The horror genre is an evergreen performer with mainstream audiences and critics, but greater spectacles, more original stories, and groundbreaking technology have made horror movies even more terrifying. With frightening creatures, relentless killers, and danger at every turn, horror films aren't usually family-friendly.
Horror movies often pride themselves in their ability to terrify their viewers, but they’re not always intense experiences that are designed for mature audiences. Some horror movies perfectly toe the line and create powerful stories that entertain adults but are still appropriate for children.
Updated on October 23, 2022, by Samantha McPhee: Halloween is right around the corner, so finding a silly, scary movie that can entertain audiences of all ages is key. From recent films to genre staples, this article has been updated with trailers and runtime information so fans can discover some of the best family-friendly horror movies for Halloween.
10 A Quiet Place Becomes A Loving Family’s Fight For Survival
Runtime: 90 Minutes
John Krasinski officially launched himself into A-list director territory with his tour de force, A Quiet Place. A simple premise lends itself to a tense story as a race of aliens with super-sensitive hearing cull the planet. The aliens in A Quiet Place are genuinely terrifying, but the movie effectively takes a 'less is more' approach and features minimal on-screen violence.
A Quiet Place is more about the psychological terror of how the family can possibly survive through this horrific scenario. The emphasis on family and the strong child characters make it easy for younger audiences to connect with A Quiet Place.
9 Goosebumps Brings The Haunting Horror Books To Life
Runtime: 103 Minutes
It should come as no surprise that some of the best horror films for children are the ones that adapt young adult fiction. R.L. Stine's prolific Goosebumps series was a trademark of the 1990s and 2015's feature film adaptation is a clever love letter to the horror series.
Jack Black provides a quirky take on the acclaimed author, who must wrangle his many literary creations back into their fictional world. Strong storytelling and committed performances will keep adults engaged while everything else caters to horror-hungry kids.
8 Attack The Block Appoints Inner City Youths To Defend The Planet From Aliens
Runtime: 88 Minutes
Joe Cornish is an excellent director who's crafted many bold genre adventures that turn children into heroes. Cornish's cinematic calling card is Attack the Block, an inventive riff on alien invasion movies that's set in a suburb in South London.
Attack the Block is a breath of fresh air. The unifying premise where inner city youths (including a young John Boyega) must work together to protect their neighborhood from extraterrestrials is immediately compelling. Attack the Block also turns to a creative design for its aliens that manages to make them both intimidating and family-friendly.
7 Gremlins Is A Chaotic Creature Feature With Some Bite
Runtime: 106 Minutes
There are few mainstream filmmakers who are as anarchic as Joe Dante, and his two Gremlins movies may be his purest and most fearless feature films. Gremlins is a monster story at its core, but it’s such a layered project that it's quite difficult to define.
The Gremlins are truly dangerous entities, but their adorable Mogwai counterparts will immediately resonate with children. All of the horror plays out with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, especially in the satirical sequel, which will have children laughing more than they’re genuinely frightened by any of Gremlins' set pieces.
6 Jaws Still Has Audiences Terrified To Go Back In The Water
Runtime: 124 Minutes
Steven Spielberg is one of the best directors and he has crafted many movies that have forever changed the landscape of cinema. Jaws is a totemic release that originated the summer blockbuster and it’s still as effective today as it was during its release in 1975.
The film’s signature shark is a terrifying killing machine, but Jaws' clever editing and decision to only show the predator when it’s necessary allows the audience’s mind to become the movie's greatest tool. Other shark movies have come and gone since, but none can compare with Spielberg’s iconic classic.
5 Monster Squad Looks At A Plucky Group Of Juvenile Monster Hunters
Runtime: 82 Minutes
Fred Dekker's Monster Squad is like if the various Universal Monsters decided to give The Goonies a visit. The cult status of Monster Squad has only increased over time. It has proven itself as a timeless classic that will entertain modern audiences just as much as the 1980s crowd.
Monster Squad is focused on five kids who become the prime targets for Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolfman, and a mummy. As one might expect, Monster Squad is meant more for younger demographics and embraces laughter over bloodshed, but it's still full of horror staples and reverence for the genre that will appeal to adults.
4 Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark Excels Through Its Creepy Creatures
Runtime: 108 Minutes
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a deeply unnerving children's book that’s given many impressionable minds nightmares, mostly due to the book’s chilling artwork. This is the perfect type of property to adapt into a live-action movie.
Scary Stories to Tell's director, André Øvredal, and producer Guillermo del Toro understand how important it was to do the original drawings justice. The end result is an effective horror movie for all ages that follows a young cast of characters, but punches above its weight when it comes to the haunting creatures who are loose in the world.
3 Poltergeist Writes The Rule Book For Haunted House Movies
Runtime: 114 Minutes
Spiritual hauntings and paranormal possessions have become some of the most popular conditions for horror movies, but few can hold their own against Poltergeist. The 1980s horror movie elegantly depicts an overwhelmed family’s efforts to withstand increased hauntings. Adults run the show in Poltergeist, but the young Carol Anne becomes the primary paranormal target.
Carol Anne is an effective audience surrogate for younger audiences. Tobe Hooper is Poltergeist’s credited director, but Steven Spielberg's Amblin influence is palpable on this horror project. It’s undeniably more mature than E.T. or Close Encounters, but Poltergeist is still a PG-rated picture that most kids can handle.
2 Netflix’s Fear Street Trilogy Crafts An Intricate Curse Across Several Decades
Collective Runtime: 330 Minutes
R. L. Stine's domination of children's horror literature in the 1990s was solidified with his Goosebumps series, but the author also had his more adult Fear Street line of books. Netflix released a loose adaptation of the horror series in a trilogy of films that span three decades: the '90s, '70s, and '60s.
Fear Street is surprisingly gory and features some haunting setpieces, but it's still suitable for teens and the young adult crowd. There's also a genuine nostalgic feeling in the decade-hopping film trilogy that adults will also appreciate.
1 Ghostbusters Is The Perfect Blend Of Horror, Science Fiction, And Comedy
Runtime: 105 Minutes
Some of the most timeless comedies are ambitious projects that mix humor with wild genre experiments. There’s a natural joy to a movie like Ghostbusters where a collection of comedians at the top of their careers exchange wisecracks between supernatural surprises.
The magic of Ghostbusters and its sequels is hard to replicate, but it achieves a delicate balance where legitimately frightening visuals are undercut with slapstick absurdity. Any iteration of this poltergeist party is going to resonate with children, whether it’s the original movies, 2016’s reboot, or the latest version of the franchise that continues on in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.