- Both my 15-year-old son and I love movies, and we recently discovered we both enjoy horror films.
- I'm thoughtful about what's appropriate, and we watch films like "Child's Play" and "Scream."
I've formed a deeper bond with my 15-year-old son recently in an unconventional (and, honestly, kind of scary) way. In the past few years, he's gone from asking whether we could watch the original "Scream" together to attending Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios with me.
Since realizing our shared love of the horror genre, my son and I have watched everything from "Child's Play" to "Talk to Me." We've also found other ways to extend our shared love of horror films and further our connection. Though scary movies can feel like an unsettling way to make memories with my teenager, it's also been a lot of fun having a partner in jump scares.
My son loves movies, so horror films felt like a way to connect
I homeschool my two teenagers, and when my son expressed an interest in taking a film-study course as an elective, I realized we had something in common: a love of movies. While I'm not only a fan of horror films, I do love all things murderous and spooky, so after watching a few classic films like Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" and "Psycho," we ventured into newer movies and series and watched "Stranger Things" together.
As the premiere of 2023's "Scream VI" loomed, my husband — who is not much of a horror fan — had agreed to see it with me for a date, and my then-14-year-old son asked whether he could come with us. We felt that he was ready, so we all watched a few of the early "Scream" films and 2022's "Scream" together in preparation. He loved his first slasher film, and a bond was formed, especially because it let my husband off the hook and gave me a new buddy to catch the latest releases with.
Experts say bonding with a teen is all about shared interests, so I'm going with it
Barbara Greenberg, a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in adolescents and families, previously told Insider the best way to get a quiet teenager chatting was to ask them about things they like to do, rather than just trying to get details about their friends or relationships. She said getting them talking about their interests was a great way to plan activities with them; you learn about what they like to do, and then you can plan activities together around their interests. I'm just lucky that we happened to find an interest we have in common.
Admittedly, I'd never have thought I'd invite my teenager to join me in my appreciation for a good slasher flick, but somehow our interests converged into a bond over all things scary. Since we've started watching horror films at home or in theaters together, it's given us a shared experience to chat about. To me, that's priceless, as long as he doesn't seem too freaked out by the films. (So far, so good.)
Scary movies have opened up additional ways to spend time together
Often, after we watch a movie, we'll turn on one of our favorite podcasts, "Too Scary; Didn't Watch" — which has covered tons of movies — to listen to the hosts dissect the film and its plot. We often do this in the car, and we end up pausing the podcast repeatedly to share our opinions about the film.
Before, car rides used to be silent; now, we have plenty of conversation opportunities. (I often also turn to this podcast ahead of time to understand the plot of a film and determine whether it might be OK for him to watch.)
This year I took my son to the opening weekend of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, and it ended up being a bonding experience we'll never forget. Not only did my film-obsessed kid love walking through haunted houses that felt like actual movie sets, but some of his favorite scary intellectual properties, such as Universal Monsters and "Stranger Things," were represented in many of the houses.
In fact, since everyone's favorite murderous doll, Chucky, has his own haunted house this year, we spent a week watching daily films from the "Child's Play" franchise as research — another bonding opportunity I'd otherwise not have had.
As it turns out, bonding with teenagers isn't as scary as I thought
Spending the past few months watching horror films, listening to scary podcasts, and attending spooky events with my son has brought us much closer. It's bittersweet knowing my kid has transitioned from a little boy begging to watch "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (though we did catch the 2023 version, "TMNT: Mutant Mayhem," in theaters, too) to a soon-to-be grown man who can hang in there through films like "M3gan."
While there are some types of horror films I feel he's not ready for — there are some even I avoid, like the "Saw" franchise or anything directed by Eli Roth — the ones we do see together have given us lots to talk about and plenty of quality time spent together.