Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

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In case you haven’t seen the intro from my entry dated 1/26/19 (it’s in my archives whenever you want to read it), I’m no longer going to review every single movie I see.  I’m going to review one, with the occasional bonus, and just give ratings for the rest from now on (unless I decide to pick it up again in the future).  You can always ask me why I gave the ratings for the films without reviews though (via comments or the e-mail addresses under the ‘About Me’ section).

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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark                                 OK/G

I recently re-read all three collections of short stories by Alvin Schwartz in which this film, helmed by the director of Trollhunter and The Autopsy of Jane Doe and produced by Guillermo del Toro, is based.  As can be expected, not all the stories were adapted but the writers did a satisfactory job of incorporating the ones that were used (“The Big Toe,” “Harold,” “The Red Spot,” just to name a few) into a cohesive story.  I liked how some of them ended differently (and a bit darker) than their stories did.  The film was well-shot and the creature designs were passable (except for maybe The Jangly Man), but I really wish they didn’t opt for a pussified, excuse me, weak (read: clichéd) ending.  In other words, I enjoyed three-quarters of this and was really let down by the last quarter.  Judging by the ending and the many stories that haven’t been adapted yet, I have a feeling this isn’t the end of what we’ll be seeing, and I will absolutely keep watching, but here’s to hoping there’re zero letdowns next time (if possible although impossible nowadays).  8/12/2019

Other movies I've seen and their ratings (see above):

American Hangman  >>>EH/OK

The Clovehitch Killer  >>>OK

The Curse of La Llorona  >>>EH

High Life  >>>OK

The New Kids  >>>OK

---Sean O.
8/14/2019