Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

7/10

Starring
Zoe Colletti
Michael Garza
Gabriel Rush
Austin Zajur


Directed by André Øvredal

I’m not a fan of horror movies because death doesn’t seem like a form of thrill to me. But Guillermo del Toro is a masterful storyteller, and when his name is attached to a project, I can be sure it’ll be a fun ride. This movie was exactly that—a great ride, fun, engaging, and with a well-written plot that’s easy to follow.

It didn’t waste time like many horror movies do, leaving loose ends all over the place in the name of suspense. Instead, it was written in a way that made it feel like a lot was happening at once, but there was always a thread holding everything together. A big part of that was the actors (and major props to the writers and director, too). They delivered their roles in a way that made it easy to keep up without getting lost.

This horror movie is based on a series of children’s books called Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz. The books are filled with over eighty short horror stories, and this movie adds an origin story for where those tales come from.

In this movie (I haven’t read the books), the story follows a young girl named Stella and her friends. Stella has a sad past—her mother left when she was young, leaving her alone with her dad. She’s often mocked and picked on by the kids at school, with the school bully, Tommy, leading the charge. Stella has two friends who’ve always stood by her: Auggie and Chuck. The three live in a town with its own dark history. Years ago, in a house belonging to the Bellows family, a young woman named Sarah was said to have died there. The story goes that Sarah hung herself and killed children. The Bellows’ house, where Sarah lived, is now considered haunted by the locals.

Fast forward to the 1960s, and the three friends are plotting revenge on Tommy, the chief bully. Their plan is simple: they know he’ll drive past a certain road and snatch candy from kids, so they wait with a bag stretched out. Tommy snatches it and finds a stinky surprise inside. But they’re not done—they egg his car and nearly scare him out of his pants.

An angry Tommy chases them, and they end up in the car of a young man named Ramon. Ramon tells Tommy off, and the group heads to the haunted house to chill out. Tommy, still tailing them, locks them inside. While trying to find a way out, Stella notices a book. She sees it belongs to Sarah Bellows and starts reading the stories inside.

Mysteriously, the door of the house opens, and the group heads home.

Later, while flipping through the book at home, Stella notices a fresh story written in ink that hasn’t dried yet. It tells how Tommy is going to die. The next day, Tommy goes missing. Stella tells the others, but they don’t believe her—until the next story is about Auggie. This time, the writing appears right in front of her and Ramon.

Auggie goes missing, and now Stella, Chuck, and Ramon decide to investigate Sarah’s life to find out what really happened to her. They hope to stop anyone else from vanishing or getting hurt.

This is a great movie, and one you’ll really enjoy if you take the time to see it.