Runtime: 111 minutes
Directed by: Andre Ovredal
Starring: Zoe Margaret
Coletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Zajur, Dean Norris
From: Lionsgate
The creatures in this film: they all have more charisma than Lana Del Rey!
Like many, when I was a kid (i.e. literally decades ago) I saw at least the first of the three books written by Alvin Schwartz; what I had remembered about them were not the tales but rather the frightening images from Stephen Gammell. It wasn't until today that I finally looked through those books again-more on that later. The only advertising I ever saw for this was the teaser early in the year-no trailers or commercials since then.
What was revealed in the advertising is unknown to me so I'll try to be vague. The fact that this was set in 1968 was a surprise-rural Pennsylvania to be exact. The plot is that it is Halloween and horror fan Stella hangs out with her fellow misfit pals Augie & Chuck. Of course there are bullies in Letterman jackets and they love to torment each other. Something fiery happens and they end up in a spooky haunted house where there is a literal book of scary stories and that's when the fit hits the shan, so to speak.
This is PG-13 and I know many naturally blanche at such an idea for the majority of horror films being made in these modern times. For me it was not that much an issue as the books were meant for kids, it makes a nice gateway for the young teens who are probably not fit quite yet for the R-rated genre examples and there still manages to be scary moments & the various creatures on display are effective at sending a chill through the audience. Producer del Toro did not want an anthology as he was not a fan of their inherent uneven nature so instead a plot was crafted where a few of the tales from the books are tied together and I have no complaints with how they are linked together nor the selections they made. Of course Harold the scarecrow is all over the advertising but I will not reveal the other stories that were used here.
What helped for me was that all the three leads were likable-enough and the mood/atmosphere were pretty nice, w/ some cool setpieces. While there are some cliches that were probably old in actual films from 1968, overall I thought this was good-no regrets with seeing this theatrically. The reason why I took a potshot at Lana Del Rey was not just that her popularity has always baffled me between the bad noises coming out of her mouth and her animatronic-esque stage presence... the end credits had her cover Donovan's Season of the Witch; I did not stick around for that. At least the opening of this movie had the original version of the tune.
A few years ago I purchased “Scary Stories Treasury”, which compiled all three books together; as I was me, I never looked through it until today. As an adult, it was interesting to see (as I had no memory of this) the back of each book contain a notes and sources section which explained the origin of each tale... whether it be something that an author created or (usually) some old folklore from across the United States and a few times a foreign country. I finally realized this was a wise purchase on my part and not just something done on a whim because I was bowled over by a wave of nostalgia, in other words.
Like many, when I was a kid (i.e. literally decades ago) I saw at least the first of the three books written by Alvin Schwartz; what I had remembered about them were not the tales but rather the frightening images from Stephen Gammell. It wasn't until today that I finally looked through those books again-more on that later. The only advertising I ever saw for this was the teaser early in the year-no trailers or commercials since then.
What was revealed in the advertising is unknown to me so I'll try to be vague. The fact that this was set in 1968 was a surprise-rural Pennsylvania to be exact. The plot is that it is Halloween and horror fan Stella hangs out with her fellow misfit pals Augie & Chuck. Of course there are bullies in Letterman jackets and they love to torment each other. Something fiery happens and they end up in a spooky haunted house where there is a literal book of scary stories and that's when the fit hits the shan, so to speak.
This is PG-13 and I know many naturally blanche at such an idea for the majority of horror films being made in these modern times. For me it was not that much an issue as the books were meant for kids, it makes a nice gateway for the young teens who are probably not fit quite yet for the R-rated genre examples and there still manages to be scary moments & the various creatures on display are effective at sending a chill through the audience. Producer del Toro did not want an anthology as he was not a fan of their inherent uneven nature so instead a plot was crafted where a few of the tales from the books are tied together and I have no complaints with how they are linked together nor the selections they made. Of course Harold the scarecrow is all over the advertising but I will not reveal the other stories that were used here.
What helped for me was that all the three leads were likable-enough and the mood/atmosphere were pretty nice, w/ some cool setpieces. While there are some cliches that were probably old in actual films from 1968, overall I thought this was good-no regrets with seeing this theatrically. The reason why I took a potshot at Lana Del Rey was not just that her popularity has always baffled me between the bad noises coming out of her mouth and her animatronic-esque stage presence... the end credits had her cover Donovan's Season of the Witch; I did not stick around for that. At least the opening of this movie had the original version of the tune.
A few years ago I purchased “Scary Stories Treasury”, which compiled all three books together; as I was me, I never looked through it until today. As an adult, it was interesting to see (as I had no memory of this) the back of each book contain a notes and sources section which explained the origin of each tale... whether it be something that an author created or (usually) some old folklore from across the United States and a few times a foreign country. I finally realized this was a wise purchase on my part and not just something done on a whim because I was bowled over by a wave of nostalgia, in other words.
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