Horror Film Countdown Day 30 – Movies Anxious Parents Should Avoid

Welcome to our countdown to the most anxiety-inducing horror films for parents on day 30!

As you know, we have been covering the films I both love and hate because they’re awesome and they give me panic attacks now that I’m a mom.

Today is All Hallow’s Eve Eve and we are going to cover one of the most terrifying collections of films of all time. So far, we’ve covered all kinds of horror, but #2 on our list drives me to a whole new level of panic. What makes my anxiety skyrocket more than anything else?  What can drop-kick my spirit from perfectly happy to complete panic attack crazy in seconds?

Disclaimer: Trigger warnings are a given when you talk about horror, but I’m going to say it anyway.  Many subjects covered by horror films are disturbing to parents in ways we can’t possibly understand and each is unique to the parent and his/her experiences. Tread carefully and know your limits. If this begins to be too much, there’s no shame in closing the window. Also, this post contains some spoilers throughout. 

2. The Sadistic Horrors

I grouped these all in one category because they, typically, all involve older kids, actual, alive humans, (some based on true stories) and way too much unprotected, teenage sex.  Here are a few I grouped into this category:

Hostel series
Saw series
Last House On The Left
The Purge series
The Devil’s Rejects
Fatal Attraction
House of a Thousand Corpses
Valentine
Audition
Touristas
Human Centipede
Mother’s Day
The Hills Have Eyes
… and this is literally just what I thought of off the top of my head.  I should tell you, half way through writing this list I set my house alarm and made sure the doors were locked.  Yep, these truly are that bad for me.

Okay, here’s the deal with these movies, guys… This level of crazy is real. It’s out there and it actually DOES want to kill, slash, burn, torture and possibly eat my children. And yours. And me, and anyone it can get away with killing.

That’s not a movie. That is real life.

Those people, people like the monsters in these movies…. are actually in the world today, right now, trying to find ways to steal children and do horrifying things to them without getting caught.

Because they want to.

Not because they’re possessed, not because they’re cursed. Just …because.  Sure, some of them may be severely suffering from some kind of mental disorder, but they are still only committing these acts of sadistic torture because they want to, they think they’re justified, they feel it’s necessary or empowering.

If any parent ever needed motivation to get in shape, learn martial arts, be strong enough to run with your kids on your back, get a house alarm and carry weapons in your car – these movies should just about do it.

It also inspired me NOT to move out into the middle of nowhere so far from anyone else that my home was isolated… and a target. If you ever want to terrify me with two words, all you ever need to say is HOME INVASION and you’ll see me struggle to pretend I’m okay.

The reality is, 200 homes in the US are burglarized per hour. Most break ins take place between 10am and 3pm. When stay at home moms are by themselves with their young children, their homes are prime targets. Nearly 30% of burglaries that took place last year occurred while someone was in the home and 7% resulted in injury to the household member. A recent study revealed most burglars simply walk through the front door, either because it’s unlocked or because a household member allows them access by opening the door. 

Statistics in 2012 revealed that over 300,000 children are lured into sex trafficking every year in the US alone. Over 600,000 girls, boys and even adults are kidnapped and then sold into slavery for either sexual or labor exploitation PER YEAR. 59% of these victims are women over 18. 14% are men above the age of 18…the rest are children.

I saw more than more than one case in this last year of people in my town who had their cars stolen or burglarized while at a gas station with their children still in the car because parents just leave them in there unsupervised with the doors unlocked.

People I know personally allow their older, tween and teen children to walk a mile or more to school or friend’s houses and or to other activities where they are unsupervised. These kids don’t know self defense. They don’t carry weapons to protect them and in most cases, don’t have cell phones to call 911 if necessary. They all believe they are fine, they would be okay, nothing bad would ever happen. I’ve witnessed parents take their kids to the park and then go sit down more than 40+ feet away, chatting with friends or playing on their phones completely distracted and unaware of what their children are doing. They would literally have no idea for several minutes (at least) that their children were gone if someone wanted to take them.

The sheer apathy I see in parenting today is appalling, dangerous and just flat out stupid and movies like this are excellent reminders of the nightmare that is humanity itself. They should inspire us to make sure our kids can protect themselves. They inspire us to remember why it is important to create a plan for disasters and add things like home invasion or carjacking to the safety awareness conversation. As we talk about how to “stop, drop and roll”, we should also teach our kids to keep the doors locked and get a parent if someone knocks on the door. These movies teach us to understand that our children may need to know how to hide in our own homes if they are invaded and that is not paranoia – that is the disgusting reality of the world we live in today. A world where a film franchise about doing harm to others is legal and fun and totally acceptable is making millions and millions of dollars and actual, real people are threatening to “enact the Purge” because they want to see people hurt. That is our world and it’s all very real. These movies are not the kind you can leave at the theater and feel safe knowing “it’s just a movie”.

People actually are this crazy and sick and want to see you suffer.

Through these gut-wrenching, bloody, cringe-worthy horror films that makes us nauseous as much as they impress (if you are a fan of horror make-up and special effects), we can learn to be better parents.

These films inspire me, through the anxiety they invoke, to be better at taking care of my kids and myself. To protect them from ever allowing anything like this to happen to them is literally my number one priority in life now that I am a parent. If I didn’t think I had some measure of control over my ability to protect my self and my family from these kinds of horrific encounters, I’d go nuts. I’m serious. Sometimes I can feel it creep in and I am so close to completely cracking when I think too much about these things that all I can do is begin to make lists for disaster preparedness, set my house alarm and do some push ups. Not kidding.

Guys… Teach your kids self-defense and stranger danger. EARLY. Don’t wait because you think it won’t come up. Don’t selfishly risk their lives to save your comfort level or because you apathetically laugh at movies like this thinking they could never happen to you. Don’t put them, or you, in situations that could be dangerous.

Teach them as they get older- trusting people they don’t know could get them killed. It isn’t just “a good idea” to be careful and cautious, it could save their lives. You never know who the next John Wayne Gacy or Pedro Lopez (look him up if you don’t know) will be and your kids need to know how to protect themselves in case you are not there to do it for them.

They need to know this isn’t make-believe.  This is real and absolutely COULD happen, HAS happened and DOES HAPPEN. Look it up. As a cop. Do some research and you will see that even in this specialized niche of horror, truth can still be stranger than fiction and if that doesn’t send you into a near panic as a parent, I seriously don’t know what else could.

Oh, also – talk to your teens about sex. It’s an easy conversation and so much less complicated than you think – just tell them if they have cheap, unprotected sex before they are married, they’ll be murdered by Michael Meyers.

At least, that’s the story I’ll be using…

Bottom line; These movies are, collectively, number two on a 31 day list and second only to the series I am covering tomorrow. What could make me more paranoid than actual, real horror by live people? Check back tomorrow!