Give Your Inner Child a Nostalgic Trip With These 32 Snapshots From the 1980s

John Summers • Contributor

Aug 14, 2024 9:00 PM EDT

Today I was trying to help my 10-year-old find a good movie to watch on TV, and we came across "Gremlins." I instinctively told him that this movie was too scary for him, and we went on and picked "Inside Out" instead. And as we watched it, I suddenly realized that I was only 8 years old when Gremlins came out, and I remember me and my friends going by ourselves to the cinema and having an absolute blast watching it. Was it scary back then? sure! but what's wrong with being scared while watching a movie? It's part of the experience!

Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing movies today (Inside out 1 and 2 are great examples) but while they are wonderfully written and directed, they are mostly funny, adventurous and maybe a little sad - but pretty much NEVER scary! why not? What is so wrong with scary? E.T., Ghostbusters, The Never-ending Story, Gremlins—all of these movies had actual scary moments in them, and I feel like it made them better.

I guess what I'm saying is that we should go back to scaring children. It's good for them!