#HorrorMovie Review - Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) is the movie adaptation of the anthology series of the same name published between 1981 and 1991. I never read the books when I was a kid, which is very surprising, though I’d need to have heard of them. That seems strange, but growing up in a small town, we didn’t have the same resources as other places, so it’s not surprising. However, I remember hearing about them in 2004.

The thing with most anthology movies, I’m always confused about how the stories are connected or why they were put together in the first place. This film puts the stories together with a cohesive story that makes sense as the movie progresses. The film had nice creepy moments, but not scares for a viewer like myself, but am I the demographic for this film? Probably not, so I don’t feel right about being too critical about that. Kids thirteen and up might find this terrifying.

The first thirty minutes of the movie drag, making me think that more time had passed than had. This isn’t unique to this film; I’ve had the same criticism of many others. When the first story begins, it’s obvious that Guillermo del Toro is one of the producers. Knowing that this is a PG-13 adaptation of a children’s book series, I expected that there wasn’t going to be gore, so I didn’t anticipate much from the effects. I’m happy to say that with the absence of blood, the effects were on point, much like that of Pan’s Labyrinth with the creatures.

I enjoyed Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. It was visually appealing and had a nice pace once it got going. I give it 4 out of 5 Stars.