) took their kids hunting/fishing/etc, and that provided exposure to guts and gore in the flesh for practically when learning all about the circle of life before they were 10 years old.

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HelicopterExact4621@reddit

Yeah… my dad did this. It scared the shit out of me.

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12ab34cd56ef78g@reddit

Yeppers. Toddler self watching Cujo, Jaws, The Howling, Godzilla movies, Alien, Terminator

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D34N2@reddit

Oh man, I watched soooo many scary movies in the 80s and 90s. Heck, my favorite TV show as a toddler was Hilarious House of Frightenstein. It's no surprise that I read and write primarily horror fiction as an adult. I wasn't "traumatized" by my childhood horror exposure, but it certainly shaped my personality and preferences.

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Roaminsooner@reddit

I was 7 and dad took me to Robocop. He’d just slap his hand over my eyes during the initial killing/dismemberment.

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morganalefaye125@reddit

Not my dad, but my mom. I saw Hellraiser and Bachelor Party at 5-7 years old

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klitchell@reddit

Me at 5 or 6 watching Bachelor Party and Benny Hill with my dad.

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Sulfuro786@reddit

Pink floyd the Wall on VH1 at 5 yrs old

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Skipper0463@reddit

The 80’s also had a lot of slasher films. I knew tons of kids raised by Freddy and Jason.

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-Banana_Pancakes-@reddit

The nuclear bomb scene is a core memory for me.

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scattershotdreams@reddit

I was a 9 year old girl when my dad took me to see T2. I loooved it…but it also scared the shit out of me. 😂

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scattershotdreams@reddit

Oh and I saw Hellraiser when I was 8 because my mom left the tv on while she napped in another room. 😵‍💫

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hairballcouture@reddit

My mom let me watch The Exorcist at that age, big mistake.

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Steelslider@reddit

Heh my parents rented a doubleheader for me in the early 80s when I was about 8: The Shining and Cujo.

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rlovelock@reddit

To this day I remember my dad coming home from the movies and telling me about Arnold blowing dudes kneecaps off.

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DigDry6895@reddit

It was my Mother but yep.... Def. A core memory there

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PoorGovtDoctor@reddit

Very early ‘90’s, but I weirdly saw New Jack City in the theater for some reason! More so in the ‘80’s, but my parents let me see Full Metal Jacket in the theater!

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greaterwhiterwookiee@reddit

And I did

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Professional_Scale66@reddit

Lol I still remember seeing Robocop on my birthday I was like 9 it was insane

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OverZookeepergame698@reddit

To be fair, we did turn out ok, mostly.

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karatechop97@reddit

We watched all the Friday the 13th movies at like age 10.

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Fianna9@reddit

It was horror for me. Gremlins and Arachnophobia were poor choices.

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LazarusDark@reddit

I loved Gremlins as a kid, it didn't even occur to me hat it was technically a "horror" movie until I was an adult. (The sequel was more campy so I think retroactively I thought if the first one as campy, and there is some, but it's more horror than camp I think.)

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Fianna9@reddit

I did love horror movies when I got a bit older. But at that age ET scared me. So my dad did not win any parenting awards for Gremlins!!

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DreamsAndSchemes@reddit

I saw Jurassic Park when I was 8. I wanted to be a paleontologist for a long time afterwards

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SanchoPliskin@reddit

Don’t forget Rambo, and anything with Chuck Norris.

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mtrxgltchs@reddit

I remember watching the OG Nightmare on Elm Street (to hell with that disgrace of a reboot) with my Dad when I was 4.

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Jifeeb@reddit

When Joker came out there was a sad there with about 4 6-8 year olds

The theater had their own signs posted that “this isn’t a comic book movie”

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ParsleyMostly@reddit

Not my dad having 10 year old me watch Die Hard first on Showtime or HBO before hauling me over to watch Die Hard 2 in theaters. He wanted his little girl to have the backstory going in.

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doubled9000@reddit

Robocop and Total Recall for me… at age 5

gif

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TravelingMatt34@reddit

Latchkey kid here, so I controlled what I watched. We had HBO so there were no limits

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wykkedfaery33@reddit

My parents' rules was that we cpuld watch the scary stuff, but if we woke up in the middle of the night with bad dreams from it, tough shit. Cry yourself back to sleep, take the lesson. I got banned from scary movies for a little while, but did learn not to be a baby because of bad dreams. :)(:

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Sea_One_6500@reddit

My dad let me watch Nightmare on Elm Street with him when I was 5. I have a feeling it was a contributing factor in my parents divorce.

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Tagordon31@reddit

For me it was Robocop, Full Metal Jacket, and (hubba hubba) Under Siege….

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macrocosm93@reddit

I don't think Terminator or Aliens were that big of a deal for kids. I watched them when I was like in 3rd grade and I never felt like "traumatized" or whatever. They were just cool movies.

And they made action figures for those movies so it wasn't just the dads who thought it was OK for kids.

RoboCop was kind of fucked up though. Even more graphically violent than the other two, and also a lot of references to prostitution and drug use. I never watched that til I was older.

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LooksLikeAWookie@reddit

Total Recall. Evil Dead 2.

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roncopenhaver13@reddit

I’ve raised my kids with a similar line of thought. I was allowed to watch anything short of the sex scenes. I encourage them to watch it all because there is usually a big payoff kill to follow those scenes.

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Megadum@reddit

Full metal jacket in theatre at 10. Wtaf

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LainieCat@reddit

A coworker saw the 1978 Invasion of the Bodysnatchers in the theater with his dad. My coworker was 8.

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nodogsallowed23@reddit

I just watched The Shining in IMAX (awesome btw).

My mom put that movie on for me and left me to watch it alone in her bedroom when I was maybe 11. Even watching it now, I can remember my abject terror from when I was a kid. Scene by scene.

It wasn’t just dads. There was zero parental thought given to tv and movies back then.

I watched Alien at an even younger age. Maybe 8. My neighbour put on Nightmare on Elm Street when I was like 6 and she was babysitting.

Wild times.

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FoxExpensive9319@reddit

My 70s parents ,Stephan kings it (90s version) they thougt the movie is for the children because of the clown picture in the tv newspaper

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doorman666@reddit

Funny story about T2. My daughter is 9, and we've started letting her watch some R rated movies. As long as there's not tons and tons of bad language, and no sex scenes. So New Years Eve, we start watching T2, streaming (I forget which service). We turn it off few minutes before midnight to watch the ball drop. We go to turn it back on, and .... gone. The streaming rights ended at midnight. Lol.

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modehead@reddit

I remember my dad made a VHS copy of T2, but didn’t record a few scenes for my kid siblings.

My son’s 10. I think it’s time he sees it.

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Roosterknows@reddit

Same. I saw Aliens at 8 with a family friend's dad who was babysitting us while our mom's were out together. When I was 5 my mom caught my dad letting me watch Poltergeist. She really let him have it. Saw Jaws at like 4, Leviathan at the theaters when I was 9. Yes, very different parenting back then.

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hangout927@reddit

My dad let us watch silence of the lambs. It was the last night my mom worked as a waitress. Abe quit the next day’s lol

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slappy_mcslapenstein@reddit

I saw Alien at far too young an age. That explains my fascination with aliens and my space/aliens themed sleeve.

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soulsteela@reddit

I remember my dad taking me to watch Conan the Barbarian at the cinema when I was 10 and getting turned away. Which resulted in me being introduced to the frankly massive local pirate movie scene.

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Important_Inside2346@reddit

Full metal Jacket and Predator were the most shocking to me at 9 yrs old. Rather enjoyed RoboCop though, at the same age. I saw way too many good movies before I was really old enough to fully understand or appreciate them. Doing things a little different with my kids lol.

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nixpix730@reddit

Halloween was my favorite movie in Kindergarten. Lots of stabbin going on...

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Rombonius@reddit

When I was 6 I watched T2 on repeat on PPV an insane number of times (we had one of those illegal cable boxes to get all the channels)

T2 was also my favorite arcade game whenever we were at the mall

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Baskin@reddit

As a kid, we loved robots, aliens, and sharks. Rather tame compared to Poltergeist and It (S. King). Those two movies were traumatizing.

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echochilde@reddit

Shit. Terminator 2 was tame. I think I was about that age when my dad let me watch Full Metal Jacket. Pink Floyd: The Wall was on regular rotation.

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CoolRanchBaby@reddit

We usually weren’t allowed to watch much and were pretty sheltered, but then my mom would want to watch something and suddenly that particular movie was “fine”. I remember seeing Robocop in a situation like this and being traumatised 🤣.

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unicorn-beard@reddit

My dad would literally let my sister and I rent anything, my mom had no idea. I remember one time I played hellraiser for my buddy who was spending the night (I think we were like 8ish). The next night he couldn't sleep and was having nightmares and ended up telling his mom what we watched. My mom got a VERY angry upset phone call from his mom and that was the last time he spent the night at my house 🙃

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aagath@reddit

This isn't a '80s action / horror movie but in the '80s my dad had me watch Hamburger Hill with him anytime it came on UPN at 1:00 p.m. on a Saturday matinee. I was probably five yesterday s old lol

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prenderg@reddit

My memory is that I took my one-year-old son to see Jaws when we were vacationing at the beach in Martha’s Vineyard, where the movie was filmed. He came out all right, sort of.🤣

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Primary-Strawberry-5@reddit

I has very little oversight on what movies I watched

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Ohboycats@reddit

Total Recall for me!

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PersonalityLive8204@reddit

I watched “Full Metal Jacket” when it first came out on VHS in 1988. I was 6. He wanted to share his experience in the Marines during his two tours in Vietnam and we watched it a few times over the years together before he died when I was 12 sharing more memories as we watched it together. I recognize there is shock value, but it felt authentic to him, not gratuitous. It was similar to his reality and a way to share his experience with me.

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fauxshoyall@reddit

Has no one mentioned E-fucking-T yet? My parents took me when it was rereleased in theaters. I was maybe 4 years old. I'm still unable to watch it. Terrifying.

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hombredave@reddit

My parents took me and my xennial brothers to see Robocop, Predator and Die Hard when they came out in theaters.

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Dapper_Peanut_1879@reddit

Throw Silence of the Lambs in there for good measure lol

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One-Earth9294@reddit

My mom took me to see Robocop in the theaters.

I was 7. It broke me for years. Had me scared of my own shadow. But I came out the other end stronger for it lol. Now it's one of my favorite movies of all time.

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eannaj@reddit

lol I wasn’t even allowed to watch MTV until I was a teenager.

I was also a massive Anthony Hopkins fan, and a movie buff growing up and used to watch all the Oscars every year, and when Silence of the Lambs swept in 1991, I was 13, and my boyfriend bought the movie for me. My dad TOOK IT AWAY and said I could have it back when I was old enough. 😂😂😂

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elmiguelo10@reddit

I saw a lot of violent movies with my parents as a kid, including both Terminator movies. The only one I saw the theater turning away teens without their parents was Total Recall.

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_NoleFan6@reddit

I was 7 when dad let me watch T1 early in 1991. It was on HBO free weekend. I took it like a champ! To this day it’s one of my favorite movies and favorite memories.

**he made me grab him a snack from the kitchen during the sex scene haha

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LilBrutButt@reddit

My parents took me out of school early to see Terminator 2 during the noon premiere. Mom said I had an appointment with Doctor Schwarzenegger. I was in sixth grade.

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Tylenol_Jones@reddit

Kids are watching Stranger Things early and there is some rough violence. Not sure if it sticks though compared to stuff like RoboCop because of the quality of filmmaking.

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islipped83@reddit

Arachnophobia and The Exorcist for me. The former made me sleep in a fetal position for 3 years, and the latter weirdly made zero impression on me!

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sunrise_parabellum@reddit

My mum let me watch Alien because she thought it was like star trek 😂

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Happy-Fennel5@reddit

My dad brought me to see the original Dune in the movies theater.

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_EvilD_@reddit

I watched A Clockwork Orange at like 10 with my mom’s heroin addicted BF. Strangely my favorite BF she ever had. Thanks Dave, wherever you are.

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PatchworkGirl82@reddit

My dad did rent Jaws when I was 8, although I don't remember ever being bothered by it, despite living in a New England beach town, but most everything else was the version taped off TV (I think he was more concerned about potential nudity than violence)

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lilabell5@reddit

100% and genuine horror movies like Nightmare on Elm Street. My parents were divorced and I would watch those types of movies at his house and then come home scared to death and follow her around stepping on her heels because I wouldn't let her leave me alone. 😂

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zombie_overlord@reddit

Yup - I took advantage of the divorced dad rated R movie loophole too. We probably rented the original Terminator like 20 times lol

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Ok_Researcher_9796@reddit

Amy kind of violence or monsters was fine. But forget it if there was any nudity at all.

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fuzzycuffs@reddit

Ha. My dad wasn't around so I had to watch bad movies through other means.

But yeah I would not be ok letting my 7 year old watch it. But my 13 year old pretty much has access to watch anything she wants now.

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_MadGasser@reddit

My 80s mom. Basic instinct is fine for my kids to watch.

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JaketheSnake319@reddit

For real. I remember in Superman 3 the lady getting turned into a robot scared me badly.

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Fantastic-Sea-7806@reddit

Throw in Predator and, baby, you got a stew goin’.

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luxtabula@reddit

Honestly it wasn't as gory and scary as the 80s stuff that came before it. T2 was not a kid friendly movie but it wasn't traumatic.

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abelabelabel@reddit

Former six year old here. I could not in fact handle Terminator 2.

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Ambitious-Menu2298@reddit

Oh yeah, my dad took me and my brother to see the fly and aliens at a drive in theater, I was 6 at the time. Had lots of nightmares after that

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CRB429@reddit

Saw Lethal Weapon 2 in theater opening weekend, I was 8, my brother was 7 as was his 2 friends. Multiple murders and boobs. My dad said it’s the most embarrassing parent thing he ever did…..though we saw so many other seriously rated R movies lol

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jockfist5000@reddit

Babysitter watched Poltergeist with me. I was 8.

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Reyreyseller_3098@reddit

Total Recall with the three titties!

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Responsible_Park3317@reddit

My old man didn't parent at all, and my mum was super protective, so I didn't get to watch the more adult-oriented stuff at home as a kid. At my friend's houses, on the other hand.... 🤣

I have interesting (and traumatic) memories of Thriller, Moon Trap, Lifeforce, and the OG Hobbit animated film. I'm sure there were other non-child appropriate films I saw as a kid, but those experiences stuck with me. I also suffered from Night Terrors until my early teens, so.... that probably didn't help.

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Weak_Radish966@reddit

Yep! Eastwood, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, Seagal, many many more, we saw everything.

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jeremy1015@reddit

Yeah we watched all that shit and we’re not a bunch of squeamish wimps.

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blue_suavitel@reddit

Robocop for me

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oskich@reddit

That melting scene at the end was very suitable for children 😁

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rojoshow13@reddit

I didn't have a dad. But my mom watched Friday the 13th Part 6 with me at the neighbor's. Let me watch Full Metal Jacket with her. Let me have my own TV in my room with HBO. She once called the video store and told them it was okay for me to rent Texas Chainsaw Massacre when they refused to rent it to me because I was like 10ish.

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an_inverse@reddit

Ironically had the atom bomb dream myself all through life.

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Day_Old_Paper@reddit

For real. My dad got me Phantasmagoria when I was 12. Mom let me rent Friday the 13th movies and the original Dawn of the Dead and Fulci’s Zombi2 when I was 10. Still a horror fan to this day.

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Agentkeenan78@reddit

Terminator 1 was way worse. Funnily enough, my grandma taped the movie from HBO, edited out the motel sex scene for us kids to watch. The gratuitous violence and gore was something my parents didn't care about back then. Just sex. I used to binge it.

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LazySwayze@reddit

Rambo First Blood Part 2. I was in kindergarten. My mom really lit into my dad when she found out.

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oskich@reddit

I got T2 on VHS for my 10th birthday from my aunt, made me the coolest kid in school for a while 😎

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Gh05t_0n3_5150@reddit

Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Thing, Creepshow, The Outer limits and The Twilight show

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925doorguy@reddit

Predator, Action Jackson

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Edexote@reddit

Well, my oldest daughter saw Terminator 2 with me when she was 11. She loved it.

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Opposite_Floor7735@reddit

My parents were the parents who’d let me watch anything and then be upset with me if the movie content was upsetting to their kid (violence/swearing).

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Milkweedhugger@reddit

Red Dawn was my favorite movie when I was young. I turned out totally fine!

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Mo-Cance@reddit

laughs in 80's Robocop

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QueenInYellowLace@reddit

My 70s mom: Taking my three-year-old to see Cujo will be fine. She won’t remember it at all.

Me: Lifelong fear of dogs.

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