MovieChat Forums > How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1990) Discussion > DO NOT SHOW THIS TO YOUR CHILDREN

DO NOT SHOW THIS TO YOUR CHILDREN

posted 16 years ago by firetop14
9 replies | jump to latest

I first watched How To Ahead In Advertising when I was very, very young (my parents were sadists) and it was the most traumatising thing I have ever seen (which is saying a lot because I first watched Halloween when I was 10). After the first time I had nightmares for weeks, and after that whenever it was on TV I would run out crying when it got the scary parts. I couldn't remember the actual name of it, so I just called it 'The Boil'. To this day I have not dared to rewatch it.

I leave this message in the hope that I can save some other unfortunate child from the horrors I went through. Please, never show this to anyone under the age of about 12. And if you are of a sensitive disposition, do not watch it yourself.

Thank you.

[–] goodolddays2020 16 years ago

quite easily one the lamest threads I have ever seen...

[–] cfletcher-9 16 years ago

Actually one person is very keen on this thread. I'm a parent of 3 kids who are sophisticated enough to enjoy many off-beat and "inappropriate" films and I'd been wondering about showing this film to them, but because of this warning I've been saved from many nights of soothing nightmarish dreams and fears. It hadn't seemed scary to me but now I can definitely see how it would terrify my nine-year-old. Thank you!!!

[–] niranjanuk 16 years ago

I will say i remember seeing this on TV when i was about 7 or 8?? i remember seeing the small head and i do remember being quite scared, the big head hospital scene just came on screen, it was just getting interesting and scary!! then my dad walked in the living room saw what what i was watching and told me to go to bed lol he changed the channel too.

So i would agree it was indeed very scary, its hard to understand being an adult why this is scary after watching it now at 20 but i do remember very much so the feeling of being very scared at the age. I was lucky? as i was partially saved by my dad.

I only watched it after all these years as i just remember the movie but had no idea what it was called, and only recently did i think of searching for it and searched "boil comes alive" into google to figure out the name of the movie, it took me a while to realise "how to get ahead of advertising" strange title.

[–] exploding_mushrooms 16 years ago

I wouldnt really call this "scary" at all, if i had watched this as a child I wouldnt have found it particularly bad. Maybe the overall message of the film is the only thing that would have disturbed me...

[–] SupaChupacabra 16 years ago

What, children wouldn't be entertained by films mocking capitalism and ownership? No child in their right mind would pay attention to this for 5 seconds, it's way over their heads. Silly chicken little "sky is falling" over-parenting is shameful. Please go baby proof your mind. Better yet, seal your ears, mouth and ears with toothpaste, all evil will be kept out.

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[–] joshua_carpino 11 years ago

my mother showed it to me when i was nine and it's been a favorite ever since. the scenes with the boil were bizzare and hard to look at,but not overly.

[–] nephihaha 10 years ago

I think they should all be shown it. Before they start developing boils and zits and plouks all over their greasy teenaged faces.

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It's not "Sci-Fi", it's SF!

"Calvinism is a very liberal religious ethos." - Truekiwijoker

[–] VivaAcetate 9 years ago

Unilaterally censoring anything for kids is only a totalitarian action that would motivate any kid with a mind for the forbidden and the dangerous... Like any steps a parent makes in respect to their brood, you must know the sophistication of your progeny... I can't imagine any youngster under the age of ten who would grasp the themes and message of the film... Approached as a strictly visual effort, the tone an delivery are absurdist and fantastic and would easily be outdone by some of the animé or even a number of Grimm's fairy tales for traumatic or even indelible events... Know our kids, talk to kids and when all else fails, just chuck the damn TV out the window...

[–] nephihaha 9 years ago

Some people are far too literalist.

--
It's not "Sci-Fi", it's SF!

"Calvinism is a very liberal religious ethos." - Truekiwijoker