My 8 year old son was interested in this movie and i checked here and saw the rating, and thought it would be okay.
Fifteen minutes into the movie there is a scene where the boy is arrested by store detectives and taken to a basement room, where they start interrogating him, as they start interrogating him, closeups of the men's faces - their eyes becoming solid black, their teeth looking scary and bloody, eventually these men turn into a flock of crows and attacks the boy.
On for 8 year olds? i think not.
I stopped the movie and watched the rest of it after my child was in bed, and thought it was very intense and scary for kids; it would have certainly given me nightmares if i was age 12 or under.
I was not aware that this movie was based on a book. I hope the book was a lot better! When you're spending $35-40 to treat your family that's what you're looking forward to. A treat, and this one was stale! If you must, wait to see it on DVD!
I have four kids 8 and under. My husband and I watched this movie tonight and the kids will not be seeing it tomorrow. It was very scary and intense. Read the other reviews on all the details. The best way we could explain our rating is if you would let your child see the Harry Potter series of movies(death eaters) your child probably is ready for this one. My children still get nightmares too easily and I need my sleep.