Sometimes it feels like we don’t have to look too hard to find monsters among us, and, frankly, it takes its toll. I can only assume that the effect on kids is even more so.
There are several ways to address the issue, but for our purposes here, I’m going to suggest a dose of medicinal movies, namely the fighting of monsters with monsters (pitchforks and torches available by request).
Monster movies allow kids to understand that, to quote FDR, the only thing to fear is fear itself, and that the world isn’t always as scary as it may seem. Also, there is something comforting about having the snot scared out of you in a safe, controlled environment. To that end, here are some of my favorite family-friendly monster films, classics in black and white that not only introduce kids to the medium, but also provide a foundation upon which they may build their own monster-movie memories and theories on society. No, I’m not recommending Psycho or The Birds, but you do what you think is best.
Frankenweenie is the gateway film. Tim Burton’s claymation telling of a boy and his dog should ease kids into both the concept of black-and-white films (sharing rather gray stories) and the idea that sometimes fear can be entertaining. To be fair, the climatic scene is really intense, surprisingly so. Don’t sleep on Frankenweenie.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is the double-whammy. Not only does it showcase some of the greatest monsters of all time as portrayed by the greatest actors to ever play them, but also the comedy stylings of Abbott and Costello, which may change your kid’s life forever (usually for the better). Here the monster is no longer animated, shedding the added safety that is implied in a more obvious family film, but still not a constant threat thanks to the heavy hand of comedy.
King Kong, the original, is a great way to teach kids the backstory before the inevitable screening of Kong: Skull Island. Granted, the effects haven’t aged very well, but King Kong still works like a chimp, er, champ. Besides, the film is far too engrained in American pop culture for kids to miss.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers walks that thin line between monsters and aliens, not to mention political commentary, and is the film that moves us into the really scary stuff. It may seem silly in the daytime, but once the lights go off the intensity goes up. Besides, this stuff could happen, man!
Young Frankenstein is the monster movie we’ve been building toward. The previously mentioned films provide the history of the genre, allow for the coexistence of humor, and create comfort within the grayness of a black-and-white world. Then, boom, Young Frankenstein takes all of it, shakes it in a burlap sack with some double entendres, the perfect cast and the genius of Mel Brooks—the results speak for themselves. Is it a funny monster movie or a monster comedy? I don’t know, but whatever you call it, it’s howlingly perfect.
