10 Surprisingly Dark Children's Movies From The 80s

Directed by Christopher Columbus, Gremlins was a surprisingly dark film, praised upon its release for its concept and execution, but criticised for its excessive depiction of violence. In fact, the film was actually responsible for the creation of MPAA’s PG-13 rating, along with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

The film itself is about a young boy who receives a strange present from his father, Gizmo – an adorable Mogwai of unknown origins with a fatal aversion to sunlight, capable of spawning countless similar creatures when wet.

Released in 1984, Gremlins is an absolute classic, made for children but with a more mature sensibility. Throughout the film, the Gremlins are dispatched in fairly gruesome fashion; drowned, set on fire, stabbed repeatedly with a kitchen knife, and even crushed by an elevator. Perhaps most disturbingly: towards the middle of the film, a Gremlin is thrown into a kitchen blender, reduced to a bloody heap of mush splattered all over the walls.

I mean, it's brilliant, the film seemingly revelling in its own violence, but maybe a weird choice for a children's movie.