MRMOVIESETC
REVIEWS:
“Scary Stories to
Tell in the Dark” (2019)
But they don't realize, I have scary stories of my own"
I know it is way, WAY too soon to start thinking about
Best lists for 2019, especially with so much of the year left and its entire
artsy drama faire still coming down for award season. That being said, when
that magical time of year does draw nearer, I will definitely have “Scary
Stories” in the hat for consideration.
It’s really that good.
***
Okay, yes, I usually play an introduction like that out
sarcastically, most often with horror, before I drop a bomb on it and send it
to the dusty closet where it belongs. This time, however, I am being completely
sincere - “Scary Stories” is a great fucking time, and the most fun I’ve had
watching horror probably since “IT” back in 2017. The film does have its flaws,
and I will be sure to cover those later on, but they didn’t stop me from
grinning ear-to-ear as I was leaving the theater.
Taking into consideration that the original book of
stories by Alvin Schwartz came out way back in 1981 – ugh – and Hollywood’s
obsession with adapting novels and shorts of all stripes, I’m genuinely
surprised it took almost forty years for a filmmaker to make a pass at “Scary
Stories” and put it on the big screen. I
know a documentary has been made at some point in time, and I intend to get
that checked off the list, but this third major feature by the incredibly
talented Director Andre Ovredal and screenwriter Guillermo Del Toro couldn’t
have been in better hands given the curious nature of its nostalgic revival.
Hell, when “Goosebumps” got the same treatment back in 2015, all I really hoped
for was something that slightly resembled the book series that completely
consumed my imagination and free time back in my childhood, all the while
keeping in mind that it was likely going to be light and geared towards those
twenty years younger than me at the time.
The results of “Goosebumps” were silly and mixed, and I
probably would have had the same expectations for “Scary Stories”, that is,
until I saw Del Toro’s name attached. Being one of my favorite fantasy/horror
filmmakers, I always have faith that he is going to take the material serious
and do it justice. Besides, the infamous artwork by Stephen Gammell is just as
creepy now as it ever was and is so incredibly perfect for Del Toro’s
sensibilities that I have to believe he’s been waiting for the right moment to
pounce on this project. Combined with a rising star like Ovredal and enough
faith from CBS Films to give “Stories” a respectable budget to work with, the
results are a tense, atmospheric, (mostly) realistic-looking, and effectively creepy batch of ghost stories rolled into one linear narrative that never loosens its
grip once it gets rolling.
Said narrative focuses on a trio of teenage friends:
Stella (Zoe Colletti), August (Gabriel Rush), and Chuck (Austin Zajur), on
Halloween in 1968. After a somewhat successful attempt at a prank against school
bully Tommy(Austin Abrams), they inadvertently add a fourth member to their
group – the mysterious Ramon (Michael Garza) – after he helps the three friends
hide from Tommy in a drive-in movie theater. Stella immediately starts taking a
shine to Ramon and asks if he’d like to join them to check out an old, creepy
mansion that is said to be haunted by a local legend named Sarah Bellows.
Sarah, among other things, was most notorious for keeping a book of scary
stories that she wrote and told to children of the town through the walls of
her cruel, dark prison-esque cellar bedroom that her abusive family kept her
in. After stumbling upon Sarah’s book of stories, Stella – an aspiring horror
writer in her own right – takes the book home to read and enjoy Sarah’s cryptic
musings.
Soon after returning home, Stella discovers that Sarah’s
spirit is not only still alive and well, but perhaps angered by the theft of
her writings as brand new stories begin to fill the book each night in front of
the kids’ eyes; each one written about them in a manipulation of nightmares or
inner fears that each character carries. From there, various monsters and
ghouls from the book, including The Toe Monster, Jangly Man, Harold the
Scarecrow, and the Pale Lady, begin taking down the group one-by-one as they
rush to try and find a way out of the curse that Bellows has placed on them.
Now, some of the kid/monster scenes are more effective
than others – Toe Monster would likely be my favorite – though the one thing
they do have in common is Ovredal’s exceptional ability of setting each
confrontation up by making full use of the set pieces therein. For a plot that
progresses such as this, adequate execution of suspense is crucial due to the
audience knowing well in advance that someone or some-thing evil is coming.
Anyone familiar with Ovredal’s previous title “The Autopsy of Jane Doe” should
find this attention to detail familiar and is as refined as ever.
Getting into the flaws of the film, I would say most are
rooted in the story itself. A bulk of the First Act truly takes its time
getting the audience acquainted with the main characters and their respective
personalities. There’s nothing incredibly grandiose about the proceedings,
though I can always appreciate a horror film that doesn’t insist on narrative
minimalism for the sake hitting the gas as quickly as it can; however, when it
comes down to it, the plot itself is still thin at its core, and is something
that get more noticeable as the film moves on.
Fortunately, all four of these young actors are so absolutely
game for their roles that the lack of depth on the story side doesn’t end up
mattering all that much, and I was highly impressed with how well they sold it.
There isn’t too much attention paid to each of their individual backgrounds,
and while that could have been beneficial to the emotional tones of the film,
Del Toro is already trying to cram in as many monsters as he can for when the
narrative does make the hard left turn into Nightmareland, that it likely would
have come off pretty forced if he tried to slow all of that down for the sake
of character reflection.
The motivational arc for the antagonist, Sarah Bellows,
was a curious one as well. I won’t spoil any of it, but as everything started
to come to a head at the climax, the less sense her actions made. Sure the perspective of it could be twisted
and contorted into a way that does work better, but it would be a stretch at
best. Again, it doesn’t really lessen the impact of her as a villain; although,
if there is anything about this film that is going to bug me forever, it’s
going to be that.
When it comes down to it, though, I am much more
forgiving of these things in horror films when it gets all the juicier stuff
right, and “Scary Stories” does absolutely get it right where it matters and
does its own title total justice. It delivered everything I could have expected
from it and then some, and yet I was still practically begging for more. What
can I say? I am prepared to admit that this one gave me a good jump in my seat,
and that is a rare mark on the scoreboard.
This project is dripping with nostalgic pandering, but
for once, it doesn’t feel like a cheap thing. The source material was strong
enough as it was, and there was genuine love and respect for the craft put into
this by Ovredal and Del Toro that was evident not only in the technical
aspects, but in the human side of it as well. I can only imagine how many doors
this is going to open for Ovredal in the future, and I will definitely be
keeping a close eye on his future endeavors. After kind of being in the gutter
for a while, it’s nice to see that the genre has a bright future ahead of it
with all the creative talent starting to crop up.
Long story short, as I have rambled enough in admiration
as it is, the point is that “Scary Stories” without a doubt deserves to be
seen. There are a few bumps in the road, sure, but it never loses its momentum.
Understandably, it’s easy to shrug off a
PG-13 horror flick these days, but I can assure you, that button is pushed to
the maximum, and it does get a few uncomfortable blows to the gag reflex that wouldn’t
necessarily be expected walking in to it.
This one earns one of my highest recommendations of the
year up to this point.
“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”: 9/10
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