Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

This is another movie I got so excited about that I noted the release date after reading about in in Entertainment Weekly’s summer preview. Did it live up to the hype?

Yes, although it was a bit lighter on scares than I expected in favor of drama.

The plot, inspired by the anthology series of “young adult” scary books from the 80s and 90s, actually has a single narrative in which the scary stories are brief bits of horror befalling individual characters, thanks to a tortured soul from beyond taking her pain out on others.

There are some genuinely creepy bits but what got to me more is all the emotion. We feel true anguish from the main character’s backstory, from her potential love interest’s backstory that we learn, from what befalls their friends during the film, and from what happened to the supernatural being that made her the way she is. The film almost seemed allegorical, sharing how abuse inflicted on one person can manifest itself in the pain that causes others, and how pain exists in so many forms in the world. Perhaps it’s inescapable – but we have to try!

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment.

Bottom line: Fairly riveting story of teens navigating trauma (supernatural and otherwise).

Up Next: TV show catering to the same demographic as the Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark books.