Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Lionsgate | Release Date: August 9, 2019

6.5	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 186 Ratings

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Voodoo123Aug 28, 2020

Some interesting moments throughout but overall it felt like the 60sbsetting was used as window dressing only and the jump scares were common and felt cheap. Throw in a pretty forgettable set of two dimensional characters and some prettySome interesting moments throughout but overall it felt like the 60sbsetting was used as window dressing only and the jump scares were common and felt cheap. Throw in a pretty forgettable set of two dimensional characters and some pretty average cinematography and what is left just lacks any particular flavour to be worthy of remembering fondly. Conceptually there's something here.... Also the abundance of cgi kinda stood out here. Less is more folks. Go practical at all times unless absolutely necessary. In general too much 'clear view of the monster' was evident here which is a massive fail when it comes to the horror genre when building tension. Production was high quality but the lead actor felt like a bad choice. I never felt truly emotionally connected to her backstory or motivation.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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TejasNairOct 29, 2019

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a breath of fresh air in the horror and mystery genres of Hollywood for it brings out some storytelling (about a mysterious young girl who is kept locked in a basement room by her own family and whoScary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a breath of fresh air in the horror and mystery genres of Hollywood for it brings out some storytelling (about a mysterious young girl who is kept locked in a basement room by her own family and who narrates scary stories to children) with enough dose of horror imagery and not resorting to puerile jumpscares that is the hallmark of new-wave horror these days. TN.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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juliiouseAug 26, 2019

At a time when the entertainment industry is being saturated with historical coming of age horror mystery stories, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark does so much that other films and TV series do, but much worse. Much like IT and StrangerAt a time when the entertainment industry is being saturated with historical coming of age horror mystery stories, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark does so much that other films and TV series do, but much worse. Much like IT and Stranger Things, Scary Stories' main protagonists are a group of children/teenagers who are facing up to a mysterious horror which is plagueing their town, and along the way learn some important lessons about leaving the innocence of childhood behind. The only difference is that none of the characters are really interesting enough (or get much screentime) for the plot to work. Additionally, the town and the people who live in it are never really developed enough to make the threat it faces feel impactful. More time is spent on the monster than on the people who actually matter. The characters are eye-rollingly horror aficionados and "geeks": as this is the 1960's rather than the standard 80's setting, their interests are in B-movies rather than Dungeons & Dragons, but it's too similar to Stranger Things and honestly a little irritating at this point. The only interesting member of the main crew is Ramon: a wandering Latino vagrant who deals with the usual bullying Jocks with a cold, menacing demeanour which makes him feel like he's going to be a good balance to the more immature, geeky characters. Unfortunately, he very quickly outs himself as a massive horror fan and lover of geek culture.

Regarding the monster, the film ultimately fails where other similar films have: it is a horror film that isn't ever that scary. There are a few jump scares here and there, very few of which are paced in a way to feel earned. Much worse than this, there is almost no horror caused by suspense, which fundamentally undermines the main premise of the film: that peoples' gruesome fates are predetermined by a collection of scary stories written in blood. Where there should be a sense of creeping dread, we instead get treated to a collection of monsters being weird things on camera before killing people in as PG-13 a way as possible. I've recently being reading IT, which pulls no punches on the deaths of characters at the hands of monsters, and narrates it in gruesome detail. Much like the recent film version of IT, Scary Stories relishes too much in having monsters mess around on the camera and spends very little time actually making them threatening.

worst of all, the film ends with a sequel hook, which is especially bad as the overall mystery the film presents is never that interesting, so to stretch it over a minimum of two films is way too much.

If you liked Stranger Things or the 2017 IT, I'm sure you'll enjoy this: but if you want horror, you're watching the wrong film.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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Kevin3Sep 12, 2019

No hay nada original en esta película, es aburrida y no da miedo, es prácticamente una copia de escalofríos

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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Trineo99Aug 10, 2019

First of all, I will admit that in a few cases that the CGI in this film was okay but I do know that they also used makeup to help make these creatures and whenever it was practical it looked well done. I’ve seen multiple things onlineFirst of all, I will admit that in a few cases that the CGI in this film was okay but I do know that they also used makeup to help make these creatures and whenever it was practical it looked well done. I’ve seen multiple things online comparing the creatures in the film to those in the book and you can see the level of detail the make-up people put into making them look as if they just popped right out of the book. As much as I want to say this film is scary it honestly isn’t. You can tell right away when a jump scare is about to happen because it’s such a cliché way. I will say that there was one point where I felt like I was going to vomit but it was one moment out of I don’t know how many. The pacing in this film is another big problem with this film. The film is one-hour and forty-one-minutes long and you feel it. The plot moves at a snail pace speed and the film keeps coming up with dumb ways to keep making the film longer. Like I said in the intro this feels like a long episode of a kids show like Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark and it probably would have been better as a two-part episode of one of those shows. The acting in this film was mediocre at best and I couldn’t really care about any of these characters. I don’t want to say which person it was but there was one character that could have been better recasted. In the end, I feel like this could have worked best as a TV Show than a full-length film. It ends off with a possible sequel that I think will never happen. I give Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark a 5.5/10.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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imthenoobAug 14, 2019

The movie did a solid job at building the suspense and the characters, As well as providing a decently scary film despite the PG-13 rating. My only gripes would be the cliched ending and the fact that an R rating would have provided aThe movie did a solid job at building the suspense and the characters, As well as providing a decently scary film despite the PG-13 rating. My only gripes would be the cliched ending and the fact that an R rating would have provided a slightly more enjoyable film. Aside from that, I had no issues with it. I watched it with 2 other people and we all agreed that it was good enough that we would happily see a sequel.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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JLuis_001Sep 2, 2019

This stayed halfaway, quite halfway.
I applaud that it communicates its story with a more spooky atmosphere instead of being violently graphic or to recurr to gore. Obvioulsy with a PG-13 rating that was going to be hard but the problem isThis stayed halfaway, quite halfway.
I applaud that it communicates its story with a more spooky atmosphere instead of being violently graphic or to recurr to gore. Obvioulsy with a PG-13 rating that was going to be hard but the problem is that despite the title, this wasn't scary at all.

I couldn't help feeling the whole time that I was watching an overlong episode of ''Are You Afraid of The Dark?'' only with more budget.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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bataguilaAug 21, 2019

Los monstruos estan bien hechos, el problema que las historias no dan miedo, los niños caen mal, termina absurdo.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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theredskyAug 14, 2019

This is a decent movie. It’s not great but it definitely has its moments. Here are the negatives. The script for the film for the most part sucks. The dialogue feels incredibly weird and forced that it feels awkward. Another issue is thatThis is a decent movie. It’s not great but it definitely has its moments. Here are the negatives. The script for the film for the most part sucks. The dialogue feels incredibly weird and forced that it feels awkward. Another issue is that half of the characters in this film have little to no development. The two leads have backstories that are interesting while the other two, Chuck and Auggie, just don’t have any stories behind them. All we know is that they are friends with the lead character. I read some of the short stories before seeing the actual film and the film is just not as terrifying as the novel. The film is definitely creepy and somewhat scary but it isn’t as scary as the novel it is based on. Here are the positives. I think the acting is great from everyone. Most of the cast consists of teen actors and I think they all do a great job. The film knows how to build tension really well. The corn field scene is a perfect example. There is always a sense of dread looming over the sequence until the scarecrow finally appears. The creature designs are really cool and creepy. The Pale Lady and Harold are really cool looking and creepy to look at. Some of the scenarios that happen in the movie make your skin crawl. Most of those scenes are genuinely creepy and make you wonder why this film isn’t rated R. The production design for this movie is pretty good. I enjoy each set piece and they all felt real. The editing is pretty good for the most part and the cinematography is decent. There are some really cool shots though many of which revolve around The Pale Lady and the Jangly Man. The pacing and tone both remain consistent. Overall, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a decent horror film which great acting and really good monster design but lacks a good script and isn’t as terrifying as the original novel. I give Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark a 6/10.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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ExosphereSep 25, 2019

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is not a bad film by any means, but I truly believe it could have been a lot better. The movie itself caught me off guard with its beautiful cinematography, but annoyed me with its use of false jumps scares.Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is not a bad film by any means, but I truly believe it could have been a lot better. The movie itself caught me off guard with its beautiful cinematography, but annoyed me with its use of false jumps scares. I really wanted to find this movie scary, but there were incredibly few moments where any scare caught me off guard and that’s not something I want with horror films of any kind. This results in the movie being less memorable than it could have been. I’d still recommend Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, especially if you grew up with the original stories.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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Megannicole78Oct 23, 2019

It was not bad but I definitely was expecting a bit better it worth the watch

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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SteezyeetNov 10, 2019

I really enjoyed watching this movie but the jumpscares are just too predictable as in every movie nowadays but i did enjoy the design of the monsters and the characters were also pretty likeable. I didnt think that the movie was scary at allI really enjoyed watching this movie but the jumpscares are just too predictable as in every movie nowadays but i did enjoy the design of the monsters and the characters were also pretty likeable. I didnt think that the movie was scary at all and the story wasnt that great but its still really entertaining and nice to watch. Don't expect something special while watching this, but if you keep your expectations a little lower you'll probably enjoy it too :)… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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CarlElmoreNov 22, 2022

The visual effects, costumes and makeup are all amazing. It's a shame that the story isn't very interesting.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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