Horrorfest 2021: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
Written by Dan Hagerman and Kevin Hagerman
Based on the books by Alvin Schwartz
Directed by Andre Ovredal
Starring Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Zajur, Natalie Ganzhorn, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows and Lorraine Toussaint
USA/Canada

Man, remember those creepy books when you were a kid? Checked out from the library and then passed around with hushed tones. The stories were mostly inspired by urban legends, and as you read them you got the sense the author wasn’t entirely serious. But the illustrations. The illustrations were the creepiest part.

Now, the books come to life (sort of) on the big screen, as writers Dan Hagerman and Kevin Hagerman attempt to cobble together a couple of the most memorable stories into a self contained narrative. They could have gone with a anthology film, here, but what they’ve done instead is interesting, as the story revolves around some young teenagers who discover a creepy book in a haunted house – as the book seems to fill itself with stories, whoever the story is about turns up dead – or disappears.

So, it’s up to our main characters to figure out what’s going on, led by a plucky heroine who wants to be a horror writer when she grows up and a kid who just drifted into town and is trying to stay off the authorities’ radars for mysterious reasons.

Oh! I forgot to mention – this is a period piece, taking place in 1968, on the eve of Nixon’s election, and in the middle of the Vietnam War. I’m not sure how well this is tied into the rest of the movie, necessarily, but it does solve some stuff like making it so the kids can’t have cell phones or the internet to help them on their mystery solving. It’s also refreshing to see a horror period piece like this that’s not trading on 90s or 80s nostalgia, although I guess 60s nostalgia is probably the other most common setting.

Anyway, does it succeed as a SCARY STORIES adaptation? Not in the traditional sense. The images don’t really remind me of the scary illustrations, and the movie’s tone doesn’t really remind me of the author’s sense of humor. But it does work as an adaptation in the sense that it’s a good movie on its own merit, and perfect for Halloween because it has a variety of scares and is not R-rated, so kids who can take a little scary stuff can enjoy it with the rest of the family.