- 6 weeks ago
They may be young, but they're absolutely terrifying! Join us as we count down the most disturbing and nightmare-inducing children to ever grace horror cinema. From possessed youngsters to murderous prodigies, these pint-sized terrors prove that evil comes in all sizes. Which creepy kid still haunts your dreams? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:00What's important about them is whether they're good or bad, and these children are bad.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at 20 of the scariest and most unsettling children in horror cinema.
00:10And just as the blue man was offered up unto him, so shall be the unbelievers!
00:17Number 20. Alex, Weapons.
00:192.17 in the morning, every kid woke up, got out of bed, walked downstairs, and into the dark.
00:32And they never came back.
00:36When Justine Gandy's entire third grade class suddenly goes missing in the middle of the night, only one pupil turns up for school the following day.
00:43Alex.
00:44He's elusive, mysterious, and completely wrapped up in the mystery that haunts the town.
00:49A ghastly specter of Alex even appears in Justine's dreams, reverberating through her subconscious and terrifying the audience with a crooked clown smile.
00:57As the story's heroes put the pieces together, they begin to realize something deeply unsettling is happening in Alex's house.
01:04And they'll need to work with the cursed boy if they want to find the other kids.
01:08We're talking about 17 kids and one classroom.
01:12I want to know what happened in that classroom.
01:15Why just her classroom? Why only her?
01:17Number 19. Oliver, Bring Her Back.
01:20Are you in there?
01:23Is this part of it?
01:27Did I do it right?
01:29It's amazing how scary a character can be without speaking.
01:32Jonah Ren Phillips does not speak throughout much of the film's runtime, yet he creates a deeply unsettling presence through his posture, facial expression, and eerie physicality.
01:40He commits fully to the physical demands of the immensely creepy Oliver, with his violent outbursts generating the film's most visceral moments.
01:48The character and performance also eschew traditional possession tropes to focus more on ambiguous situations that keep viewers guessing and unsettled.
01:57Oliver conveys trauma, submission, and menace in equal parts, the byproduct of creative character building and sublime performance.
02:04Hilary, we're going out for a little bit.
02:10Be alright?
02:13Good.
02:15Number 18. Lonnie, Deliverance.
02:18Though it doesn't fit neatly into the genre, Deliverance can easily be considered a psychological horror film, and we learn that almost immediately through the presence of Lonnie.
02:36This kid isn't a big character, but he embodies the eerie and unsettling mood that pervades the rest of the film.
02:41Lonnie seems almost otherworldly with his silent demeanor, blank stare, and creepy banjo playing.
02:47His inexpressive face and refusal to engage in conversation also make him seem unreadable, adding to the sense of alienation the protagonists feel in the remote Appalachian setting.
02:57The iconic dueling banjo scene is more than just a musical performance.
03:01It is a chilling cultural confrontation, a moment of unbelievable tension masked as harmless entertainment.
03:07God damn, you play a mean banjo!
03:13Hey, you want to play another one?
03:16Give him a couple of bucks.
03:18Number 17. Henry Evans, The Good Son.
03:21Sure missed an interesting session.
03:23I like therapy.
03:25What did you tell her?
03:26Sorry?
03:27It's strictly confidential.
03:29But you better stop telling lies about me.
03:32Because no one's going to believe you.
03:34Sooner or later, they're going to find out about you.
03:36By 1993, Macaulay Culkin was at the height of his fame, having just come off the two Home Alone films.
03:43So, some audience members expected Culkin's usual charm and mischief, not psychopathic murderous intent.
03:49This clever casting subversion is highly effective, and Culkin's typical cuteness only makes Henry's behavior that much more disturbing.
03:56Henry displays some hallmark traits of a sociopath or budding psychopath, including a total lack of empathy and remorse.
04:03He hurts animals, lies effortlessly, and manipulates those around him.
04:07And he proves to be a gaslighting master.
04:10This is the type of kid you never want to see.
04:13One who knows exactly what he's doing, and one who will almost certainly grow into something much worse.
04:18Now you tell me.
04:23Did you kill Richard?
04:24What if I did?
04:29Number 16.
04:30Umbre and Pluto.
04:31Us.
04:32Then, the girl had her first child.
04:37A beautiful baby girl.
04:40But the shadow.
04:42She came back to a little monster.
04:46Umbre was born laughing.
04:48Nothing is creepier than children that aren't quite human.
04:53Enter Umbre and Pluto, the tethered versions of Zora and Jason.
04:57Umbre's unnerving, permanent smile and silent predatory movements evoke a chilling sense of unnaturalness, which contrasts greatly with her human counterpart's warmth.
05:06And Pluto, with his scorched face and animalistic behavior, reflects the trauma and horror of a life spent in darkness and suffering.
05:12The kids' enduring silence makes them menacing, forcing viewers to focus solely on their eerie physicality and inhuman traits.
05:20But what makes them truly effective is the psychological horror they represent, the dark and unnatural versions of ourselves that result from neglect and abandonment.
05:28The girl had a second child, a boy this time.
05:33They had to cut her open and take her from her belly.
05:38The shadow had to do it all.
05:40Oh, my self.
05:45She named him Pluto.
05:47Number 15.
05:48Samara Morgan, The Ring.
05:56Seven days.
05:58It's hard to remember that the creepy TV ghost is really just a kid.
06:02Samara's long black hair helps obscure her face, which we naturally find to be a little off.
06:07And her distorted, jerky movements, not to mention her ability to, you know, emerge from TV screens, defy logic.
06:14Meanwhile, the cursed videotape, which kills its viewers in seven days, builds a lingering atmosphere of dread that lasts throughout the entire film, ensuring that Samara remains firmly in our minds, even when she's not on screen.
06:27Plus, her backstory is just insanely tragic, adding depth and motivation to her murderous rampage.
06:33It all combines to create a surreal and terrifying monster, one that blurs the line between traditional ghost story and technological curse.
06:40Number 14.
06:46Gage Creed, Pet Sematary.
06:48Oh, Gage.
06:51Gage.
06:52I brought you something, Mommy.
06:55For 90% of this movie's runtime, Gage Creed is just a cute and normal kid.
07:00But those last 10%?
07:01Oh, boy.
07:02Following his tragic death, Gage is resurrected by supernatural forces in the cursed Pet Sematary and returns not as the sweet toddler he once was, but as a malevolent and murderous demon thing.
07:14The contrast between his innocent appearance and his violent actions, like murdering his own mother, creates a super unsettling dissonance that's hard to shake.
07:22And the idea of a small toddler embodying death itself taps into some deep psychological fears that, frankly, we don't really want to explore.
07:30There's a reason Stephen King called this his scariest story.
07:33Don't think about doing it, Lewis.
07:35The place gets holier.
07:37The place is evil.
07:42Sometimes, death is better.
07:45Number 13.
07:46The Midwich Children.
07:47Village of the Damned.
07:48I don't think you'll go to London.
07:50We are now the only ones left, and you must learn that we're determined to survive, and that there's nothing you can do to stop us.
08:00With their identical blonde hair, glowing eyes, and emotionless expressions, the children of Midwich visually resemble adorable children.
08:08But their cold logic, telepathic powers, and lack of empathy reveal an unsettling truth.
08:13The kids' hive mind communication and eerie calmness often result in incredible tension,
08:17as they manipulate and control the adults around them with literally inhuman precision.
08:22The metaphor is also just as creepy as the kids themselves,
08:25with the film playing on deep psychological fears of the unknown,
08:29the loss of parental control, and an invasion by the other.
08:33The children don't scream or rage.
08:35They calmly force people to harm themselves through some type of weird alien hive mind power.
08:40And that is way scarier than any screaming could ever hope to be.
08:43Well, I'm sorry, David. I'm sorry I was wrong about you.
08:47If you didn't suffer from emotions, from feelings, you could be as powerful as we are.
08:52Number 12. Claudia. Interview with the Vampire.
08:55I was mortal to you.
08:58You gave me your immortal kiss.
09:00You became my mother and my father.
09:07And so I'm yours forever.
09:11But now it's time to end it, Louis.
09:14Kirsten Dunst burst onto the scene playing Claudia,
09:17and it's no wonder she became a huge star as she gives one heck of a performance.
09:21Turned into a vampire as a young girl,
09:23Claudia is physically frozen in childhood,
09:26but her mind matures over decades,
09:28leading to a disturbing disconnect between her innocent appearance
09:31and her increasingly violent and manipulative behavior.
09:34Dunst delivers a performance far beyond her 12 years,
09:38conveying Claudia's hunger for control with chilling intensity.
09:41Her eerie elegance also combines with that signature cold and calculating gaze,
09:45horrifically blurring the line between child and monster.
09:49She's one of the creepiest figures in vampire cinema,
09:51and the young Dunst easily holds her own next to cinema legends like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.
09:56Vampires who pretend to be humans pretending to be vampires.
10:00We're avant-garde.
10:01Number 11. Isaac Croner. Children of the Corn.
10:05In the dream, the Lord did come to me, and he was a shape.
10:10It was he who walks behind the rose.
10:13Masterfully played by John Franklin,
10:15Isaac is a child preacher with an unnaturally authoritative presence.
10:19Speaking in archaic, fire-and-brimstone language that is naturally unsettling coming from a young child.
10:25His piercing stare, eerie calmness, and fanatical devotion to a mysterious deity
10:29known as he who walks behind the rose creates a powerful sense of unease.
10:34Meanwhile, the idea of a child leading a murderous cult subverts reality and societal expectations,
10:40as we are conditioned to think of children as victims, not rulers.
10:43Franklin's performance also amplifies the horror,
10:46as his unnaturally mature voice and physical stillness make Isaac seem less like a child
10:50and more like a demonic prophet.
10:52It probably helps that he was actually 24 when the movie came out.
10:56Malachi!
11:04He wants you too, Malachi.
11:09Number 10. Esther. Orphan.
11:11My name is Esther. What's yours?
11:13Though this supernatural horror film received mixed reviews,
11:16it's at times generic scares and formulaic plot are saved by one thing,
11:21Isabel Furman's performance.
11:23As Esther, a 9-year-old child adopted by the Coleman family,
11:26Furman is absolutely captivating.
11:29She's sweet and charismatic one moment,
11:31but capable of turning into a menacing and volatile little creature the next.
11:35I will shoot him on me if you tell.
11:37Many critics pointed to Furman's performance as a highlight of the film,
11:40comparing it to some other child horror icons that we'll be talking about later in this list.
11:45If you skipped this film when it came out in 2009, give it a try.
11:48Esther makes it worth a watch.
11:49You took your family for granted.
11:51What do you mean?
11:53What are you going to do?
11:56Hit me?
11:57The performances that Isabel Furman's Esther drew comparisons to,
12:08this is one of them.
12:10It might be an oldie, but this 1956 psychological horror thriller
12:14managed to get under the skin of viewers with the precision of a scalpel.
12:17Eight-year-old Rhoda Penmark is the apple of her parents' eye.
12:21Unfortunately, when a schoolmate of Rhoda's dies mysteriously,
12:24Rhoda's behavior, both past and present, comes under scrutiny.
12:28Promise me you won't tell anyone what you've told me, do you understand?
12:32Why would I tell and get killed?
12:34Patty McCormick commands the screen as young Rhoda,
12:36and as old family secrets are revealed,
12:39she unravels her character's true nature in delightfully twisted fashion.
12:43Rarely has a child so convincingly conveyed pure evil.
12:47If you tell lies like that, you won't go to heaven when you die.
12:51Number 8.
12:51Ellie, let the right one in.
12:53Every now and then, a film comes along that's hard to pin down,
12:58a movie truly unlike any other.
13:01This 2008 Swedish romantic horror is just such a film,
13:04blurring the lines between genres in ways that make any sort of categorization feel inaccurate.
13:09And, at the very heart of this critically acclaimed movie,
13:12is the undead vampire Ellie, as played by Lina Leanderson.
13:16A relative unknown at the time, Leanderson landed the role of Ellie after applying online.
13:25Only 11 won cast.
13:27She would go on to be nominated for and win numerous awards for the performance,
13:31which was praised as being nuanced, compelling, and complex beyond her years.
13:36Number 7. Charlie Graham, Hereditary.
13:44He's gonna take care of me.
13:46Folks, we would like to officially welcome a new addition to the Horror Hall of Fame,
13:50Millie Shapiro.
13:51Hereditary was Shapiro's first feature film,
13:54her past experience having been on the stage.
13:57Suffice it to say, she made a massive first impression.
14:00Hereditary has been called one of the scariest films in recent years,
14:03if not all time,
14:05and it eschews the cheap jump scares so common in contemporary horror.
14:08In the film, Shapiro plays 13-year-old Charlie Graham.
14:12And while we don't want to give too much away,
14:14let's just say that Shapiro's performance will burn itself into your memory
14:17in a way that won't soon fade.
14:19We cannot wait to see what she does next.
14:27Number 6. Carol Ann Freeling, Poltergeist.
14:35Hard as it might be to believe,
14:36Steven Spielberg originally wrote the screenplay for Poltergeist
14:40as a Close Encounters of the Third Kind sequel,
14:42entitled Night Skies.
14:44Though that surely would have been interesting,
14:46we're glad the director Toby Hooper suggested it be reworked as a supernatural tale.
14:50We can't imagine Heather O'Rourke's performance
14:52being nearly as compelling in a sci-fi context.
14:55In the film, O'Rourke plays Carol Ann,
14:57the young daughter and first member of the Freeling family
15:00to sense the presence of spirits in their house.
15:04They're here.
15:05Her performance manages to be both endearing
15:08and deeply unnerving as needed.
15:11Even when she's trapped on the other side of the portal,
15:13her voice acting is chill-inducing.
15:16Penny!
15:17I can't see you, mommy!
15:20Who are you?
15:21But Bill, if you'll come with me, you'll float too.
15:28Pennywise really knows how to get under your skin,
15:30like using your dead younger brother as a hand puppet.
15:33Audiences first see Georgie as a cute and playful child,
15:36and while his brutal death early in the film is shocking,
15:39it's his reappearance that truly horrifies.
15:42When Pennywise uses Georgie's image to manipulate Bill,
15:45it's not just a jump scare,
15:46it's an emotional gut punch.
15:48The sight of Georgie's pale and rotting corpse taps into deep fears of loss,
15:52not to mention the supernatural,
15:54and his voice, now echoing with unnatural tones,
15:57strips away any sense of warmth and nostalgia.
15:59It's not just that Georgie is dead,
16:01it's that something evil is desecrating his memory
16:04and using his body as a source of trauma and fear.
16:07You want to!
16:09You want to!
16:10You want to!
16:12You want to!
16:14You want to!
16:15You want to!
16:17You want to!
16:19You want to!
16:24Number 4, Damien Thorne, The Omen.
16:27Go!
16:29Hey!
16:29If there's a child in film that makes us rethink having kids,
16:33second only to Rosemary's titular baby, Adrian,
16:36it's Damien from The Omen.
16:38Directed by Richard Donner,
16:40yes, the man who gave us Superman just two years later,
16:42The Omen tells the story of Damien,
16:44a young boy being raised by adoptive parents
16:46who don't realize he is in fact the son of Satan.
16:50Actor Harvey Stevens doesn't have much in the way of dialogue,
16:53but that's what makes his performance all the more impressive.
16:55He manages to convey evil and menace with his every movement and stare.
17:00The performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination
17:02for Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture, Male.
17:10Number 3, Denny Torrance, The Shining.
17:16Denny's not here, Mrs. Torrance.
17:19Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's novel
17:22was slow to get the credit it deserved.
17:24Polarizing though it was at the time of its release,
17:27it is regarded today as a masterpiece of the genre,
17:30and it's safe to say that the performances of its cast
17:32played no small part in establishing that legacy.
17:35While Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall
17:36both turn in performances of a lifetime,
17:39it would be criminal to overlook the performance of young Danny Lloyd,
17:42who was just six years old at the time of filming.
17:44Red rum!
17:46Red rum!
17:47Red rum!
17:48Red rum!
17:50Red rum!
17:51He not only nailed the emotional experience Danny Torrance goes through
17:55with subtlety and nuance,
17:56but seriously got under our skin voicing Tony,
17:59his imaginary friend.
18:01Remember what Mr. Halloran said?
18:06It's just like pictures in a book, Danny.
18:10Number 2, Cole Sear, The Sixth Sense.
18:13I see dead people.
18:15It's been estimated that roughly 45% of Americans believe in ghosts.
18:18After seeing M. Night Shyamalan's breakout film, however,
18:21we suspect that pretty much every single person who left the theater
18:24kept all the lights on when they got home,
18:26at least for a few days.
18:28A terrifying supernatural horror film,
18:30The Sixth Sense hit us with a variety of disturbing spirits,
18:33made even scarier,
18:34because we were seeing them through the eyes of this young boy.
18:37Sometimes you feel it inside,
18:39like you're falling down real fast.
18:41But you're really just standing still.
18:44As Cole Sear,
18:45Haley Joel Osment made us believe in every single ghost he encountered,
18:49and we shared in his terror.
18:51Unsurprisingly,
18:52he was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award.
18:56Will you stay here until I fall asleep?
18:58Before we continue,
19:00be sure to subscribe to our channel
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19:10make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
19:14Number 1.
19:16Reagan McNeil, The Exorcist
19:17This 1973 classic is counted among the scariest,
19:27greatest,
19:27and most influential films in the horror genre.
19:30But it's hard to imagine it having the same legacy
19:32had it not been for the scene-stealing performance of Linda Blair.
19:36Sure,
19:36she had plenty of help from the makeup department,
19:38as well as the demonic overdubbing of Mercedes McCambridge.
19:42But all these years later,
19:43it's ultimately Blair's performance that still haunts us.
19:45Where's Reagan?
19:46In here with us.
19:49Many directors approached for the project
19:50were apparently scared off by the prospect
19:52of having so much relying on the performance of such a young actress.
19:56In hindsight,
19:57it's safe to say she pulled it off and then some,
19:59even earning an Academy Award nomination.
20:02You killed your mother!
20:03I miss your servant!
20:03You left her alone to die!
20:05Shut up!
20:05I'll never forgive you!
20:06You're a bastard!
20:07Shut up!
20:08Bastard!
20:09Are there any other kids that creeped you out?
20:11Let us know in the comments below.
20:12Do it now,
20:14or your punishment shall be a thousand times,
20:15a thousand deaths,
20:17each more horrible than the last!
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