Review: ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ is limited by age, not scares (Includes first-hand account)

In every culture, there is a tradition of telling stories to pass down wisdom, as well as warnings about the dangers young people need to learn to avoid. Some of these evolved into local folklore, urban legends or just fictions to frighten and entertain. Passed down between generations and eventually recorded, sharing these tales is a pastime that many enjoy… and some — particularly young campers around campfires — dread. In 1981, Alvin Schwartz published a compilation of these chilling, short narratives, which became a secret pleasure for many adolescent readers. Now, Guillermo Del Toro has produced a big-screen adaptation with its own spectral storyteller, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti), Chuck (Austin Zajur) and Auggie (Gabriel Rush) are outcasts, but on Halloween 1968 they hope to even the playing field. When their plan backfires and the local bullies come looking for payback, they request sanctuary from Ramón (Michael Garza), who’s passing through town. Eager to get off the streets and impress their new friend, the group goes to the rundown house said to be haunted by Sarah Bellows, a young woman shunned and imprisoned by her family decades earlier. When aspiring writer Stella borrows one of the deceased girl’s storybooks, she unleashes the spirit and puts all of her friends in danger as Sarah pens terrifying and potentially lethal tales about each of them from beyond the grave.

Rather than make a straightforward horror anthology based on several pieces from the original collection, the filmmakers chose to create an overarching connecting story and splice in Schwartz’s frightening tales throughout. The Sarah Bellows narrative is actually quite effective in not only propelling the picture forward, but providing an enemy against which they can unite. The movie incorporates some of the lesser-known stories from Schwartz’s book, which also feature palpable evil characters to translate to the screen, such as the shapeless creature that haunts the red halls of one of their nightmares.

Based on director André Øvredal’s previous work it’s a bit surprising, but much like the original source material it becomes evident early on that the target audience for this movie is also skewing younger than the typical horror crowd. The dialogue is almost too simplistic, the monsters are creepy but not gory, and the solutions to their problems are not overly complicated. The kids are appealing, but their PG-friendly adventure isn’t enough to get the avid genre viewer’s blood running. Although the monsters appear to be well thought-out and can give anyone goosebumps, they don’t (all) necessarily have much more effect.

It’s a solid horror movie that’s well-paced and creates an eerie atmosphere, but audiences will have to be a bit younger to get the full bang for their buck.

Do you dare to find out your fate? Pause the GIF to see which one of the creatures from #ScaryStoriesMovie will visit you in your dreams tonight. pic.twitter.com/oAOQCqlWoJ

— Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (@ScaryStoriesMov) August 6, 2019

Director: André Øvredal
Starring: Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza and Gabriel Rush

Similar Posts

  • Review: ‘The Strangers: Prey at Night’ is a massacre instead of thriller (Includes first-hand account)

    In the movie industry, “leaving well enough alone” isn’t a phrase that carries much weight. Even when it seems like they’ve struck lightening by achieving an acceptable level of acclaim or success, it’s just a reason to recycle and repeat. Usually this happens in the form of a remake or an immediate sequel, capitalizing on whatever formula worked the first time around. However, occasionally (though more frequently as of late), someone decides to continue a story years after the original. The narrative time that’s past is often comparable to the gap between films and in most cases the original characters return for another go. The latest follow-up to an older movie is The Strangers: Prey at Night.

  • Review: TIFF retrospective screens Maurice Pialat’s most successful film (Includes first-hand account)

    French cinema is historically a source of visceral narratives that don’t shy away from provocative subjects. Although director Maurice Pialat struck out at and from his contemporaries, the former painter was undoubtedly a product of the zeitgeist. His fascination with sexuality, Parisian families and tyrannical male figures underlies most of his work and is a reflection of many other French filmmakers; while his realist approach has often been compared to John Cassavetes. The TIFF retrospective, “Love Exists: The Films of Maurice Pialat,” demonstrates the many ways Pialat tackled these subjects in his films, though his most successful would be À nos amours.

  • Review: ‘Mustang’ gains deserved recognition for spirited portrait (Includes first-hand account)

    Being a girl or a woman remains a challenging prospect, but it’s even more difficult in certain parts of the world and in cultures where gender prescribes specific expectations and dictates your position in society. Double standards are far more prevalent in these areas as males are basically free to behave as they wish and any responsibility of wrongdoing is immediately thrust upon the females who are demanded to exhibit more control. But the irony of these situations are increasingly less accepted as borders become less finite and more liberal thinking is able to pass through. Mustang is the story of five young women trapped in the purgatory between evolution and deep-rooted tradition in Turkey.

  • Review: ‘Deepwater Horizon’ puts audiences at the centre of the disaster (Includes first-hand account)

    There’s frequently more than one side to any story, but that doesn’t mean they’re only conflicting accounts of the same events. In a major incident, there can exist the perspectives of the participants, the observers and then the aftermath. It’s often the latter that gets the most attention or people remember best, but that doesn’t make the other narratives less important; in fact, they can provide a greater understanding of the consequences that eventually moved into focus. In the case of Deepwater Horizon, most people are aware of the biggest oil spill in U.S. history but less familiar with the events that led to the disaster.