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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Scream for 12/13 year olds?

56 replies

Acunningruse · 30/10/2025 09:33

Been put under serious pressure to let DS and friends watch this on Halloween- the fact that DS was scared watching ET a couple of years ago doesn’t seem to have deterred him 🙈🤣
before I text the other mums to ask, am I insane for even considering it? It is rated 18 but Im not sure it would be rated the same if made today.
AIBU to consider letting them watch it?

OP posts:
user2848502016 · 30/10/2025 11:00

DD 14 has watched it (I think when she was 13) but I made the judgement based on knowing her and knowing she would be able to handle it. I don’t think it’s overly gory and it’s quite funny in parts.
I actually think the 18 rating comes from some of the sexual references (Sidney losing her virginity for example). Woman in black freaked me out a lot more than scream and that’s only a 15!

I think it would very much depend on the child and I would never let someone else’s child watch it without asking the parents.

JLou08 · 30/10/2025 11:03

I watched it at a sleepover at a similar age. It didn't cause me or my friends any harm. I don't think any of the parents were even asked for permission.

Kbroughton · 30/10/2025 11:04

Nope. It is a good horror, tongue in cheek and pokes fun at other horrors, which 12/13 year olds likely will not get at all. There is a lot of blood and gore and it is scary in places. i would not be letting my 12 year old watch it, although admittedly she was scared last night at the Adams Family!

Fiftyandme · 30/10/2025 11:04

Depends very much on the child.

My 12 year old wouldn’t bat an eyelid at Scream and would spend the entire film pointing out the ridiculous tropes, and discussing the props used to create the gore etc, and then would lecture me on just how manipulative Billy (or whatever his name is) is.

Mewling · 30/10/2025 11:05

Nope, it’s different if you want to take the punt with your own kid but not with other people’s.

Lyra87 · 30/10/2025 11:05

This is a tricky one. Scream is definitely a more tongue in cheek horror that I wouldn't have found scary at all at 12/13 and it should be a 16 rather than 18 imo. If my DD was that age I'd let her watch it. The problem is some people have a lower tolerance for anything horror like and my friends at that age wouldn't have been able to watch it, but would have said yes and then been upset by it. I think it's best to say no on this occasion, as putting it on other parents to say yes or no might not go down well, and it's better to err on the side of caution with sleepovers.

Whyjustwhy83 · 30/10/2025 11:23

I watched it at that age but I was also watching things like the shinning, with no issues. No I wouldn't, maybe a 15 but not without other parents consent, gremlins maybe like someone else posted earlier.

thisishowloween · 30/10/2025 11:29

Absolutely not. He can watch at home with you if you’re comfortable, but don’t put his friends or their parents in a difficult situation.

BauhausOfEliott · 30/10/2025 11:30

I think it depends on the kids really.

Horror is a tricky one because its impact really depends on the person, rather than their age. I know adults who can’t watch horror films that are rated 12A or 15. Equally I think there are 13-year-olds who would love Scream.

I wouldn’t let a 13-year-old watch, eg, an 18-rated gangster film or something. But Scream is basically a comedy slasher movie. Not especially gory, no complex moral themes etc. It’s jump scares and creepiness and knives/masks used as fear symbols.

I watched The Omen, The Shining and Halloween for the first time when I was that age and loved them. Equally there are adults who are still terrified by them.

deedeemeloy · 30/10/2025 11:40

My 13 year old would not be scared at all by Scream, would just think it’s a bit naff if anything. All kids are different though

Sassylovesbooks · 30/10/2025 12:36

The answer would be No from me too. I certainly wouldn't be pressured into it either. They are 5/6 years younger than the certificate rating, it's not like they are only 1-2 years younger.

VimesandhisCardboardBoots · 30/10/2025 12:39

Of course you're being unreasonable. It's a bloody 18! The age rating is there for a reason

ErlingHaalandsManBun · 30/10/2025 12:45

It does depend on the kids. Some will be scared and others won't. I have watched horror films from a young age (behind my parents back as a kid) and never really got scared by them. My DD's are both adults and my oldest gets scared easily and my youngest doesn't (and never has) As a result she watched Scream with me at about 13 and we both enjoyed it.

I wouldn't say its scary. Its gory, the murders are bloody, and there is one VERY mild sex scene where you literally don't even see anything and some swearing (the F word) so as long as the kids parents think their kids will be fine with it then go ahead and put it on IMO. However see what the overall consensus is amongst the parents and go from there. Maybe look into something which is a little less gory and bloodthirsty.

seekinghoneymoon · 30/10/2025 12:46

No way, I used to watch horror films as a teen with my brother all the time and Scream really scared me. It wasn't so much the gore, but more the overall scary atmosphere, not knowing who the killer was, then him being in the house even though she'd locked the doors etc. I didn't sleep for months and even now at 30 years old I'll randomly get scared at noises in my house and the first thing that comes to mind is that a murderer has somehow got in! Genuinely, I think it scarred me a little bit on that front.

Would Scary Movie be a good compromise? Scream is still in it, but it's funny. I saw it so long ago I have no idea if it's appropriate language wise for 12/13 year olds though so perhaps ask some advice on that one!

IndieRocknRoll · 30/10/2025 12:46

My son watched the new version at a sleepover when he was 12.
The parents didn’t ask. He told us when he got home. I was a bit Hmm that they hadn’t asked us. Saying that, I don’t remember being particularly scared watching it as a teen. He’s a bit older now & let him watch similar stuff if we’ve seen it first and it’s not excessively violent.

Iocanepowder · 30/10/2025 12:49

Absolutely.

I watched the second one at a 12 year old’s birthday party when I was at school Absolutely loved it and been a fan ever since.

Had to ring our parents (on the landline) first to get permission.

Iocanepowder · 30/10/2025 12:49

I would add that Scream is much less scary than stuff like The Ring, which scared the shit out of me.

Bitzee · 30/10/2025 12:51

I don’t think it would necessarily be rated 18 today and I think fine for a group of 14/15 year olds but 12 is far too young for most, other parents would likely judge you even for asking and then it’s awkward if some say no… or they feel pressured into saying yes but actually their kid is terrified. Just don’t. If you think your DS would cope with it then make it a family showing.

museumum · 30/10/2025 12:54

Does it not have some dubious stuff about virginity and the role of sex in horror films that 12/13 year olds would not have enough maturity to understand?

I would not want Ds 12 watching an 18 but would be happy to be asked about a 15.

PurpleThistle7 · 30/10/2025 12:55

and just to say I’m not actually super into restricting things but it’s so tricky to try to make that decision for other people. My 9 year old son loves lord of the rings but my 12 year old has a nightmare after watching 10 minutes of it. Kids are so variable!

AmyDuPlantier · 30/10/2025 12:55

My 13 year old son has had a massive binge of Halloween movies lately: Scream is far from the worst thing he’s watched. It’s fiction, I don’t really see movies as a problem.

Thatstheheatingon · 30/10/2025 12:56

Once you show them one 18 cert, it's that much harder to say no to others

TenderChicken · 30/10/2025 13:01

This was my absolute favourite film as a young teen. We rented it over and over - until my parents finally just bought us a copy, lol.

I don't remember what age I first watched it, but I always loved horror and my younger siblings always watched it with me!

Nearly50omg · 30/10/2025 13:02

Scared the crap out of me and I’m 40!

Kbroughton · 30/10/2025 14:13

seekinghoneymoon · 30/10/2025 12:46

No way, I used to watch horror films as a teen with my brother all the time and Scream really scared me. It wasn't so much the gore, but more the overall scary atmosphere, not knowing who the killer was, then him being in the house even though she'd locked the doors etc. I didn't sleep for months and even now at 30 years old I'll randomly get scared at noises in my house and the first thing that comes to mind is that a murderer has somehow got in! Genuinely, I think it scarred me a little bit on that front.

Would Scary Movie be a good compromise? Scream is still in it, but it's funny. I saw it so long ago I have no idea if it's appropriate language wise for 12/13 year olds though so perhaps ask some advice on that one!

there is a scene where a penis stabs someone in the head, and another one where the actresses hairy vagina hits someone in the face so probably not!

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