14 Best Horror Movies For Kids

Given it centres on a sleepy American town that comes under attack by vicious yet mischievous little monsters, this 1986 movie is more than a little reminiscent of a certain other movie which will come up later. Even so, Critters still boasts B-movie pleasures all of its own, and it's a good entry point to horror for perhaps slightly older children.

While the cast is primarily adults, the kids in the audience get a key point of identification in pre-teen hero Brad (Scott Grimes), a firecracker and slingshot-wielding farm boy whose anti-social skills come in handy when the family home is set upon by the Krites, diminutive aliens with a taste for human flesh. Happily, help is on the way in the form of two shape-shifting, heavily armed galactic bounty hunters.

The Krites themselves are engaging creations; all black fur and teeth, they're as cute as they are creepy. The film itself (another of the earliest PG-13 horrors) toes a similar line between cuteness and creepiness. While it's soft stuff for mature horror fans, it's definitely a little too intense and grisly for small kids, and does pack in a fair bit of swearing; once again, the F-bomb is dropped. But if the kids are a little older and/or made of stronger stuff, Critters is fine family entertainment.