22 Outrageously Adult Movies People Watched as Children

Movie ratings might not have been invented until 1968 — you know, several decades after movies — but it’s not like everyone was lining the whole family up for a Hostel-level gore-fest before then. The Hays Code and other Hollywood censorship movements made it largely unnecessary. Finally, in the late 20th century, filmmakers could expand beyond the universally family-friendly, as long as they were meticulous with the labeling.

The problem was that viewers were a little slower on the uptake. Some parents didn’t notice when a movie wasn’t appropriate for children, others just didn’t care, and sometimes, the kids themselves sneaked away for illicit viewings — often with deep regret. “For me, it was Hellraiser,” u/Openworlder1, likely cursed with lifelong nightmares of needlepoint, told r/AskReddit.

They asked, “Which movie did you see way too young?”

22 Watership Down

21 The Good Son

20 A Nightmare on Elm Street

19 Reservoir Dogs

18 A Clockwork Orange

17 Event Horizon

16 Porky’s

15 It

14 Jaws

13 The Wizard of Oz

12 RoboCop

11 The Shining

10 Poltergeist

9 The Birds

8 The Rocky Horror Picture Show

7 The Sixth Sense

6 Full Metal Jacket

5 The Exorcist

4 American Pie

3 Child’s Play

2 EuroTrip

1 Pirates

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