Despite Some Cool-Ass Monsters,Scary Stories to Tell in the DarkOffers Only Fleeting Frights

With the full force of manufacturer and monster fanboyGuillermo del Torobehind it , Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is , undeniably , a fondly craft adaptation of Alvin Schwartz ’s beloved series for jr. reader . But unlike those spooky Book , this absolutely okay freehanded - screen variant is n’t doom for classic position .

That ’s not to say it ’s a bad moving-picture show . It ’s just , disappointingly , not all that chilling .

In the first bit , we ’re introduced to Stella ( Zoe Colletti ) , who ’s basically a del Toro stand - in , if the future Oscar winner bechance to be a teenage female child develop up in small - town Pennsylvania circa 1968 . Stella is a bit of a misfit who eff to write revulsion fable and deemsNight of the Living Deadto be “ the best moving picture all yr . ” Her chamber interior decoration is to conk out for , with its enviable mishmash of lusus naturae magazines andcreepy movie poster .

Hey, it’s your old pal Harold!

Hey, it’s your old pal Harold!Image: CBS Films

fittingly , the movie opens on Halloween . Stella and her friends are in prank manner , hoping to dole out some payback to a jock bully who ’s been terrorizing them for years . The chassis story eventually leads them into research an give up manse , where Stella discover a Word of God replete with eerie fib . Before long , fresh ink that looks suspiciously like rakehell scratch come out on its Page , and each Thomas Kid gets a turn playing the unfortunate protagonist .

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Del Toro has gone on the record saying he did n’t want Scary Stories to be an anthology film , so he modeled “ the book that reads you ” mind on a like tome from his own Pan ’s Labyrinth . With that inspiration to channelise them , director André Øvredal ( The Autopsy of Jane Doe ) and screenwriters Dan and Kevin Hageman ( who ’ve both write for del Toro ’s animated Netflix seriesTrollhunters ) give us a film that ’s definitely not an anthology , but its social organisation is still far from original . It ’s basically a more creative whirl on a slasher film , complete with a baddie who methodically peck off character one by one .

Image: George Kraychyk

She’s behind me, isn’t she?Image: George Kraychyk (CBS Films)

The distinction , of course , is that each grisly tantrum is plucked from the Scary Stories source fabric , with the story mold to fit each victim ’s bad fears . Said fears are well - telegraphed forwards of meter , presumptively so the monsters do n’t feel totally random , but the Scary Stories beasties are so specific and unusual they still require a routine of wrangle to make them set . The girl who gets “ The Red Spot ” is deathly afraid of spiders ? OK , that lay down common sense . The others , like the “ Pale Lady ” succession , require more explanation . In this picky cause , the character just kind of blurts out forward of the scene that he ’s been having nightmare of a cherry elbow room . A few moment later … this bump :

you may see , by compare the above and below images , the exact , reverential approach the filmmakers took when transforming Stephen Gammell’smemorable illustrationsfor Schwartz ’s books into bread and butter , external respiration , scupper , shambling goliath . The monsters themselves do n’t have a ton of screen prison term , but each one pose what they take to make maximal impact . There are also some nifty Easter eggs referencing other stories that do n’t get specific call - out otherwise , so give close attending if you ’re a fan of the books .

The moving picture ’s period of time setting also feels a little uncalled-for at times . Sure , 1968 think the kids do n’t have cellphone phones or Google , but apart from the coolheaded railway car and some flagrant racism , the other big signifiers of the era are Richard Nixon ’s presidential bid and the Vietnam War . Both are glimpsed on TV and present as very high-risk thing , but these real - world fears experience pretty out of place in a movie where the main worry is that some kidskin — who are the very same age as the kids being send off off to war , Scary Stories makes certain to point out — are being chase down by specter .

Image: CBS Films

The Pale Lady, as seen in Stephen Gammell’s original artwork for the Scary Stories book series.Image: CBS Films

If you do n’t drop too much time dwelling on the patchwork feel of the hand , there is much to enjoy elsewhere , especially when it comes to the creature design . The “ Jangly Man , ” a twisted zombie who was created specially for the plastic film , is the flashy of the bunch , but for sheer grossness and shock value , “ The Big Toe ” makes quite the printing . And then , of class , there ’s legendary evil scarecrow “ Harold , ” whose pageboy - to - screen door transformation excellently retains the weathered malevolence of what ’s probably Gammell ’s most nightmare - induce draught .

Though I would n’t mind so much if Scary Stories added up to a revolving door of monsters , it aims higher , making sure we eff it ’s really a tale about , well , the power of storytelling . history can hurt you , we ’re reminded on multiple occasions — and that mean rumors , gossipmonger , and lies in addition to the kind of tale that can fetch ghouls to biography . It ’s not a lightweight motif , but its presentment here experience overly heavily - handed , with Stella offering voice - over at the beginning and terminate to check that we ’ve catch on .

Scary Stories to secern in the Dark is out August 9 .

Image: CBS Films