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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

2019

André Øvredal

Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Austin Zajur, Gabriel Rush ...

5.3

8,552

Horror Stella Michaels (Colletti) is a young girl still haunted by her mother’s disappearance on Halloween night — an incident that she suspects her father knows more about than he lets on. Years later, Stella and her friends are involved in a Halloween prank gone wrong. But are they really at fault, or was it the work of a vengeful spirit — a female ghost who uses her scary stories to come after the teens when they begin to investigate the ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Owen Gleiberman Variety	"[The original tales] had an insidious, pre-media homespun awe. In the film version of 'Scary Stories,' they’re just momentary Grand Guignol tidbits (...) served up like the greatest hits they are."	NEU
United States	Monica Castillo The Wrap	"It’s welcoming enough for teens and perhaps just creepy enough for the average grown-up horror movie fan (...) Most of the movie is a pure delight"	POS
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"As clever and well-crafted as it is, can’t help but invert the formula that the source material relied upon for its success (...) It’s plenty harrowing and full of gruesome effects, but it never feels dangerous"	NEU
United States	Rob Hunter Film School Rejects	"The result is a horror film that blends genre familiarity with uniquely frightening creations. It’s also one with visuals and ideas designed to appeal to horror fans from pre-teens on up"	POS
United States	William Bibbiani Bloody Disgusting	"There’s no shortage of excellent scary moments in this movie, but you’ll have to trudge through some tedium to get there (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 5)"	NEU
United States	Rosie Knight IGN	"As a kids movie that also dedicates itself to being truly scary it both satisfies and succeeds"	POS
United States	Jonathan Barkan Dread Central	"[It] hits nearly all the right notes. While it may be too scary for young children on their own, a family Halloween movie night with this would certainly be a hit (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Keith Uhlich The Hollywood Reporter	"Terrifyingly mediocre (...) So how about the monsters? They're alright"	NEU
United States	Richard Brody The New Yorker	"Øvredal's sense of horror is neither notably stark nor significantly ornamental; it's nearly textureless (...) the movie flattens and tames the power of imagination"	NEG
United States	Luke Y. Thompson Forbes	"The good news is that the 'Scary Stories' movie sticks the landing (...) The monsters are fun"	POS
United States	Clark Collis Entertainment Weekly	"A handsome, and deliciously horrible, horror movie (...) A lot of younger audience members will be begging their parents to keep at least one bedroom light on after seeing it"	POS
United States	Audra Schroeder The Daily Dot	"The film adaptation of the classic horror series gets in some good scares but struggles elsewhere. (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United Kingdom	Simran Hans The Guardian	"This uneven film can’t decide who it’s trying to scare (...) [The horror] has a gruesome quality that feels too full-on for youngsters (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United Kingdom	Clarisse Loughrey The Independent	"Stays true to the books but forgets that horror is a genre of allegories (...) 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark' does itself no favours in making everything so literal (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United Kingdom	Lewis Knight Mirror	"An entertaining but formulaic horror that is bolstered by disturbing imagery and a game young cast despite its clunkier components. (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United Kingdom	Tim Robey Telegraph	"'Scary Stories' hits with the scares as much as it misses with the storytelling, levelling out to a glass half full (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
United Kingdom	Dan Jolin Empire	"The scares and monsters are effectively conjured, but if you’re not familiar with Austin Schwartz’s source material, you may be left a little cold (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
Ireland	Donald Clarke Irish Times	"Stephen King would approve (...) This is just the sort of goo that younger horror fans adore (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
Ireland	Stacy Grouden entertainment.ie	"The scares are fun but familiar, and it pleasingly features some creepy creatures, but the film ultimately loses sight of its audience (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU
Ireland	Alan Corr RTÉ	"Genuinely spooky and shiver inducing, this is far more than just a welcome respite from the formulaic Blumhouse horror hegemony (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
Ireland	Paul Whitington Irish Independent	"Gets ragged late on but pretty satisfying for the most part (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	POS

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