1. Jurassic Park
When I started this list it was not my intention to include three Steven Spielberg movies (four if you include
Were Back! which was produced by Amblin Entertainment), but as I continued writing I realized that the guy just makes films that are endlessly re-watchable; especially for kids. Some of you might not consider
Jurassic Park a kids film (it is rated PG-13), but its the very first movie I remember watching as a child so Im gonna include it. Plus
James Cameron also thinks its a film for kids, so Ive got backup. You may have picked this up already, but when I was a kid I was
way too into dinosaurs, dragons, and monsters like that. Im not sure if that was a result of watching this film, or if seeing this film was a result of that obsession. Whichever it was, I watched
Jurassic Park a lot as a kid. Its a fun flick; but its also completely terrifying. There are a number of scary moments throughout the film, but easily the most frightening one is the scene in the kitchen. It may be the scariest scene on this list, although the
Raiders climax is a close second. This is one of those scenes that you both cant watch, yet cant look away. Its intense, and if you havent experienced it yet then I wont ruin it for you; but I have no idea why youre still sitting there reading when you should clearly be watching this movie! Heck, Ive seen it dozens of times but I think Ill join you.
Honorable Mentions
There are many more films that could have made this list but didnt for whatever reason: whether it wasnt quite as scary, I didnt play it as often, or just that I didnt get to see it until I was older. But I felt bad leaving them out completely, so heres a list of some more great scary kids films from the 80s and 90s: Time Bandits, The Secret of NIMH (on instant Netflix), Gremlins, Ghostbusters, Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm, Labyrinth (on instant Netflix), The Black Cauldron, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Land Before Time, The Great Mouse Detective, Jumanji, The Neverending Story