I was roughly 11 when my parents asked if I wanted to see my first R-rated movie. I was stoked at the opportunity. They proceeded to take me to see Alien and I LOVED it!!! What a rollercoaster!! I was so proud I could not only handle an R-rated movie but really enjoyed it. The very next weekend, they asked if I wanted to see another one. ABSOLUTELY!!! We then went to see The Amityville Horror. I didn't sleep soundly for WEEKS. It wasn't until Blade Runner, several years later that I got up the courage to see an R-rated movie again.
Perhaps you'll disagree, but I can't think of anything traumatizing in that movie. I mean, it's "R" but that's just for profanity and some nudity. Doesn't seem like the kind of movie that would be horribly inappropriate for an 11-year-old. My mom took me to "Saturday Night Fever" when I was 10, and that's a similar situation: mainly profanity, some nudity. I don't think I was too young for it!
Yeah, "Amityville" creeped me out in 1979 too. I was 12 ad it didn't haunt me like it did you, but it was scary stuff. Back then, at least. Looks campy now! Saw "Alien" the same year and it didn't haunt me at all!
Grizzly (1976) - in the theater. Probably a silly movie in retrospect, but at 8-9 years old, it was scary Alien (1979) - also in the theater at 11-12. Probably closed my eyes through most of the chest bursting scene. like Tim, the original Last House on the Left, though it was on cable (ON TV) so this was at home with some friends probably in 1979-80 near Halloween. Horror movie sleepover with friends where they were showing Friday the 13th and other similar movies that could be taken in good enough humor. But Last House was different and disturbing to all of us at 12-13.
Nothing traumatizing but there was a bedroom scene that I remember my aunt turning to her friend and saying, "Maybe we shouldn't have brought them." ha It was me and my cousin who was 12. Different times. We were young and were not exposed to too much yet.
Not sure if there were any edited for content versions of Wes Craven's Last House On The Left, so just to confirm did you see it to the end showing the disembowelment scene? Kinda' made it more of a snuff film after seeing that making Craven's later movies like Nightmare On Elm Street seem pedestrian.
Made me think of the first time I watched Saturday Night Fever and I thought the condoms that "Annette" held out to "Tony" were giant Alka-Seltzer tablets. So young.
My mother took me to see The Thing, (From Another World) in 1951 when I was 8 years old. It scared the hell out of me, I couldn't watch it, and she had to take me home in the middle of the movie. 70 years have gone by and I still have not watched the whole movie. Guess I should put it on my list of things to do, and then watch the remakes.
Naw, I was all good with everything I saw. But I was a kid in the '60s, and there wasn't anything so horrifying that it would warp my little mind. I'll say this: I saw Invaders from Mars (the 1953 version) on television when I was about 9 or 10, and I was convinced for at last a week or two that my parents were aliens. All the other stuff -- The Thing and Psycho and all that stuff -- I understood it was just make-believe, and it didn't affect me much. I understood you could get scared in the theater, but it was like getting scared on a roller coaster: just entertainment.
This is not an exaggeration: my mom and dad took my sister and I to see A Clockwork Orange at the drive-in in 1972. I was three years old, my sister was 2. I have vivid memories of that night. I didn’t really understand the film, but the rape scene was extremely difficult to watch. We also saw Taxi Driver and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest at the drive-in upon release. Heavy films for a little kid.
That was my one of my mom's favorite movie, and I remember she might have even cried while telling me some of the story. Then she excited me when she said, "The guy from Karate Kid is in it" (not to mention, the most pre-stars in any movie), and it took years and year, but I finally saw it. Not sure if I read the book after or before, but I was horrified to see "Daniel-san" like that, and the earlier stabbing. Just the injustice of it all, but admired Matt Dillon's character a lot. He was actually a good guy, who loved his friends, and put his neck and his life for others. He went crazy at the store and with the police. Again, he loved Johnny and others. This will always be a very important and unforgettable movie for me.
The first adult films I watched at a cinema: a James Bond double-bill of Goldfinger followed by From Russia With Love (out of sequence). I was seven, and can remember being completely held by Goldfinger, which remains one of the most exciting films ever made. But I can recall getting very twitchy during From Russia....which (especially after Goldfinger) seemed slow and talky and very low on gadgets.
Funny thing is that I'd think an average 12 year old in 1984 would've had more exposure to "R"-rated content than a 12-year-old in 1979 due to videotapes and cable. When I was 12, neither of those was really a "thing". If you wanted to see "R" movies, you had to go to a theater. By 1984, young kids had much easier access to that content via cable and videotapes. Just a massive shift in the way we could consume movies over those 5 years!
Unquestionably a LOT of that movie's content was over my head when I saw it as a 10 year old. I would've reacted to the profanity and the brief nudity. I doubt I even understood what was happening in the rape scene. As an aside, my mom took me to see "SNF" like 2 weeks before they put out a "PG" cut. She was pissed!
I honestly don't remember, but it could have been edited out. Given that I don't remember it specifically and the movie made such an impression, I'd guess that it probably was edited out. I think most movies, even slasher/horror pics, up to that point had some campiness or clearly unrealistic aspect to it. Last House I found too realistic in scenario and all around mean-spirited. Probably my first real reality check that people can be cruel/evil in more common/everyday ways.
Laura (1944) on late night TV in the 60s (at age 9) liked it, but didn't know why Blood Feast (1963) at a Florida drive-in theatre (first-run)...totally grossed me out Joe (1971) as a high-schooler, I thought that Joe (Peter Boyle) was a jerk...I "get" him now (lol)
Used to watch war movies and all sorts when I was a kid. My dad was a big fan. My parents were never worried about me seeing violent gory stuff. They might draw the line at gratuitous sex and nudity (much to my disappointment). Can remember sitting and watching The Wild Bunch and Demon Seed etc. Watched Alien aged 10 with my Dad hiding behind a cushion (dad, not me). Made me the well balanced human I am today.
When I was 10 (1970) my parents were in a bowling league by a cinema so I would go with them and see a movie then join them at the bowling alley after it was over. Watched the second half of Ben Hur this way and loved it so much my dad took me the next day to see the whole movie. But this story is about convincing them to buy me a ticket to get in to see The Magic Christian. I was so worried they would see it was rated M ( I believe at the time) that I just kept saying RINGO! They didn't quite get why I wanted them to buy me the ticket instead of just giving me money. I wasn't bothered or scarred by it at all. In fact I loved it. The bowling friends of my parents not so much however, when I joined up with them later and gleefully told them all the most memorable parts.
This reminds me ..... a few years back, I saw a 'mother and baby' feature at a local arts cinema, the idea being that mothers could bring their infant children to a 'relaxed' showing of a classic film. One of the films advertised was Last Tango In Paris....but, really, if you're less than a year old, are you going to be corrupted by watching that?
