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| Harold the scarecrow looms ominously in the corn patch on this poster for André Øvredal's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark |
At Halloween in small town Mill Valley, Pennsylvania in 1968, a group of youths break into a supposedly haunted house, where a book belonging to its sinister past resident Sarah is stolen, - and all hell breaks loose!
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is written by Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman
(The Lego Movie (2014, story), both) and Guillermo del Toro (Crimson Peak (2015)), with Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton (Feast (2005), both) contributing story elements, based on the 3-title 1981-91 Scary Stories novel series by Alvin Schwartz (Stories to Tell a Cat), and directed by great Norwegian filmmaker André Øvredal (Trollhunter (2010)).
It is a 'fun' horror movie made especially for the younger crowd, which lives on its horror sequences, which are carried out with energy and a deft grip on suspense and special effects. SPOILER My favorite sequence is the early one involving a character turning into the scarecrow seen on the poster above, which culminates in some disturbing, powerful imagery. A later sequence that is memorable is weird in a similar, nightmarish way, as another character gets absorbed by a hugging, doughy creature with an unsettlingly broad smile in a hospital. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark gets its points for these weird, horrific scenes, which also include a limb-twisting and tearing 'Jangly Man' towards the end that recalls The Thing (1982).
The story otherwise is a Goosebumps and It-reminiscent meeting of teen characters that look and feel much like present day youngsters dropped in a 1968 environment. The actors are adequate at best, and none of them are likely to make break-outs out of their turns here. This inhibits the film, and especially protagonist Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti (Wildlife (2018))) seems like just a staple character with boring guilt issues and an individual drive, which seems a bit forced onto her or perhaps more motivated by the filmmakers hope that she will lead a sequel. Her budding romance with fresh-faced Michael Garza (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)) never takes flight. Austin Zajur (Fist Fight (2017)) can make some very large intense eyes, and that technique is about it as far as his acting goes as the idiotic Chuck-character here.
The film is handsomely produced, and the plot has similarities with Øvredal's much better, far scarier preceding film, The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016), in which an innocent woman was also wrongly accused of horrific things in the past, sparking grave consequences for people in the present. Here the creepy creature designs and horror sequences are what keep Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark afloat.
Related posts:
André Øvredal: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) - Unusual, surprising, gory, horrifying indie horror
Trollhunter/Trolljegeren/Troll Hunter/The Troll Hunter (2010) - Øvredal's hilarious found footage kaiju horror comedy
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 28 mil. $
Box office: Unknown - releasing now
[Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was released 7 August (Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan) and runs 108 minutes. CBS Films acquired the rights to the books in 2013. Shooting took place in Ontario, including Toronto, from August - November 2018. The film is predicted to lead a packed group of new releases this weekend to come in #3 with a 15-19 mil. $ opening weekend. It will need to gross more than 70 mil. $ to become successful, and likely more than 100 mil. $ before sequel plans may begin to come together. Øvredal is in post production on his next effort, adventure action fantasy movie Mortal (2020) starring Nat Wolff. Colletti returned in City on a Hill (2019, TV-series) and theatrically in A Boy Called Christmas (2020); Garza does not have an announced next gig yet. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is fresh at 80 % with a 6.21/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark?
