Kids do and say the darndest things, and that was no more true than in the 1980s. If you just look at just a few of the best ‘80s movies, you’ll see youngsters put in situations ranging from dangerous to downright deadly, and everything in between.
If you want to take a trip down memory lane to see just how ridiculous things were for kids in big-screen adventures, stick around because we’re about to break down 32 ‘80s movie situations that’ll shock ya.
Running From The Fratelli Family (The Goonies)
The Goonies, one of the most beloved films of the ‘80s, also turns up the intensity when it comes to kids being put in dangerous situations. While the titular gang’s quest to find One-Eyed Willie’s treasure is full of peril (even if the octopus was removed), nothing comes close to their run-ins with the Fratelli family, especially its no-nonsense matriarch.
Short Round Driving A Car (Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom)
Short Round (Ke Huy Quan), who is pretty much the best child sidekick in the history of movies, found himself in all kinds of dangerous situations in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, including that one sequence where he serves as Harrison Ford’s character’s driver in a daring escape.
NORAD Handing Over Controls To A 17-Year-Old (War Games)
They don’t make movies like WarGames in today’s Hollywood, which is a shame because this 1983 techno-thriller has a great look, a tremendous cast led by Matthew Broderick, and a story that involves a teenager takes on a supercomputer to save the world from nuclear war.
A Teenager Is Recruited To Fight An Intergalactic War (The Last Starfighter)
The Last Starfighter is a movie that is often forgotten when talking about the best ‘80s sci-fi films, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. In fact, it’s actually a lot of fun. However, it does put its young lead in some wildly dangerous positions when he is recruited to fight in an intergalactic war.
A Group Of Teenagers Engaging In Guerilla Warfare (Red Dawn)
Restart your “Days Without a John Milius Reference” counter because there was no way we were going to leave Red Dawn off this list. This 1984 military classic sees a group of teenagers (Wolverines) take on invading Soviet, Cuban, and Nicaraguan forces when their parents and community leaders are rounded up and imprisoned or killed. Truly bonkers, but so much fun.
Max Going On A Space Walk (Space Camp)
Back when Joaquin Phoenix was still going by Leaf, he appeared in some wild movies. One of those, Space Camp, sees his young character, Max, perform a spacewalk in one of the movie’s more intense and awe-inspiring moments. Still crazy that this happened.
Elliott And His Friends Running From The Feds (E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial)
Though the bicycle escape scene in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is one of the most enchanting of Steven Spielberg’s career thanks in part to John Williams’ fantastic score, it’s also something that seems way too unsafe for Elliott (Henry Thomas) and his pals. One trigger-happy fed could have made this a tragedy.
Going To Chicago Alone At Night (Adventures In Babysitting)
Adventures in Babysitting starring Elisabeth Shue is one of those movies you can’t help but watch whenever it’s on. But once you get over the nostalgic rush, it doesn’t take long for you to realize that a car full of kids going into the heart of Chicago at night isn’t the safest of ideas. A fun, memorable adventure, for sure, but we’re lucky nothing serious happened.
Searching For A Dead Body (Stand By Me)
Though not the most intense Stephen King adaptation involving kids finding themselves in dangerous situations, Stand by Me isn’t just some walk in the woods. The running from the local gang, the leeches, the night watch, and other iconic scenes make this a dangerous adventure for the core group of youngsters.
Kids Taking On Dracula And Others (The Monster Squad)
We all love The Monster Squad, but was there anyone besides the group of titular kids who could take on Dracula and the other movie monsters in this ‘80s horror classic? But in all fairness, the famous Wolfman quote just wouldn’t be the same if spoken by a 40-year-old cop.
A Trio Of Kids Traveling Across The Country For A Video Game Tournament (The Wizard)
The Wizard made the Power Glove look so dang cool and showed off some killer Super Mario Bros. 3 footage, but it also centered on three kids who travel across the country with no supervision to attend a video game tournament. A proper balance, yeah, but Fred Savage is lucky nothing happened.
A High School Senior Conducting A Rescue Mission (Iron Eagle)
Iron Eagle features one of the epic battles between kids and grownups, but unlike in Home Alone where a young boy protects his house from burglars, Doug Masters (Jason Gedrick) takes on a foreign air force in actual combat.
Fighting A Maniac Acting Like 'Santa Claus' (Deadly Games)
A year before Home Alone came onto the scene, there was a French thriller called Deadly Games that saw a tenacious kid protect his house from a homicidal maniac dressed up like Santa Claus. The traps are deadlier, the stakes are higher, and the violence is something to be seen.
Students Taking Over A Military School (Taps)
Long before Tom Cruise was jumping out of airplanes, driving motorcycles off cliffs, or flying jets, he was taking over a military school to prevent it from being shut down in Taps. This 1981 drama, one of Cruiese’s first, is something we’d never see today.
Essentially Building A Fortress On Wheels (Ernest Goes To Camp)
Ernest Goes to Camp is a fun, lighthearted, and hilarious summer camp movie about a group of social outcasts finding family in the form of an accident-prone but well-meaning camp employee. But it also has some wildly dangerous moments, like the scene where the kids essentially build a fortress on wheels (like a Killdozer) to protect their camp from greedy developers.
Entering The Monster World (Little Monsters)
Little Monsters is one of the sillier and more colorful children’s fantasy films of the ‘80s, one that also sees its main character, Brian (Fred Savage) go to a world filled with monsters after befriending the one under his bed (played by Howie Mandel).
Entering A Mystical Labyrinth (Labyrinth)
Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly) finds herself in quite a predicament after wishing for her brother to be taken away in Labyrinth. With a little more than 12 hours to solve a massive puzzle, both of these youngsters are in a race against the clock in this Jim Henson classic.
Hiding An Alien From The Government (Mac And Me)
You know what’s more dangerous than meeting a mysterious (yet adorable) alien? Oh, just hiding that alien from the government. That’s the case in Mac and Me, a 1988 family sci-fi flick about the unbreakable bond between boy and alien that could result in both of them dying.
Escaping Libyan Terrorists In A Time Machine (Back To The Future)
Though traveling back in time seems like it can be extremely dangerous, it pales in comparison to dealing with double-crossed Libyan terrorists \who are running and gunning for your mentor. That’s the case for Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) in Back to the Future. We wouldn’t want to mess with those guys.
Going To Space On A Homemade Spacecraft (Explorers)
We’ve seen so many movies where even ships engineered by NASA have trouble in the giant vacuum of space. But in Explorers, a 1985 sci-fi flick starring Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix, and Jason Presson, a group of young amateur astronauts build a spacecraft of their own and exit the Earth’s atmosphere. Kids don’t belong in space.
Traveling Through Space And Time With A Band Of Thieves (Time Bandits)
Time Bandits is one of Terry Gilliam’s most charming movies, but while that may be true, it does put its young lead (played by Craig Warnock) in some serious trouble. Jumping through space and time with a band of thieves doesn’t seem like a safe or sensible way to spend your free time.
Going Off To Live On Their Own At 13 Years Old (Kiki’s Delivery Service)
One of the most iconic Studio Ghibli movies, Kiki’s Delivery Service sees the titular witch move away from her family home and start a new life in a distant seaside town at the age of 13. Yeah, it’s a fantastical animation and charming beyond compare, but the idea of a girl barely in her teenage years making it on her own is dangerous.
Running From Spies (Cloak & Dagger)
Are you familiar with the 1998 Will Smith thriller, Enemy of the State? Well, imagine that story but instead of an adult attorney coming into possession of a mysterious tape, it’s a young kid who goes on the run from a shadowy government agency. Fun? Yes, but incredibly dark and dangerous.
Getting To The Bottom Of A Massive Criminal Conspiracy (Gleaming The Cube)
Gleaming the Cube seems like just a normal skateboard movie, but in reality, it’s a revenge film about a young skater (played by Christian Slater) trying to avenge the death of his adopted brother. Sure, it’s funny and exciting, but a young punk is no match for armed goons and powerful bad actors.
Thwarting A Bank Robbery Scheme (BMX Bandits)
If you want to see a young Nicole Kidman thwart a bank robbery scheme with a group of friends, you’ll definitely want to check out BMX Bandits. But be warned, as these young bikers find themselves in some perilous situations that may leave you scratching your head.
Fighting A Scorpion (Honey, I Shrunk The Kids)
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is one of the funniest and most inventive family movies of the ‘80s, but it’s also one that puts some kids in some wild scenarios. Being turned into a near-microscopic size is one thing, but battling a scorpion in your backyard, which happens here, is on a whole other level of messed up.
Befriending A Possessed Doll (Child's Play)
Child’s Play is one of the best horror movies ever made, there’s no doubt about it. But there’s no way a kid should be befriending a doll possessed by the spirit of a deranged killer. This is so much fun to watch all these years later, but maybe not give your kid a doll that wants to kill everyone.
Billy Leaving Josh's NYC Motel (Big)
Though Josh (Tom Hanks) is just a little scared boy inside his adult body and terrified during the hotel scene in Big, we really feel bad for his best friend, Billy (Jared Rushton) who has to leave the flea-infested building, walk through pre-Giuliani NYC, and make it back home after dark. That kid saw some stuff he never forgot.
Newt Surviving On LV-426 (Aliens)
Everyone always talks about Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) taking on the Xenomorphs on LV-426 in Aliens, and rightfully so, but let’s not forget that Newt (Carrie Henn) was alone in the mining colony for an extended period of time before the Colonial Marines tried to save they. Hello, trauma.
Stealing Tech From The Government (My Science Project)
Movies with teenagers building wild and crazy machines were a dime a dozen in the ‘80s, but few went as far as My Science Project. In this oft-forgotten film, a pair of teens steal old tech from the government to build a time machine. UFOs, government agents, and death traps make this a dangerous exploration.
Joel Coming Up With A Way To Make Money (Risky Business)
Don’t be distracted by the iconic Risky Business dance scene, as this Tom Cruise classic is all about a dark and depraved journey by a high schooler trying to make some money to fix his dad’s car. You know what we’re talking about here.
Transporting A Russian Sailor To Cuba (Russkies)
Released in the height of the Cold War, Russkies follows a group of young kids as they not only befriend a Russian sailor who washed ashore in Florida but also sees them hatch a plan to take him to Cuba… on a boat… by themselves. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
