When I saw the first trailer for Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, I got a flood of emotions. I was excited, nervous, and scared all at once. I read these stories over and over as a child, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about my nightmares coming to life on the big screen. Was I brave enough to see it? Not in theaters. But at home in the comfort of my own house where I could hide under the blankets? Yes. That would work.
When I sat down to finally watch this movie, my heart started pounding and I had flashbacks to when I was (much) younger reading it. I was nervous that the movie might ruin those fears, if that makes sense. Make them seem silly. If it was a cheesy movie, that was sure to happen. But within the first twenty minutes my fears of this movie being cheesy disappeared. It was scary, and it was GOOD. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire film, and when it ended, I wanted to watch it again.
Comparing It To The Books
I had the three books set of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark as a child and they TERRIFIED me. I still have PTSD from Harold and hate scarecrows because of him. Seriously. I vividly remember running home (yes running — at full speed) from my friend’s house in the dark because I thought he would come after me. Of course he was going to be a part of this movie because, well quite frankly I am sure he scared every kid who read these books.
But in order to tie all of the stories together, they did something a little different. And I loved it. In Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, there is a book that comes true when you read it. As far as I remember from my childhood, none of those stories came true. And I don’t think any of them mentioned my name. In all honestly though, I really enjoyed how they tied it all together and made it bigger than the stories.
Is It TOO Scary, Though?
I honestly don’t think Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is too scary. For me, it was the perfect amount of scary. I jumped out of my seat a few times, and I definitely screamed a few times. And sure, they brought my nightmares to life.. but I loved every second of it. And I didn’t have nightmares after, so I take that as a win!
Overall Thoughts
Was Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark the perfect movie? No. Not at all. But it is a movie I plan to watch more than once? Absolutely. I am even debating on watching it with my 8 year old who LOVES to be scared (just like her mama). The plot is fun, the stories are creepy, and I enjoyed every minute of it. But just as is often true, the books were better than the movie.
About Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark
The shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large in the small town of Mill Valley for generations. It’s in a mansion that young Sarah Bellows turns her tortured life and horrible secrets into a series of scary stories. These terrifying tales soon have a way of becoming all too real for a group of unsuspecting teens who stumble upon Sarah’s spooky home.
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is available now on digital, and November 5th on Blu-ray!
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.