Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

Who doesn't love a good scary story? A scary story gives the viewer/listener something to keep them on their toes, and their heart pounding. But what if you take those scary stories and turn it into a visual medium like movies or television? That's where our feature film “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” comes into play. Based on a series of books by Alvin Schwartz and directed by André Øvredal, the film is a compilation of some of she short stories featured in the books with a tying narrative. But the big name is Guillermo Del Toro, who could be considered a master of horror in his own right, who is both co-writing and co-producing the film. While the film does have some issues, it is quite entertaining in its own right to hopefully become a horror classic. “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” is a unique set of stories that will keep you up during the night with the lights on.

Please note: this review is coming from someone who has not read the stories by Schwartz. I am merely judging this a movie. Nothing more, nothing less.

The story is set in 1968 on the eve of Halloween in a little town in Pennsylvania. Here, we follow four teenagers, Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti), Ramon (Michael Garza), Auggie (Gabriel Rush), and Chuck (Austin Zajur) as they go into a haunted house. But this isn't any ordinary haunted house. This house belonged to Sarah Bellows, who was of being a witch; she actually told stories to the children just to give them nightmares. Stella finds Sarah's book, and unfortunately, unleashes something evil that may keep them awake during the night.

“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” does have a couple of good things going for it.

For starters, each actor and actress handle their roles very well, and this comes from director André Øvredal. He does manage to create a sense of both fear and dread playing in the film. And that's the movie's biggest strong point.

There are no cheap jump scares provided here, and everything is focused on creating tension for the audience. This is especially appropriate with the monsters being involved here.

Speaking of the monsters, almost every monster used in the movie is used with a practical effects, save for some spiders, and the Jangly Man. Plus, the monsters themselves are creative, unique, and definitely scary in their own right, especially Harold the scarecrow.

With that being said, there are two major problems that the movie offers.

First is the main story itself. While it is fine, and offers moments definitely pushing a PG-13 rating, the story tries a little too hard to create believable characters. Stella is the main culprit of Sweden this as she has a backstory that's never fully explained. Plus, the story itself, contains a lot of the short stories as part of a mystery. And while that's not too bad, it kind of makes the movie feel a little predictable at times. Perhaps if the story had taken a more anthology route, then it would have been acceptable.

The second biggest problem is with the pacing. The movie runs at a little over two hours, and this goes into the above paragraph which states that the story could have been improved. The film does take its sweet time, and while that's not a bad thing, there are some scenes/stories that go on a little too long. More specifically, the pale woman in the red room, and the ending.

But the overall experience is fun nonetheless.

In conclusion, “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” is a pretty unique horror film that may not keep you up at night, but still leave you with a few chills.