I Am Legend

III · Dec 14, 2007

I'm planning on taking my son and some of his little cronies to see I Am Legend this weekend. They're 8 years old and they watch movies like LOTR, so I'm thinking they should be able to handle it. Has anyone seen it yet?

Shadow_Ferret · Dec 14, 2007

Wow. You'd take your 8-year-old to that?

My 7-year-old doesn't like anything even remotely scary. He still can't watch the Incredibles without getting worried.

III · Dec 14, 2007

I was really hesitant about letting him watch scary things, like LOTR and Harry Potter, but all my kids love them. They've never seen an actual horor movie, but they love action/adventure and the monsters don't seem to bother them. When I was seven, Darth Vader terrified me!

Toothpaste · Dec 14, 2007

From what I understand the monsters in I Am Legend are so poorly rendered they wouldn't scare a fly (flies being notoriously skittish). The movie has been getting reviews that almost universally state the first two thirds are great, the last third utterly ruins the film.

Pity.

Fortunately Will Smith is one of the most charming and charismatic actors around, and evidently doesn't disappoint. And the dog looks wonderful.

Shadow_Ferret · Dec 14, 2007

III said:
When I was seven, Darth Vader terrified me!

I had nightmares for years after seeing The Twilight Zone episode with the Zanti Misfits.

In fact, these things still give me the creeps.

III · Dec 14, 2007

The old Twilight Zone TV show used to scare pants off of me when I was a kid. It didn't even matter which episode, just the grainy black & white was enough to send me running.

DaddyCat · Dec 14, 2007

At the risk of being pedantic, "The Zanti Misfits" episode is from The Outer Limits, not The Twilight Zone. People mix them up all the time.

rugcat · Dec 14, 2007

III said:
When I was seven, Darth Vader terrified me!

Seven? I feel so very old.

III · Dec 14, 2007

rugcat said:
Seven? I feel so very old.

Then you might want to stay away from this thread.

Shadow_Ferret · Dec 14, 2007

DaddyCat said:
At the risk of being pedantic, "The Zanti Misfits" episode is from The Outer Limits, not The Twilight Zone. People mix them up all the time.

Thank you, Mr. Pedantic. :tongue

Not sure why I said Twilight Zone.

BarbaraKE · Dec 15, 2007

I plan on seeing it this week sometime. My older son (18) said it was one of the few films he actually found scary. He actually used the word 'terrified' (which shocked me). So I don't know if I'd take an 8-year-old to see it. Might want to see it yourself first and then decide.

maestrowork · Dec 15, 2007

Shadow_Ferret said:
Wow. You'd take your 8-year-old to that?

My 7-year-old doesn't like anything even remotely scary. He still can't watch the Incredibles without getting worried.

When I was 8, my parents took me to see JAWS. Hey, if I could survive that without any permanent mental damage (heh heh heh... if you don't agree with me I'll CUT you!!!)...

I plan to see and review it this weekend. I don't really like end-of-the-world-zombie stuff but hey, 28 Days Later wasn't bad (28 Weeks later, however, was the stupidest movie).

Perks · Dec 15, 2007

My kids have beem clamoring to see a horror film. They are nine and five. They love 'Harry Potter' and that sort of thing, but they want a properly scary film. I'm all for it, because I've loved thrills and chills since I was two, but I'm having a hard time deciding.

I don't much care about bad language. I just want to avoid wholesale realistic murder, naked people and psychologically scary stuff.

I think Poltergeist would be great, except that a) it's too scary and b) it's too good. If that's your first horror film, the bar's set a bit high and you'll be doomed to a life of cinematic disappointment.

Someone recently suggested Gremlins and I think this might be the perfect solution.

I'm sorry to hear that I Am Legend isn't being well received. I'll probably see it anyway.

maestrowork · Dec 15, 2007

I think Gremlins would be a good "scary movie" for the younguns.

Or just show them JAWS, then take them to the beach afterwards.

Bwhahahahaha.

dpaterso · Dec 15, 2007

Scare-wise, Legend is technically Paranoia SF, cue feelings of acute isolation and, well, paranoia... nightmare fodder for kids.

This aside, I'm thinking the film may not be suitable for 8-year-old attention spans, I read an early version of the screenplay and man, the first half dragged. The second half didn't exactly go to flank speed either.

Will Smith makes all the difference, of course.

-Derek

Perks · Dec 15, 2007

maestrowork said:
Or just show them JAWS, then take them to the beach afterwards.

The nine year old has already suggested Jaws over her father's objections.

He said, "If she watches that, she'll never get in the water."

To which the girl replied, "Duh. I was never getting in the water anyway."

nevada · Dec 15, 2007

I want to see I Am Legend and my 8 yr old nephew hasnt said anything about it. He loves horror movies. Freddie Krueger, Halloween, he's all for it. He totally understands that it's all fake. When he was five or so and saw LOTR for the first time he turned to his mom and said, "Don't be afraid, it's just a guy in a suit." Kissing, however, horrifies him and he won't watch it. And yet, he was the only boy to dance with a girl in the christmas concert. It depends on the kid what you'll let him see. I think my 15 yr old nephew is still scared when he sees LOTR, the 8 yr old thinks it's all old hat.

I think if you're going to let a kid see a scary movie for the first time, it should be a situation teh child wouldn't find himself in so he's not going to be worried in his real life that somethign scary will happen. So no monsters from teh closet or under the bed. But Jaws? Or Aliens in space? Totally safe.

maestrowork · Dec 15, 2007

Tell you 9yo she may not even want to take a shower!

Now, how about letting them see Arachnophobia?

Spiders don't come out of your shower drain, you know....

kuwisdelu · Dec 15, 2007

I thought I Am Legend was great. I don't know how scary the actual monsters would be to a child. I didn't think they were badly-rendered at all, but I haven't seen too many horror movies lately. It's not really a "horror" movie, but it *is* a terrifying movie. For me, the terror mostly came from the idea that this is something that could really happen today. I thought it was great, and for me it didn't drag at all, nor did the last third ruin anything. If you're going into it thinking you're going to see a mindless bloody, gory horror film, then you'll be very disappointed. A lot of the greatness and horror is psychological.

ChunkyC · Dec 15, 2007

I saw it last night and will be giving it a decent review. I think it might be a bit much for an 8 year old. Heck, I make part of my living writing about movies and have seen just about every kind of film Hollywood can throw at us, and I was startled and creeped out repeatedly.

'course, I'm a wimp.

jordijoy · Dec 15, 2007

kuwisdelu said:
I thought I Am Legend was great. I don't know how scary the actual monsters would be to a child. I didn't think they were badly-rendered at all, but I haven't seen too many horror movies lately. It's not really a "horror" movie, but it *is* a terrifying movie. For me, the terror mostly came from the idea that this is something that could really happen today. I thought it was great, and for me it didn't drag at all, nor did the last third ruin anything. If you're going into it thinking you're going to see a mindless bloody, gory horror film, then you'll be very disappointed. A lot of the greatness and horror is psychological.

Psychological horror is the best kind! I can't wait to see it!

III · Dec 15, 2007

Tomorrow's the big day. And since it's the horror of Legend for the boys or the horror of Alvin and the Chipmunks for me, guess which one we're seeing . . .

Straka · Dec 15, 2007

I want to see I Am Legend, but if you want to see something really scary, make them watch the earlier film based on the book:

Shadow_Ferret · Dec 15, 2007

maestrowork said:
When I was 8, my parents took me to see JAWS. Hey, if I could survive that without any permanent mental damage (heh heh heh... if you don't agree with me I'll CUT you!!!)...

Really? At 8? I saw it at 18 when I saw it and its traumatized me for life. I panic if I'm in a lake and something brushes my leg.

III said:
Tomorrow's the big day. And since it's the horror of Legend for the boys or the horror of Alvin and the Chipmunks for me, guess which one we're seeing . . .

My 7-year-old just saw Alvin and loved it. And I've seen the commercials and it seems cute.

Chasing the Horizon · Dec 15, 2007

I'm going to go see I Am Legend sometime this week (wanted to go over the weekend but the weather decided to be crappy). I love psychological horror (and every other type of horror) and I love Will Smith, so I think I'll like it. If it's too scary for an 8-year-old it might be too much for my Dad, though, lol.

I saw Jaws when I was about 8 too. My parents had gone on and on about how scary it was (it had been out for probably a decade by then), and I just found it boring. I mean, it was just a shark. *shrug* Of course, I'd been watching the X-files since the show premiered (when I was 6). Some of the early episodes of that show still scare me.

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