SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
***
Director: André Øvredal
Screenwriters: Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman, from a story by Guillermo del Toro, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, based on the book series by Alvin Schwartz.
Principal cast:
Zoe Margaret Colletti
Dean Norris
Michael Garza
Gabriel Rush
Austin Zajur
Natalie Ganzhorn
Austin Abrams
Country: USA/Canada/China
Classification: M
Runtime: 108 mins.
Australian release date: 26 September 2019
Previewed at: Event Cinemas, George Street, Sydney, on 24 September 2019.
Originating from a popular collection of short horror stories written for children, the film has been given an M classification in Australia, meaning that it is recommended for teenagers aged 15 years and over, so younger viewers are advised to stay away. This is probably a good thing; this film is, indeed, scary - in a kind-of old-fashioned way. The three books in the series were written by American author Alvin Schwartz in the decade between 1981 and 1991 and drew on old folk tales and more recent urban legends for their fear factor. In their day, they were heavily criticised in some circles as being inappropriate for children and unsuitable for library collections. For the movie, six stories have been selected from across the series and given a wrap-around narrative involving a bunch of kids setting off to trick or treat on Halloween night in 1968.
Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti) lives with her depressed, workaholic dad (Dean Norris; Hank in TV’s Breaking Bad series), and subsequently spends a lot of time alone or hanging out with her friends Auggie (Gabriel Rush) and Chuck (Austin Zajur). On this night, the trio sets out to prank local bully Tommy (Austin Abrams), which they do with some success. Fleeing Tommy and his gang, the friends meet Ramón (Michael Garza), a teenager from out of town who’s a couple of years older than they are, and he helps them avoid Tommy’s revenge. As it’s Halloween, they invite Ramón to explore the local haunted house, where Stella finds an old book of handwritten stories in the basement. The house belonged to the Bellows family in the 19th century, the wealthiest people in Mill Valley, and it’s rumoured that they locked their daughter Sarah (Kathleen Pollard) in a secret room for being unruly and disruptive. The book was Sarah’s and it is full of horror stories. Stella, a budding writer herself, takes the book home but, once there, is shocked to see a story being written by an unseen hand as she watches on. Soon, it becomes apparent that, “you don’t read the book, the book reads you”, and it has a terrible story for everyone who entered the Bellows house on that fateful night.
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is the brainchild of producer Guillermo Del Toro, the Mexican director of Pan’s Labyrinth and the Oscar-winning The Shape Of Water. He has always had a penchant for horror yarns and monsters and he loved Schwartz’s books, especially the accompanying drawings by Stephen Gammell. In fact, he owns a few of Gammell’s works and wanted to create a similar washed-out, almost black-and-white look for the monsters in the film. To this end, he selected André Øvredal, the Norwegian director of the much-acclaimed Troll Hunter, to bring his vision to life and Øvredal has made a good job of the material. The monsters are unusual and genuinely frightening. Del Toro opines that, “There are two types of horror movies. First are the ones that sort of scar your soul. But then there is the horror movie that is like a roller coaster ride. It’s fun, entertaining and thrilling but ultimately has a humanistic spirit. And that’s the type of movie André has made - one where you have fun getting scared.” It’s hard to argue with that - Scary Stories is enjoyable entertainment for those who like a jolt in the dark.
Screenwriters: Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman, from a story by Guillermo del Toro, Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton, based on the book series by Alvin Schwartz.
Principal cast:
Zoe Margaret Colletti
Dean Norris
Michael Garza
Gabriel Rush
Austin Zajur
Natalie Ganzhorn
Austin Abrams
Country: USA/Canada/China
Classification: M
Runtime: 108 mins.
Australian release date: 26 September 2019
Previewed at: Event Cinemas, George Street, Sydney, on 24 September 2019.
Originating from a popular collection of short horror stories written for children, the film has been given an M classification in Australia, meaning that it is recommended for teenagers aged 15 years and over, so younger viewers are advised to stay away. This is probably a good thing; this film is, indeed, scary - in a kind-of old-fashioned way. The three books in the series were written by American author Alvin Schwartz in the decade between 1981 and 1991 and drew on old folk tales and more recent urban legends for their fear factor. In their day, they were heavily criticised in some circles as being inappropriate for children and unsuitable for library collections. For the movie, six stories have been selected from across the series and given a wrap-around narrative involving a bunch of kids setting off to trick or treat on Halloween night in 1968.
Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti) lives with her depressed, workaholic dad (Dean Norris; Hank in TV’s Breaking Bad series), and subsequently spends a lot of time alone or hanging out with her friends Auggie (Gabriel Rush) and Chuck (Austin Zajur). On this night, the trio sets out to prank local bully Tommy (Austin Abrams), which they do with some success. Fleeing Tommy and his gang, the friends meet Ramón (Michael Garza), a teenager from out of town who’s a couple of years older than they are, and he helps them avoid Tommy’s revenge. As it’s Halloween, they invite Ramón to explore the local haunted house, where Stella finds an old book of handwritten stories in the basement. The house belonged to the Bellows family in the 19th century, the wealthiest people in Mill Valley, and it’s rumoured that they locked their daughter Sarah (Kathleen Pollard) in a secret room for being unruly and disruptive. The book was Sarah’s and it is full of horror stories. Stella, a budding writer herself, takes the book home but, once there, is shocked to see a story being written by an unseen hand as she watches on. Soon, it becomes apparent that, “you don’t read the book, the book reads you”, and it has a terrible story for everyone who entered the Bellows house on that fateful night.
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is the brainchild of producer Guillermo Del Toro, the Mexican director of Pan’s Labyrinth and the Oscar-winning The Shape Of Water. He has always had a penchant for horror yarns and monsters and he loved Schwartz’s books, especially the accompanying drawings by Stephen Gammell. In fact, he owns a few of Gammell’s works and wanted to create a similar washed-out, almost black-and-white look for the monsters in the film. To this end, he selected André Øvredal, the Norwegian director of the much-acclaimed Troll Hunter, to bring his vision to life and Øvredal has made a good job of the material. The monsters are unusual and genuinely frightening. Del Toro opines that, “There are two types of horror movies. First are the ones that sort of scar your soul. But then there is the horror movie that is like a roller coaster ride. It’s fun, entertaining and thrilling but ultimately has a humanistic spirit. And that’s the type of movie André has made - one where you have fun getting scared.” It’s hard to argue with that - Scary Stories is enjoyable entertainment for those who like a jolt in the dark.