Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark Lives Up to its Name

Like with Goosebumps, Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark, were a series of horror books I was too chicken to read when I was a kid. The terrifying illustrations only added to keeping me away. Reading it years later, Alan Schwartz's anthology series, serves as a good introduction for young readers to horror; my favorite excepts include High Beams, The Haunted House, and The Girl Who Stood on the Grave. With Goosebumps getting the big-screen treatment, Scary Stories goes through a somewhat similar procedure of using the books as a plot device, rather than adapting a particular story.

Right to left: Chuck, Auggie, Ramón and Stella finding the book.

Set in 1968, in Mill Valley, Pennsylvania, teenagers Stella (Zoe Colletti), Ramón (Michael Garza), Auggie (Gabriel Rush) and Chuck (Austin Zajur), sneak into a haunted house on Halloween night. They find a book said to have belonged to the deceased resident of the house. As soon as they leave, the book begins to write its own scary stories involving the four friends and a horrifying fate that awaits them and those around them.

Harold in the book

While the books can be found in the juvenile section of your local library, the movie's demographic is mostly aimed for young adults and older. Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark is an edgier Goosebumps with a pinch of ParaNorman and a dash if It. Unlike the Jack Black horror comedy, this film omits the comedy and stick's to the horror.

Harold in the movie.

The monsters look exactly like their literary counterparts, from Harold, the pale woman and the Jangly Man. What can you expect when you have Guillermo del Toro involved in the making and assisting up-and-coming director André Øvredal. The young actors all give a good performances as well as Dean Norris as Stella's father.

"The Red Spot"

Scary Stories is a must watch for fans, especially for those who grew up reading the books and will recognize the titles of certain short stories that the haunted book is writing. Those who aren't familiar with the source material can still go in without getting lost with the plot and have a good scare.

"The Dream"

If there was a flaw, it would be that the climax could have used a bit more emotional weight like with ParaNorman. The movie even goes for a sequel bait, that I 'll give it credit for going for such a gamble, but unless you are Marvel, the chances are more or less fifty-fifty.

Just as the books serve as a nice introduction to horror literacy, Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark serves as a good introduction to horror movies.

Final Verdict: B