I haven't read the replies, but I'll throw in my 2 cents.
Our DS saw Raiders of the Lost Ark about 6 months ago (at age 8) and he was a little scared during parts of it. However, I realized that the violence was beyond my comfort level for what *I* think is acceptable for him to watch. We're going to wait a few years to see any of the other Indy movies. The second movie in particular is super-gory (remember them lifting out the still-beating heart during the human sacrifice scene?!).
So, in our situation, our son might be perfectly fine to see gore and horror at age 8. But as his parent, I have decided to draw the line at a certain point, at least for the next several years.
My opinion about this sort of this has been forming for years, in part because he loves learning about ancient history and battles and is always begging to see movies like "Troy". My stance is that when a child reads about violence, they can choose (to a certain extent) how much detail to put into their mental picture of what is happening. But when they see the violence/gore in living color, that choice is taken from them, and they must see the scene as the film director wants them to see it. That vision may be too extreme for the child, and you may not know it until it's too late, so to speak.
I realize that I'm fairly conservative in this regard, and also on the low-media end of the spectrum, so take my opinion with that in mind.
Tara
