Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) Review

 

On Halloween, 1968, in the small town of Mill Valley, Pennsylvania, four teens take on the town's ghost, literally, when they enter a haunted house and find a book written in blood.

Producer and co-writer Guillermo del Toro brings Alvin Schwartz's book series to life. With plenty of visual flair and imagination, it's wonderfully directed by André Øvredal, who offers an uplifting throwback to old-fashioned Goonies-like investigative teens. It has genuinely creepy moments, there's an authentic charm from the leads especially in the intriguing first act. The gruesome effects are impressive, along with the production values and acting.

However, it does have some issues, the scares seem too scary and harrowing, it can't decide who it's trying to scare. The 1960 setting has very little impact, at times it feels like it could be the present day. Its runtime and plotting feels strained during the third act, and the character development is thin especially given the film's length.

Overall, Scary Stories is a fun visual horror with folkloric fantasy. It's gross and spooky and occasionally frightening but it is jumbled. It's too scary for youngsters and frustratiing for nostalgic adults who'll compare it to IT and the Goonies.