Jaden Jordan
- Aug 14, 2019
- 3 min read

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (2019)

Updated: Aug 2, 2021

The Breakdown: When investigating a haunted house, a group of friends find a book of scary stories that begins to write itself- and each of the stories comes true.

Watch If: You're a fan of the original stories, or you have more sensitive viewers.

Not If: You need gore and shock factor to really enjoy your horror.

SECONDARY FACTS

Overall Rating: 4.0

Length: 1:51

Country: USA

Language: English

Scare Factor: 3/5

Gore Factor: 2/5

Gross Factor: 3/5

REVIEW

THE QUICK AND DIRTY

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is an imaginative rendition of a beloved"children's" series that manages to pay due homage to its source material while still exploring its own interpretation of the work. It also manages to stay true to its intended audience by, while admittedly being a bit scary for young teens, avoiding overly gruesome imagery, sexual content, and extreme language.

PREMISE: 4

Adaptations are tricky business. Balancing the narrow line between original and "being true to the original" is no easy feat. Too often, otherwise decent films get crushed under the wheel of comparison, but Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark manages to shine in every way. The choice of source material was brilliant in and of itself, as the original stories, for those of you unfamiliar, were fairly bare bones tales that were really set don in your mind through the disturbing nature of the grotesque illustrations of Stephen Gammell. So to make a film that utilizes the original works lack of detail to jigsaw creativity into a beloved source material is brilliant, and the sheer craftsmanship needed to do so in a way that feels both novel and loyal is refreshing to see.

ACTING: 4

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the acting. As some of you know, I harbor no love for child/teen actors, but the teens that star in this one knocked the ball clean out of the park. there was not a single moment in the entire film where I was drawn out of the narrative by poor acting, or jarring delivery. They were realistic and relatable, and I genuinely enjoyed every performance in this film.

AUDIO AND VISUALS: 4

The CGI in this film is brilliantly done. Nothing fell pray to the dumb-trap of poor visuals, and the effects, particularly of the monsters themselves were both chilling in their own right, and in the way they were perfect interpretations of the visuals that haunted the nightmares of myself and a good portion of the rest of my generation.

The use of lighting and perspective is creative and effective, often using perspective shifts, or cutting out the part of the screen that is relevant to build tension, and it works. The crisp, lively settings contrasted with the stale pallor of flesh creates a scene that is delightful to watch, and demonstrates an understanding of cinematography that I sincerely hope to experience more often.

ATMOSPHERE: 3

It was fun. The story was simple, but well done, the writing didn't break the film at all, the visuals were extremely complimentary to the tone that they seemed to be going for, and the early established formula of the film itself shifts the focus not on how revolutionary the movie is, but on how well done the otherwise simple concepts are. I fully believe that everything this film set out to be, it is.

And yes, the aimed demographic being (I assume) young adults, there is a lack of the more jarring things that we've come to expect from horror, but it aides the film, rather than hurts it.

DELIVERY: 5

There is something to be said for when a piece of cinema knows what it is and, instead of trying to be something else, instead devotes its effort to being the best of that thing it can be. Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark manages, not only to embody, but to elevate every principal it attempted to demonstrate. It is an entertaining adaption that is drenched in both creativity and loyalty, and deserves to be an instant classic for teens and young adults of this generation.