Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

Average, and barely that. I definitely expected more from the director of The Autopsy of Jane Doe, especially with Guillermo del Toro overseeing it. And the beginning was promising enough – my favorite Donovan song, "Season of the Witch", the unassuming and pleasantly ordinary young heroes, the hyperbole, the trip to the haunted house. But then it all went wrong. The individual ghost stories are pretty predictable and lack suspense or surprise (with the possible exception of the first one), the stunts are literally all over the place, the script has no logic but pretends it does, and most of all... mostly, the characters alternately behave like geniuses (they solve mysteries in a flash, they know immediately to look under the bed) and idiots. It struck me as a slightly more narrative TV movie, or possibly, given the ending, the pilot episode of a TV series. Not great. ____ P.S. The Czech subtitles hold up to the quality of the film, as at one point we read "Morons! It's 9 o'clock!" instead of the correct "Morons at 9 o'clock!" or when the police chief is referred to as "the boss". (13.08.2019)

The result is pretty much by the upper boundaries of the realistic expectations for a PG13 adaptation of a scary book for children. The scenes that adapt the scary stories are brilliant. They can be tense, scary and sometimes even give you the chills. Obviously, the viewer would wait in vain for blood and gore, but even then, it seems that the creators were allowed surprisingly plenty for a “kids” rating. Certainly, there is more horror in Scary Stories than in, for instance, the third season of Stranger Things. I’d love to see more of these scary short stories; more monsters and beasts. But, unfortunately, the binding between the “stories” is a problem. It’s not interesting enough, especially given how much time it gets. The main characters aren’t much of a problem, though it can’t be said that most of them are very likeable. I thought how it would have been if the creators had ignored the story and the entire town would somehow “read” the book, and the monster mayhem started. Overall I’m satisfied, I liked the film. But this year I’ve given four stars to far more significant and interesting horror films, and, also, the previous two works by Øvredal were stronger, so Scary Stories will have to make do with a three. (09.08.2019)

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark reminded me at certain points of Darkness Falls and Goosebumps, where the story also worked with urban legends, revenge and dangerous stories from books. I liked the look of the monsters, even if we’ve seen more "poetically" designed creatures in Guillermo del Toro, who co-wrote the film. I also praise the choice of locations and the production design, whether it was a red hospital, a haunted house, or a cornfield (which looks eerie even in broad daylight). Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark doesn't (fortunately for me) overflow with an abundance of scares and hectolitres of blood, rather it offers a few atmospherically uncomfortable scenes and, as a result, a slightly above average tale of stories that hurt but can also heal. Better three stars! (10.09.2022)

The cute, soft film is neither scary nor gory enough, but it shows some quality work with the environment/set designs and nicely captures the 1980s. It would have been more successful if it had also been made in that era, as contemporary horror viewers – including the youngest ones – are used to a more intense, goosebump-inducing experience and jump scares, even in movies with worse writing and direction. But intensity is what the audience craves, and intensity is lacking here. (13.09.2019)

André Øvre has done it again and after The Autopsy of Jane Doe he serves another solid horror film that will not be missing in this year's TOP 5. It's a kind of children's adventure set in the 70s on Halloween. The kids find a book in an abandoned house that starts writing stories that immediately become reality. At times it en reminded me of Final Destination. No link in the story is weak, but each has its own thing and a perfect central evil (wonderful practical effects!!), plus a decently dense atmosphere that thrills, chills and at times scares. I was sweating like a gymnast at the end and that hasn't happened in a long time. The kids are quite likable, the visuals are solid, the pace is very fast and the film doesn't get boring. there hasn't been a pure horror entertainment like this in cinemas yet this year. For me, a great satisfaction and as an appetizer before It: Chapter 2 I couldn't get anything better. 80% (09.08.2019)