Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

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Like many 80's kids, I grew up with these books, which hold a special place in my heart. I should have listened to my heart when it told me that this film should never have been made, so I only have myself to blame for eschewing my intuition out of false hope. I am speechless at how bad this film is. The original books left so much to the imagination, but this film version has none and leaves no room for audiences to use theirs. Yes, I know it's a "PG-13 horror film", which has become a red-flag for horror fans. All the same, there are countless PG and PG-13 horror films that are far scarier and outshine this wretched mess on every conceivable level: "Get Out," 2002's "Mothman Prophecies," and "Dark Skies" come to mind if we are citing more current films. Check out Disney's 'Watcher in the Woods', "Tourist Trap", "Jaws" and Return to OZ from 1985 if we are talking old school. Technically, 'Scary Stories' is perfectly average. The musical score is recycled from every modern film of its type, the cinematography stale, and the special effects out of place, as they undermine the books' old-fashioned sensibilities. Director André Øvredal claims that the film consists of almost all practical effects with a mere 10% CGI for "enhancement." You could have fooled me because nothing in this film feels "practical" in any way, shape, or form. This is anti-cinematic, contemporary fantasy (Guillermo's fingerprints are all over the film in the same way Spielberg's were on Poltergeist). Speaking of old-fashioned sensibilities-and this is my biggest bone of contention-the film's depiction of small-town America, especially 60's America, is ridiculously hollow and inauthentic (the director is Norwegian and born in the '70s, which may explain it). Every authority figure and adult character is an unlikable stereotype, each lacking the warmth and innocence you would find in a small town during that period. The main teen characters are all stock, lacking any semblance of charisma or nuance, and speak in distractingly modern-day colloquialisms. These are kids of today that act and talk like kids of today. And, of course, political correctness underscores the whole atrocity. The film's ultimate misstep is creating a completely unnecessary narrative thread designed to link all disparate stories. This adds absolutely nothing to the proceedings and results in the majority of the main characters spending half the film's running time reading aloud from books "searching for the answers" to help them destroy whatever is-never mind, it doesn't matter. If this were a mystery, that would be one thing -but it's a film based on one to two-page stories meant to scare the pants off kids. Alas, this adaptation feels very compromised, more concerned with pandering to fans of "Stranger Things" and the "It" crowd than recreating the magic of its source material. I sincerely hope the filmmakers of "More Scary Stories," which will inevitably happen, decide to take a more old-fashioned route and stick to the essence of what made the original books so eerily memorable.

As a kind of anthology sort of feature, Scary Stories wasn't actually a bad movie but it didn't fulfill my expectations, specially in terms of scare factors. As a huge fan of André Øvredal (director of Trollhunter & Autopsy of Jane Doe), expected it bit more twisted & eerily creepy particularly around the different monster/entity encounters at different segments. Among the ghostly entities, The Jangly Man & The Pale Lady were the most interesting; and while they could have done more with The Pale Lady (looked like a creepy character from a Japanese manga), the intro to this character was kind of disappointing & somewhat same like Harold the Scarecrow. The Jangly Man was the most satisfactory one...wondering what James Wan would have do with it?! Speaking of Wan, at times it just came to my mind that considering the format & the stories...I think Wan or Mike Flanagan would have been a better choice for this film than Øvredal. It got potential to be more darker, scarier & entertaining but PG-13 approach turned out to be a let down for me. Overall, found it kinda mediocre, though the effort was fairly decent.

It was ok. Seriously tho, this movie was not bad, but it was not very good either. Its a completely enjoyable flick, but doesnt really bring anything new. There was not one scene where i even felt a twinge of fear, so if you are there for the horror, look somewhere else. Cgi was ok, could have been done practically, but to no surprise they didnt choose that route. The movie feels very slow phased at some moments, something that led me to yawn several times. When the climax finally happens, it - wait a minute? What climax? There wasnt one.

First time I've wanted to get up and leave a cinema in years, Dont be fooled by the high ratings , The movie is absolute Tripe!!!!

Film directed by André Øvredal and co-written with Guillermo del Toro , Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) benefits from an efficient Halloween atmosphere, an excellent photography, the nostalgic 60's dress code, impressive old cars and rather talented young actors. On certain aspects, in particular the ineluctably-fatalistic side, the film makes me think of A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) directed by Wes Craven in which a psychopath sadistically haunts teens during their sleep. After the showing of a cult film ( Night of the Living Dead (1968) ) in a drive-in theater, a group of teens arrives, we do not really know how, in a time-worn mansion on the edge of town, abandoned for ages after an unexplained murder. By chance, they find a book. A cursed book! The small town will then suffer a wave of atrocious deaths. Stella and Ramón will have to face their own worst demons in order to stop the carnage and save the inhabitants. As a synthesis: an efficient teen movie for getting started with cinematographic thrills. 6/7 of 10

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, is one of the creepiest, scariest, and terrifying movie of the summer that's based on a children's scary novel by: Alvin Schwartz, and original illustrated by: Stephen Gammell. This summer, by Guillermo Del Toro, will make you scream go more Scary Stories, where the stories, write themselves, and all comes alive, on the big screen.

I went into this movie knowing blood was not going to be a thing I was going to see in this film. It is based on a book series for teens after all. Me being a fan of the books as a kid I was super excited when I found out about this and I wasn't disappointed. It isn't a fast paced scare, scare and scare again movie. It takes its time in places but it doesn't feel slow. The CGI and creatures were super creepy and awesomely effective. Was it the scariest thing I've seen? No.. far from it but I will watch it again and hope it might get itself a unrated version for the more intense moments. I didn't feel like they held back to much like I was scared they would do like they did slender man and sunk it to the bottom of the ocean. Watch it! It has its harsh moments and it gets vicious at times. Someone even gets impaled and the deaths are shown on screen so don't worry it won't cut away right before the good stuff. It gives you that good stuff tho slightly tame but super scary and effective.

The movie has it's scares, the plot is a bit messy at some point's. After the movie, when I went to try and make conversation about it, I forgot what I had just watched. The movie is good if you're looking for some really corny popcorn flick, and maybe have a few laughs. I was just disappointed, I guess I had expected too much from a film that at the time I didn't realize was PG-13, it was a Guillermo Del Toro film. The same director who had directed Shape of Water (2017) which had won several nominations. Hellboy (2004), Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Hellboy: The Golden Army (2008), and Pacific Rim (2013) So many great movies from such an amazingly unique director! Even though I was disappointed for how easily forgettable the movie could be, it had very little CGI, only 10% of CGI was used for the monster's while the majority 90% was practical effects, so good job for the special effects team. That's the only compliment I can really give this film.