Abigail and 9 other movies featuring creepy kids

There's something about a creepy kid that makes for a compelling movie. Children are supposed to be innocent and often the ones needing protection. So many horror movies have found an ingredient in success in making the audience realize how evil a kid can be. Often, it's one possessed or otherwise twisted by the supernatural, such as The Exorcist or others.

But scarier are the kids not made evil, they somehow just are. That some movies have kids who are monsters without supernatural elements is much scarier as that could be more like real life. With a new unique thriller in theaters now, here's ten movies featuring creepy kids to watch for those wanting to see how evil can hide behind an innocent face. 

Abigail

It's a great setup, what looks like a unique crime thriller. A pack of crooks who have never met before are brought on a job to kidnap the young daughter of a crime boss for ransom. They bring her to a mansion, meant to just hold her until the ransom is paid…and then the doors and windows shutter and the "victim" starts baring fangs.

Yep, the girl is a vampire, and what follows is a wild hunt with the kid in her ballerina costume tearing through all these crooks, which is amazing. It's likely to become a bigger hit in the future and another creepy kid to add to the list here. 

Abigail is now playing in theaters. 

The Bad Seed

The granddaddy of all "creepy kids" movies, this 1956 film can still thrill you. Rhoda (Patty McCormack) is a seemingly nice and innocent girl who seems unfazed when schoolmates or teachers suddenly die. Her mother comes to the slow and horrifying realization her daughter is a sociopath serial killer. 

With her blonde hair in pigtails and unique dress, McCormack is marvelous in the role. Her performance is chilling in that she has zero remorse over what she's done, as she kills people for the smallest of reasons. It's been remade a few times, but the original remains the best, with one of the most vicious child villains of all time.

The Bad Seed streaming on Tubi.

The Omen

The recent sequel is a reminder of how compelling the 1976 horror classic was. Gregory Peck is a diplomat whose wife loses her child at birth, so he swaps her with an orphaned baby. As the boy, Damien, grows, strange deaths and other events begin to occur around him as Peck rises up in power.

Peck is soon faced with the idea the boy is the fabled Antichrist and he has to kill him to save the world. Harvey Specter Stephens is brilliant as the youth, those cold stares and flat voice making his actions even scarier. The sequels are okay yet the original has a power that makes you wonder about some "innocent" children. 

The Omen is streaming on Hulu.

Orphan

This 2009 film rests on the fantastic performance of Isabel Fuhrman as a young orphaned girl adopted into a well-off family. She already seems off, rarely talking, and a scarf around her throat to hide something, so it's little surprise she starts lashing out with some brutal violence. That includes targeting the mother and some shady moves on the father.

Then, the movie unveils its crazy plot twist that puts everything in a new light. Fuhrman goes full-on psycho after this, leading to a wild ending. She reprised the role in a 2022 sequel, as the plot twist makes this the most daring of the movies on this list. 

Orphan streaming on Max.

Village of the Damned

What's worse than one creepy kid? A village full of them. In this landmark 1960 British film, an entire village falls unconscious. When they recover, almost every woman is suddenly pregnant and gives birth to children who grow quickly, all with blond hair, bright eyes and very scary mental powers. 

As their powers grow, the adults and government try to fight back but find themselves overwhelmed by the children. The 1995 remake was okay but pales next to the original, which spawned scores of imitators for such freaky sci-fi children.

Village of the Damned available to buy on Prime Video.

Brightburn

A spaceship crashes in Kansas. A young couple discover the boy inside and take him as their own. The boy grows up to discover he has superpowers. Sound familiar? Well, think again. Unlike a certain Last Son of Krypton, the youth in this 2019 movie is the worst nightmare: An arrogant and angry kid with the power to smash apart airplanes.

The movie does a twisted turn on the Superman mythos, showing just how terrifying a kid with superpowers would be. That he's almost sympathetic makes it worse and shows how the Superman mythos can take a very dark turn with an ending hinting he may be only the first of a wave of terrors…

Brightburn streaming on Hulu.

Better Watch Out

Imagine if Kevin from Home Alone fully embraced being a psychopath. That's the premise of this 2016 comedy. It already starts on a creepy note when a 12-year-old boy professes feelings for his 17-year-old babysitter, which she brushes off as just a crush. Enter a pair of home invaders, with the kid pulling off some traps before it takes a turn.

The movie even references Home Alone by showing how nasty some of these traps would be and the twists get crazier as it goes. It's a dark comedy with a kid character showing his true evil nature as it goes, yet it becomes compelling to watch and a unique film for the holiday season.

Better Watch Out streaming on Tubi. 

Children of the Corn

If anyone can provide a story about the creepiest of kids, it's Stephen King. His tale has spawned a few movies, but the 1984 film is the best bet. A couple stops off in a small Nebraska town where seemingly no adults live. The kids have become convinced that "sacrificing" them ensures a great crop field every year, and the couple is next. 

The movie may not be top-tier King, but that freaky premise truly gets you going. It's a bit more faithful than the 2020 version and always rests on the idea that combining kids and cults is a recipe for disaster. 

Children of the Corn streaming on Tubi.

Firestarter

Another King gem, this 1984 adaptation of his novel succeeds thanks to the casting of Drew Barrymore as Charlie McGee. Her parents were part of an experiment giving them special powers and they passed it to Charlie, who can start fires with her mind. She tries to control them but when her emotions get out of control, look out.

A government agency makes the mistake of trying to capture Charlie, and to say it doesn't go well is an understatement. Barrymore is ironically chilling as the girl who can immolate anyone around her, and the old-school special effects are more compelling than the 2022 remake. Charlie may not be as evil as some of the other kids on this list, but that doesn't take away from how scary she is.

Firestarter streaming on Netflix. 

The Innocents

This Norwegian film is marvelous in how it starts like a warm hearted tale of kids bonding together before taking a far more sinister turn. Moving to a new neighborhood, a young girl finds that others around her have special abilities like telepathy and telekinesis. It starts with them using their powers in wonderful ways but it's not long before it goes badly. 

It's a genius touch in showing how the innocence of youth can turn dark and seemingly good-hearted kids can be warped by circumstances. The terror builds as it goes on, leading to some nasty deaths and setting it at summer, a time meant to be the best for kids, makes this all the more striking as a thriller.

The Innocents streaming on AMC+.