Watching Movies with My Daughter

My daughter, 11, is my buddy. But at 11, I'm sure she's every bit as impressionable as I was at that age. So as we delve into more mature content, I really have to watch it. As a family, we enjoy watching true crime shows, ghost shows (except with stoopid British psychics), and stuff like that. Lately, though, she has expressed a strong interest in "scary" movies, and that puts me in a tough spot. Horror has never really been my thing, I've seen quite a bit of it, and I know what I like and what I don't like. And what I don't like is ultra-realistic gore. Bleh. I haven't seen Hostel, Saw, or any of that cause I just don't consider it a pleasant way to spend time.

However, I think The Shining is one of the finest films ever made. And she is loving the NBC Fear Itself series on TV (as am I). And while I'm not letting her watch The Shining just yet, I am having a blast letting her watch things like Jaws and Alien. Watching her try to make up her mind - as the shark threw itself on the back of the Orca, and Quint lost his grip - if she really, really, truly wanted to see Quint get chomped on, is a series of facial expressions I'll never forget. (She passed - this time).

But with a movie like Frailty, for example, while there's no gore, and very little in he way of lanuage, deals with themes I'm not sure I'd like her dealing with just yet. Doubting God, religion, and daddy. That's a tough spot. Even though I think Frailty is a great movie, can I actively endorse it to my 11 year old daughter? I'll pass.

We did watch Evil Dead 2, though. HAHAHA! She loved it. Army of Darkness is on deck. It's so funny cause she knows Bruce Campell from some kid's show that she watches (!) But I get to explain to her that these movies are where he got his start and that the director is the guy who did the Spider-Man movies. She eats it up.

I need to go back and watch Bubba Ho-Tep cause I can't remember the language.

So you'll see a lot of rewatches in my monthly movie summaries. My baby-girl is why.
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