Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Review
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Scary Stories to Tell in the Night
"I'm afraid that we woke something upwards."
In André Øvredal's "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," these loaded words are spoken past one of the picture's five central teens, tormented by a self-writing storybook they had carelessly taken away from a haunted house in their small town of Mill Valley, PA around Halloween of 1968. Now permit'south count all the formulaic components (as well every bit our consequent blessings) in this vista, shall we? Grouping of misfit kids on a mission? Check. Menstruation nostalgia (that'southward not the overdone '80s of "Stranger Things" and "Information technology")? Check. Small-town Americana that delightfully rhymes with "Hill Valley"? Check. Halloween? Haunted business firm? Possessed object? Check bank check check. That's certainly enough familiar ingredients to brand a foolproof pot of genre stew. And thank you to Øvredal'south visual flair and visceral dedication to the monsters of Guillermo del Toro (among the squad of writers and producers here), clearly a major influence on the "Trollhunter" director's bittersweet approach to the field, this satisfying though far from innovative dish boasts comforting flavors throughout.
If you, like me, did not abound up with tents in backyards, overnight trips to spooky lakeside grounds or marshmallows by campfires, yous might exist foreign to the globe of the "Scary Stories" trilogy of books; with creepy tales collected past Alvin Schwartz, and illustrations to friction match done by Stephen Gammell. The good news is, Øvredal's stylishly old-school picture doesn't require any homework—your affection for genre-work similar "The Changeling," "Ringu" and "The Night of the Living Expressionless" every bit well as a mild nostalgic appreciation for "Goonies"-type fare will suffice. Though it's still helpful to know that these are anthology-style books. Co-scribes Dan and Kevin Hagemen (along with story crafters del Toro, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton) accept created a unifying (though choppy) narrative arc around a number of the popular yarns of the books—"Harold," "The Big Toe" and "The Cerise Spot" among them—while keeping with the novels' PG-xiii spirit. Among the things "Scary Stories" might wake up could very well exist a newfound ambition for horror in younger movie-watchers.
At the heart of the tale that celebrates the healing power of storytelling is the sweetly introverted Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti of "Wildlife"), a motherless aspiring writer with dad issues and a love of all-things-scary—her room is decorated wall-to-wall with tales and creatures she worships. In that location is also the enigmatic Ramón (Michael Garza), a Mexican-American teen who attempts to laissez passer through town, but lingers around later saving Stella's crew from bullies ane night at the bulldoze-in. And then we have the nerdy Auggie (Gabriel Rush) in a Pierrot costume for Halloween—his outfit pick is a successful running gag—the goofy Chuck (Austin Zajur) as well every bit his cute, popular sister Ruth (Natalie Ganzhorn). When the quintet visits an out-of-bounds, boarded-up mansion with a tragic past i nighttime and takes away a storybook belonging to the spirit of the one time-murderous Sarah Bellows (Kathleen Pollard)—she is said to exist locked away by her rich and fell family unit—they disturb the vengeful ghost and end up disappearing i by 1. Gruesome tales start to slowly appear in the book, designed in accordance with the teens' worst fears.
Predictably, the fix pieces of Øvredal's film are a lot more fun to enjoy individually than to consider them within the context of the overarching tale. In that, the seams effectually the anthology testify—we don't quite connect with the kids' private fears in a deep sense when their nightmares observe them. Thankfully however, fifty-fifty Øvredal seems to know the parts here are greater than the sum and doesn't shy away from showing off the visual tricks he's got up his sleeve to make each spine-tingling sequence pop in their ain style. From the astonishing opening montage featuring Donovan'southward "Season of the Witch" (a new version past Lana Del Rey comes in the end) to crawling spiders and stalker-y ghouls, the bite-sized thrills of "Scary Stories" pack enough of jolts, though more than effective for boyish eyeballs than adults.
The moving-picture show also engages with the country'south political history and racism, just simply to varying degrees of success. With the properties of a detailed production design by David Brisbin that brings the era'south grapheme to life, we go clear shots of Nixon on posters and TV and are reminded of the Vietnam War dread—a labored ambition that doesn't quite land. Still, "Scary Stories" is a strangely uplifting throwback to quondam-fashioned clans of investigative teens. While it doesn't break any new ground, there is plenty of vintage fun to be had with kids who feel their way through life'south impending fears and live to tell the tale.
Tomris Laffly
Tomris Laffly is a freelance film writer and critic based in New York. A member of the New York Motion picture Critics Circumvolve (NYFCC), she regularly contributes to RogerEbert.com, Variety and Time Out New York, with bylines in Filmmaker Magazine, Film Journal International, Vulture, The Playlist and The Wrap, amid other outlets.
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Scary Stories to Tell in the Night (2019)
111 minutes
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