Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

There is a weekend every year, when people all over the world gets a visit by the door. I know what you´re thinking, can´t be Jehovahs Witnesses, since they visit every week. I am actually thinking about all the kids that go trick or treating, dressed up in different costumes, for the weekend known as Halloween. Even if this weekend is not as popular here in Sweden compared to America, you can tell that trick or treating is happening here also. We get to see horror films in cinema, and they dress up stores with pumpkins and spooky figures, pretty much as in America but in a smaller scale of course. Halloween is the horror weekend where it is tradition to bring out the horror classics, no matter what favourites you have. For me personally, i have a lot of titles to choose between. But i have decided to pick out one specific film, that is really appreciated by horror fans worldwide. I am of course thinking about the anthology horror film Trick ´r´ Treat from 2007. This is one of the best Halloween horror films you could find ( compared to modern horror films released within the last 10 years ) from director Michael Dougherty. Trick `r´ Treat manage to tell different horror stories in a very effective way, using the Halloween weekend as a theme through every story. The cast is really good as well, including wonderful performances from actors such as Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin and many more. If you have not seen Trick ´r´ Treat, you need to get the Shout! Factory blu ray release, with some really nice special features included. If you hear the name Guillermo del Toro, you would probably think about his films Blade 2 and Pacific Rim. Both are really good films, but his gothic horror film The Devil´s Backbone, is a personal favourite of mine. He is one of the producers on a horror film called Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, based on the children´s book series of the same name, from author Alvin Schwartz. Since im a big horror fan, of course i have to check out a film produced by a legend such as Guillermo del Toro. Is this a better horror film than i expected, or should this film have been buried underneath the pumpkins ?

in 1968, three teenage friends in a small Town of Mill Valley, Pennsylvania - Stella Nichols ( Zoe Margaret Colletti ), an amateur author obsessed with the horror genre, Auggie Hildrebrandt ( Gabriel Rush ) and Chuck Steinberg ( Austin Zajur ) - play a prank on bully Tommy Milner ( Austin Abrams ) on Halloween night. Tommy and his gang chanse them to a drive in thru Cinema, where Stella, Auggie and Chuck manage to hide inside the car of Ramón Morales ( Michael Garza ). Tommy swear he will revenge their prank, and leaves. The gang advice Ramón to follow them to a local " haunted house ", that belonged to the wealthy Bellows family, who helped found Mili Valley. Inside the house they find a book with horror stories written by Sarah Bellows ( Kathleen Pollard ). Tommy and his gang lock the whole gang inside the house, together with Chuck´s sister Ruth Steinberg ( Natalie Ganzhorn ). They manage to get out of the house, and Stella take the book with her. But Stella notice that new stories are being written in the book, with her friends being a part of each story. Sarah is still around, and unless Stella finds a way to stop these stories, everyone will die around her.

If you have been looking for an old school horror film, that tries to bring back old horror films instead of jump scares, then you should have a look at Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. This is the kind of horror film that is meant to be seen on the weekend of Halloween, using classic horror ingredients and adding some extra details. So why is this a great choice for Halloween ? There are different reasons, but let´s tell you the most positive details on why this film works, The film takes place in the year of 1968, and it feels like they have managed to capture the time period well, including the costume design. It also feels like this film have tried to bring back horror films from the past, and Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark does not try to be modern ( and this is something i really appreciate ). The cast of young actors does a good job with their performances, so let´s get into the characters for a bit. Let´s begin with Young actress Zoe Margaret Colletti ( who was in the 2014 remake of Annie, the classic musical ) plays the character Stella Nichols. Right from the start when you meet Stella on screen, you can´t help to love her personality. Young actor Michael Garza, who plays the character Ramón Morales, is that kind of guy i think a lot of men will rezognize themselves in, when we were that age. One of the characters i feel fits really well in this gang is Auggie Hilderbrandt ( played by actor Gabriel Rush, who can be seen in several films of legendary director Wes Anderson´s films, such as Moonrise Kindom and The Grand Budapest Hotel ). Auggie is clearly a smart young man, and he brings something special to this group of friends. Now what about the horror elements in this film, do they work ? I would have to say yes, since it does feel creepy in certain scenes, and manage to make you feel interested in the story of Sarrah Bellows. There is especially one scene that is really creepy, with a very strange Mother looking creature in a hallway. Director André Ovredal ( who directed one of my facourite horror films in recent year called The Autopsy Of Jane Doe ) have made a horror film that will please fans of old school horror. A great choice for this Halloween weekend, if you want to have some fun while wearing your costume.

Rating: DDD