'CHAMBER' OF FRIGHT? 2ND 'POTTER' INSTALLMENT MAY MAKE FANS SQUIRM.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Staff Writer

Warning: The second and darker Harry Potter film, ``Chamber of Secrets,'' opening Friday, might scare the daylights out of little kids or even cause nightmares filled with terrifying spiders and snakes.

Even the film's director Chris Columbus issues his own caution while adding the PG rating is merited.

``I think if you have a 7-year-old or under, you should probably talk to your kids and see if they have a fear of spiders and snakes, and see if they're ready to see it,'' Columbus said in a recent interview.

``It's all in the books. It's just a little more real when it's on the screen. Parents just have to be responsible. That's why there's a PG rating.''

Of course, try telling that to the parents of a whining 6-year-old who's protesting that all his friends are seeing the movie.

Ruby Takanishi, president of the New York-based Foundation for Child Development, suggests that families decide whether the movie is right for them based on a few key factors, such as the age of the child and the child's range of exposure to films and TV - particularly graphic movies and shows.

``I think it's really important to talk to kids before and after (seeing it). Parents helping kids understand experiences is a no-brainer,'' Takanishi said. ``I think the more parents can talk to them and interpret experiences the better it is, but I'm afraid for many children that's not going to be their experience.''

Fact is that ``Chamber of Secrets'' is a pretty scary ``Potter,'' with a host of fearsome things that may give your children nightmares - or make them squeal with delight. It depends on the child.

The hair-raising elements of the new movie include:

--A creepy disembodied voice tells Harry to ``kill, kill!''

--Hundreds of vicious, blood-thirsty spiders chase Harry and Ron through a forest.

--Harry battles a giant snake whose sharp fangs come ever so close to making putty of Potter.

--Several of the Hogwarts kids are frozen stiff by an unseen monster.

--An apparently dead cat hangs in the school's hallway.

--Messages such as ``her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever'' are written on Hogwarts' walls in blood.

Despite all that, Harry star Daniel Radcliffe doesn't believe parents have any cause for concern.

``I don't think kids will be afraid because it's all in the book,'' the 13-year-old Radcliffe says. ``If you take away the darkness from the film, then you haven't done the book justice. But if you've read the book, I don't think you'll be scared at all.''

At a press screening last week at the Grove theaters in Los Angeles, youngsters could be seen covering their eyes during scary scenes, but once the movie was finished, it was like the roller-coaster car had returned to the station. The kids wanted to go for another ride.

``If you read Grimm or 'Alice in Wonderland' or 'Peter Pan' or watch 'Tom and Jerry' or the Warner Bros. cartoons from the 1940s, you'll see a lot of darkness,'' says ``Potter'' producer David Heyman. ``Dumbo's mother was cast away. Bambi's mother was shot. I don't think anything can top that.''

``But,'' Heyman adds, ``I think there's a reason why you see dark themes running through children's literature. It's to prepare children for the trauma of life later on. Are there kids jumping out of their seats? Yes. Are eyes being covered? Absolutely. But kids like that. I think it's the adults who are more concerned about it and scared than the kids.''

Whether the adults are cowering at the spiders and snakes or the movie's 2 hour and 41 minute running time - well, again it depends on the person, doesn't it?

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) ``Harry Potter'' star Daniel Radcliffe, 13, doesn't think ``Chamber of Secrets'' will be as frightening to youngsters who have read the book. The second installment in the series opens in theaters Friday.

(2) Scenes from ``Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' might give kids nightmares or make them squeal with delight. It depends on the child.

Warner Bros.