The Movies' Creepiest Kids

Many times, kids are called upon to play sweet roles in movies. Heather O'Rourke from Poltergeist and Giorgio Cantarini from Life is Beautiful and all the way back the Shirley Temple and a plethora of movies were all the adorable innocents of the screen. But today's movie children can be much darker than they have in the past. This list recounts some of the creepiest kids in recent movie history. Note: spoilers may be present.

Identity, Timmy York. Bret Loehr was a cute kid grown to a cute young adult. But that angelic face lost much of its shine when the viewers learned that Timmy was the one who had murdered everyone at the motel, including slashing up one with a knife and smothering his own mother. Bret's eyes can be piercing, and he does a good job of portraying the two sides to his character, making the transformation into one of the creepiest kids in the movies even more startling.

The Other, Holland/Niles Perry. It was a unforgettable book by Thomas Tryon. It became a gripping movie, especially because of Chris and Martin Udvarnoky's portrayal of the twin boys. The unspeakable acts of these adorable boys make them some of the creepiest kids in movies and difficult to separate. Who was who? Which performed what horrible act? The haunting ending emphasizes the duality of the boys, in more ways than one.

The Ring, Samara. The Ring is one of the creepiest movies of all time, regardless of context. Throw in the special effects and nasty nature of a little girl left for dead, and that's chilling. Find out the little girl had her own cruel, supernatural streak, and Daveigh Chase's character is definitely one of the creepiest kids in movies.

The Omen (1976), Damien. Damien doesn't seem that bad, even when he knocks his mother over the balcony and lands her in the hospital, because it looks like it might have been an accident. But then there's the fit about going to the church, the wave to the Rottweiler that apparently caused the nanny's suicide, and that final, evil grin at the camera during the funeral scene. He knows more than his years would imply. He is definitely one of the creepiest movie kids, and Harvey Stephens' portrayal works better than later versions.

Halloween (2007), Michael. This time the remake gets the nod for having the creepiest kid. In this version, the audience is treated to Michael's growth into a monster. We see his horrible home life and how he is mistreated at school, but we also see his violence and his lack of emotion about it. He is at first sullen and eventually emotionless. Michael emerges from this young boy, Daeg Faerch, in one of the creepiest transformations in movies.

The Shining (1980), the twins. Danny isn't creepy, just sweet and cute. The daughters of the previous caretaker, however, are another story. Danny pedals around a hallway corner to see these girls standing in the hallway, impossibly (since they are dead). Never before or since has an invitation to play sounded so ominous. Lisa and Louise Burns play the girls, and although they don't do much acting, they are some of the creepiest kids in movies, arguably the most frightening characters in the entire movie.

So now Hollywood has learned that kids don't have to be the loveable angels of old; they can be startling, horrifying, and some of the creepiest elements of a movie.