Ashtyn Britt
abritt@lc.edu
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was a classic horror book series for many people growing up. Three books published in 1981, 1984, and 1991 were part of the series, and their chilling tales have been told throughout multiple generations since. These chilling books included many stories and illustrations more than capable of bringing nightmares to anyone who reads them. The Shape of Water’s director Guillermo Del Torro, who worked as a producer for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, decided to take these nightmares as a challenge to make the movie’s monsters as close to the illustrations as possible. So, did these scary stories earn their way onto the big screen?
Heck yes, they did! I couldn’t say enough to any horror fans that will hear me to go see this movie as soon as possible! The plot is good, the symbolism and political messages perfectly fit, the setting and costuming is superb, and the scary parts are actually scary rather than cheesy. The acting is also surprisingly well done, particularly Michael Garza, Zoe Margaret Colletti, and a particular contortionist who played the jangly man monster. The casting in this movie was beyond perfect.
There was surprisingly an overall plot to connect the stories together, a bit of a different take on horror anthologies when compared to works such as the Creepshow movies or the Tales From the Crypt movie. The film synopsis is as follows, “The shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large in the small town of Mill Valley for generations. It’s in a mansion that young Sarah Bellows turns her tortured life and horrible secrets into a series of scary stories. These terrifying tales soon have a way of becoming all too real for a group of unsuspecting teens who stumble upon Sarah’s spooky home.”
For those interested in seeing the movie, it is currently playing in most major movie theaters and will hopefully soon be hitting the shelves and online for payment. I, for one, am certainly going to buy a DVD to join my copies of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark on my bookshelf.