The surprising reason Kieran Culkin doesn’t let his kids watch his older brother’s smash hit ‘Home Alone’

In 1990, Macaulay Culkin enchanted the world as Kevin McCallister in the John Hughes-penned Christmas comedy Home Alone. Culkin’s younger brother Kieran also made an appearance in the movie, but don’t expect him to be airing this classic for his own children due to a surprising reason.

When it comes to Macaulay Culkin, everyone remembers the former child star for his wild shenanigans as Kevin in the two Home Alone movies. His brother Kieran had a smaller role by comparison, but fans remember him as the bespectacled Fuller McCallister, who smiles as he sips on a Pepsi and watches as his cousin Kevin freaks out that Fuller is about to wet the bed the whole night.

Decades have passed since Home Alone was released, but it remains a must-watch holiday staple that embodies the spirit of the silly season. Just don’t waste your time and watch anything after Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, because it goes all downhill from there.

One person who hasn’t been airing this classic in his home is Kieran Culkin. Despite launching his brother’s career into the stratosphere and doing wonders for his own, Home Alone isn’t something he wants his children to watch yet. Why, though? It’s a kids’ movie, after all – it’s not The Human Centipede or Cannibal Holocaust. Culkin told E! News the specific reason, stating: 

“There’s still some scary parts. For the three-year-old, there’s the tarantula [and] there’s the guy at the end who said, ‘I’m gonna bite off all your fingers.’ That’s scary for a three-year-old.”

That said, Culkin expressed how they might be ready to watch Home Alone this holiday season – or the one thereafter. So, at some point in the near future, his children will get to see their uncle and father on screen together in a comedy classic.

Expectedly, X users had opinions about Culkin’s parenting decision. Some questioned his logic about viewing such a seemingly innocent and tame film as “scary,” while others horsed around on social media and made jokes about the difference between Coke and Pepsi. One commentator wrote that Culkin is reluctant to show his children how the McCallisters mistreated Kevin, stating: “Because they’ll learn about how bad his uncle was treated by the family? Forgotten by them when they went on a holiday?” 

Another user suggested there might be underlying beef between Kieran and Macaulay hence his reason for not wanting to show the movie to his children. Obviously, this is pure speculation from an internet stranger, so don’t read into it all too much.

In comparison, Macaulay Culkin has already shared the gift of Home Alone with his children. In December 2023, he told ET that he had shown the movie to his then two-year-old son, Dakota. He said:

“I already showed it to him last year, he thinks it’s so funny. I convinced my oldest that he’s the kid in the movie. I said, ‘Remember you had yellow hair? Remember when you were getting the bad guys?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah!’ He is such a liar. I’m like, ‘You don’t remember any of that.'”

Regardless of what people think about Kieran Culkin’s decision to show or not the movie to his kids, it’s his prerogative as a parent. If that means they’ll never watch Home Alone, so be it – just as long as he isn’t showing them Succession instead.