In the fictional town of Mill Valley, Pennsylvania, a gaggle of nerdy teens led by aspiring writer Stella (Zoe Colletti) break into a dilapidated mansion. Local legend has it that the Bellows family kept their daughter Sarah locked up; in an act of vengeance, she’d tell scary stories to children through the wall. When Stella steals Sarah’s book of stories, her aggrieved spirit is reanimated. Show In a departure from the books, the film adopts a period setting, taking place in the weeks leading up to Nixon’s election in 1968. The spectre of the Vietnam war hangs over the grisly proceedings, adding interesting atmospheric texture but little narrative detail. The film’s teen protagonists, meanwhile, are chaste children’s book heroes, but the horror, based on illustrator Stephen Gammell’s drawings, has a gruesome quality that feels too full-on for youngsters. A red pimple is infested with spiders, a human toe floats to the top of a vomit-like stew, and a lumpy, pale woman who smiles and shuffles ominously down a hospital corridor is truly terrifying. I was a bit dissapointed about this movie, thought it would be scarier. Works for older kids who likes spooky movies, good for halloween. atrick6 Parent of 10 and 14-year-old March 27, 2020 Finally found a pretty good horror movie for my daughterMy 11-year-old girl thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It’s not that scary. She was mostly traumatized that the monster she liked had to go away in the end. It was good enough that I didn’t mind watching it with her. My 15-year-old was a little too old for it but he didn’t mind watching either. There’s no adult content at all and nothing lewd. The 14+ rating on common sense Just wrong. The message about how stories affect people is good but it’s basically mindless entertainment. What's the Story?In SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK, nerdy, horror-loving outcast Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti) is urged to come out on Halloween night, 1968, with her two misfit best friends, Augie (Gabriel Rush) and Chuck (Austin Zajur). Their plan is to prank the town bully (Austin Abrams), but they're caught and chased. At the drive-in, the teens duck into the car of Ramon (Michael Garza), a loner who's passing through town. Later, when the coast is clear, they take Ramon to the local haunted house and tell him about the legend of Sarah Bellows, whose ghost is said to tell scary stories and make children disappear. In a secret room, Stella finds Sarah's actual book, and before long, scary things start happening and kids begin to vanish. Stella must find out the real story behind Sarah Bellows and set things right before her own name comes up in the book. Is It Any Good?Somewhat similar in mood and tone to It, this hugely entertaining scary story has its own delightfully demonic vibe, with strong characters, striking atmosphere, and furious frights. Based on a collection of short horror stories from the early 1980s by Alvin Schwartz (with horrific illustrations by Stephen Gammell), which was intended for kids, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark cooks up its own mythology as a way of packaging the books' mini-tales into a cohesive story. Set in 1968, the movie conjures up a kind of freedom in which the young heroes have the space and gumption to run about town and do their own thing. (Stella's room is filled with classic horror movie posters and monster magazines, as well as a half-finished tale in her typewriter.) We love hanging out with them, and their ghost chase is as secretly thrilling as it is scary. It begins on Halloween night, and then Night of the Living Dead is playing at the drive-in, while Vietnam hovers in the background and Richard Nixon's re-election is right around the corner. Oscar-winning filmmaker/monster-maker Guillermo Del Toro who co-wrote Scary Stories' screenplay with his Trollhunters co-writers Dan and Kevin Hageman seems to have added the Ramon character as a way to highlight bigotry, which can be just as scary as ghosts. At the helm, talented Norwegian director Andre Ovredal keeps a measured, tense pace and uses physical space including the haunted Bellows house, a cornfield, a creepy hospital, and even a bedroom to great shocking effect. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has the stuff to become a perennial re-watch when the frost is on the pumpkin. Talk to Your Kids About ...
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