Movie Breakdown: Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

Pre-Screening Stance:

To be honest, I’m mostly ready to see Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark since it’ll put me that much closer to being done with having to look at the film’s creepy scarecrow in advertisements everywhere.

Post-Screening Ramble:

If you’re a fan of 2015’s Goosebumps (with Jack Black), then you’re going to like Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark.  Both films are smart adaptations that are just scary enough to keep your kids up at night.

The movie follows a group of teens who enter a haunted house and discover a book with grotesque stories in it.  super-Naturally, it begins writing new entries on its own, and each one posits something horrific for said guys and gals who dared to disturb the home of Sarah Bellows, the tortured girl who penned the original collection of short stories (in her own blood, of course) that was stumbled upon.  All parties involved are then left to figure out how to make her rage-filled ghost ease up on murdering them via their worst fears (hint: each creature, situation, etc. is inspired by a different short story from the books).  Framing out the entries from the actual Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark books in this way was a smart move, so kudos to director Andre Ovredal and the film’s writers for that.  Also, a lot of praise needs to be doled out to the cast of kids – they’re all great when it comes to both comedic timing and looking terrified.  I think the runtime (just under two hours) could have been trimmed up some, especially around the midway point of the movie, but all in all, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is a sharp slice of horror that’s pretty damn fun.  Get out there and see it this weekend.

One Last Thought:

This film shows and mentions Richard Nixon enough times for it to be noticeable.  I’ve yet to conjure up any sort of reason as to why he’s so prevalent, but surely there’s something behind it.  Or maybe not.  Who knows.