Halloween has morphed into a gore fest that has kids as young as 6 unleashing their inner monsters in ultra-violent costumes — blood-smeared chain saws and spiked killing gloves sold separately. But some parents think that marketing characters from such movies as “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Friday the 13th" to small fry is going too far.

Credit: Warner Bros

From Rainy Farrell, TODAY producer

I love to go to the movies and so do my twin girls.  But with the price of movies today, I'm pretty selective about what we go see.  It has to be a super-adorable animation, and it has to appeal to me as well.  Otherwise, we just don't go. 

When I first saw the commercials for  "Where The Wild Things Are,” I was excited to go see it.  I have always been a fan of Maurice Sendak's books, this one too.    When I was a little girl I had The Nutshell Library, a small collection of his stories all in this little tiny case.  I loved it, and carried it everywhere.    We are still big readers in my house, and the girls have read “Wild Things” many times.   

When we went to watch "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs"  (which we all loved, and not just because Al was a voice in the movie), we happened to see a trailer for “Wild Things.”  One of my girls immediately said, "I want to see that!" and the other, "I don't -- it looks to scary". Days later the commercial was on TV and again the same conversation: "I want to see that" and the other "I don't -- it looks to scary".    Well, now I'm confused.  The girls, both 8, usually have the same likes and dislikes, especially when it comes to entertainment.  But not this time. I wanted to see the movie, but now don't think it'll be on our "to-do" list. 

I asked a co-worker who had seen the film and his response sort of sealed the deal. "The movie doesn't know what it wants to be or who it should appeal to,” he said.  “Not the young and not the older kids".  To me, movies are a way to escape, to let your imagination go for an hour or two and to have fun.  But is it fun when your daughter is afraid of the dark or scared to turn out the lights?  Is it worth risking her getting nightmares and waking up in the middle of the night?  What do you think?  Is 8 too young to see “Where the Wild Things Are?” How can you tell when a movie is too scary to see, and when should kids be allowed to watch scary movies?