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“I’m concerned that we’ve awoken a creature.”
Those are the words spoken by one of the film’s five central teens, who is tormented by a self-writing storybook they had taken from a haunted house in their small town of Mill Valley, Pennsylvania, around Halloween 1968. Let’s take a moment to count all of the formulaic components (as well as our resulting blessings) in this panoramic view, shall we? An assortment of misfit children on a mission? Check. “IT” and “Stranger Things” are examples of period nostalgia, but what about the ’80s isn’t overdone? Check. Hill Valley is a small-town Americana song that rhymes delightfully with “Hill Valley.” Check. Halloween? Is this a haunted house? Is there an object that has been possessed? Check, check, and check again. Certainly enough familiar ingredients to make a foolproof pot of genre stew, but there’s more to come. And, thanks to vredal’s visual flair and visceral dedication to the monsters of Guillermo del Toro (who is among the team of writers and producers here), who is clearly a major influence on the “Trollhunter” director’s bittersweet approach to the field, this satisfying, if not particularly innovative, dish is laced with comforting flavors the entire way through.
It is possible that you are unfamiliar with the world of the “Scary Stories” trilogy of books, which includes creepy tales collected by Alvin Schwartz and illustrations to match done by Stephen Gammell, if you, like me, did not grow up with tents in backyards, overnight trips to spooky lakeside grounds, or marshmallows by campfires. The good news is that you won’t need to do any homework to enjoy vredal’s stylishly old-school film; your appreciation for genre films such as “The Changeling,” “Ringu,” and “The Night of the Living Dead,” as well as a mild nostalgic appreciation for “Goonies”-type fare, will suffice to watch it. Despite the fact that these are anthology-style books, it is still beneficial to be aware of this fact. Using a number of the popular stories from the books—including “Harold,” “The Big Toe,” and “The Red Spot”—co-scribes Dan and Kevin Hagemen (along with story crafters del Toro, Marcus Dunstan, and Patrick Melton) have created a unifying (though choppy) narrative arc around them, while remaining true to the novels’ PG-13 rating. One of the things that “Scary Stories” might arouse is a newfound appetite for horror among younger moviegoers, which could very well be a result of the show.
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Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti of “Wildlife”), a sweetly introverted aspiring writer with father issues and a love of all-things-scary, is at the heart of this tale that celebrates the healing power of storytelling. Her room is decorated wall-to-wall with tales and creatures that she worships, and she is the star of the film, which opens in theaters on October 27. Additionally, there’s the enigmatic Ramón (Michael Garza), a Mexican-American adolescent who tries to pass through town but ends up staying after saving Stella’s crew from bullies one night at the drive-in. On the other hand, there’s the nerdy Auggie (Gabriel Rush), who dresses up as a Pierrot for Halloween—his choice of costume serves as a running gag throughout the film—the goofy Chuck (Austin Zajur), and his beautiful, popular sister Ruth (Natalie Ganzhorn). They disturb the vengeful ghost of Sarah Bellows (Kathleen Pollard), who is said to be locked away by her wealthy and cruel family, when they visit an out-of-bound, boarded-up mansion with a tragic past one night and take away a storybook belonging to her spirit. As a result, they are all taken away one by one. Slowly but steadily, horrific tales begin to appear in the book, each one designed to appeal to the teens’ worst fears.
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark Quiz
Predictably, the set pieces in vredal’s film are a lot more enjoyable to watch on their own than they are when viewed in the context of the overall story. In this way, the anthology’s seams are exposed: we don’t quite connect with the children’s individual fears in a profound way when their nightmares track them down. Fortunately, even vredal appears to recognize that the parts of this puzzle are greater than the whole, and he isn’t afraid to show off the visual tricks he has up his sleeve to make each spine-tingling sequence stand out in its own way. “Scary Stories” delivers plenty of jolts in bite-sized chunks, from the stunning opening montage featuring Donovan’s “Season of the Witch” (a new version by Lana Del Rey appears at the end) to crawling spiders and stalker-y ghouls. But it’s more effective for adolescent eyeballs than it is for adults.
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The film also deals with the country’s political history as well as racism, albeit with varying degrees of success in each instance. We see clear shots of Nixon on posters and television and are reminded of the Vietnam War dread against the backdrop of a detailed production design by David Brisbin that brings the era’s character to life. It’s a labored ambition that doesn’t quite land. Despite this, “Scary Stories” is a strangely uplifting throwback to the old-fashioned clans of investigative teens from the 1950s and 1960s. While it doesn’t break any new ground, there is plenty of vintage fun to be had with kids who use their senses to navigate through life’s impending fears and come out the other side unscathed.
For more personality quizzes check this: Angel Has Fallen Quiz.
