Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark: Film Review

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark: Film Review

Cast: Zoe Margaret Coletti, Michael Garza, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows
Director: André Øvredal

Delivering some occasionally solid jump scares and yet simultaneously seeming to flounder under necessary plot devices, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is perhaps suitable more for the teen element looking to get the heebie-jeebies jolted out of them.

It's the story of raised-by-a-single-parent and town horror nerd Stella (Coletti) who, one Hallowe'en decides to join two friends to exact revenge on the local jocks led by 's Tommy. Ending up at a haunted house with mysterious newcomer Ramon (Garza), Stella and her pals find a book seemingly written by the town's local legend Sarah Bellows.

But the book appears to have murderous intent, as the tales begin to come true...

Meshing Final Destination with Goosebumps, and some effective chills, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark feels at times defanged from its gruesomeness thanks to its decision to try and tell a story that's clearly destined for a sequel.

That said, there are some moments that work very well, such as the Red Room sequence that seems to have del Toro's fingerprints all over it, and the upper echelons of any child's nightmare they can't escape.

Equally Harold the scarecrow appears to have potential to be one of the new horror icons, were it not for the fact the CGI team's desire to flourish it with bugs crawling out of orifices seems more corny than outright chilling.

While Coletti is effective as Stella, and Ramon's Garza adds stoic but undemanding support, the heroes of the piece feel like they've stepped in from an Amblin film via way of Stranger Things. They're not afforded enough time to build character and charisma before the necessities of the plot tears them in different directions, robbing them of flow that's needed as the rush to get through each episode kicks in.

Ultimately, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark isn't quite strong enough to bring Alvin Schwartz's darker edges to life or daring in its quest to get a wider audience. It's a shame because there truly could be the stuff of nightmares here - it's spooky and creepy, but that's not enough to turn this book into another series.

And that Achilles Heel's a crying shame.