Guillermo del Toro loves his gothic horror tales almost as much as he adores introducing directors to audiences who he believe can take his terror tales to unique heights. The Oscar winner’s latest, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, finds helmer André Øvredal (The Autopsy of Jane Doe) bringing a script that del Toro co-wrote to life that centers on a group of teens, a mysterious book that seems to be writing its own horror stories and a small Pennsylvania town that is caught in the grips of this scary series of events during a scary time for our country, 1968.
Stella Nicholls (Zoe Margaret Colletti) is a huge fan of the horror genre and since her mother left her father Roy (Breaking Bad’s Dean Norris), she has been even more reclusive than normal. She has two good friends in Auggie Hilderbrandt (Gabriel Rush) and Chuck Steinberg (Austin Zajur) and it is only those two who could get Stella to leave her house on this particular night that she should be basking in … after all, it’s Halloween!
After doing their best to piss off a trio of jocks (who we learn early on have enlisted to go fight in Vietnam), they find refuge Ramón Morales’ (Michael Garza) car at a drive-in where he is solitarily viewing a movie. Needless to say, the trio of friends quickly becomes a quartet and the new in town Ramón welcomes the attention. Stella comes up with the perfect All Hallow’s Eve activity, visiting the local haunted house. It is there that Øvredal’s flick firmly grabs us by the lapels and does not let us go until well after those credits roll. See, there’s a whole backstory to this home and the horrors that engulfed one particular young woman from a century prior at the hands of her own brothers, no less. She’s written a series of scary stories (that may or may not have to be told in the dark) and Stella nabs the book and heads home, never knowing that it would set in motion a series of scares that will affect this fab four and alter their lives forever in the most horrific of ways.
What is fascinating about the storytelling manner in which del Toro and his fellow scribes Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman (based on the wildly popular novel by Alvin Schwartz) is that from the outset, it may appear that this film will be a collective of short stories that all add up to something quick frightening. It actually has a directly linear storytelling means that involves scary stuff happening to our four main characters individually, but they experience them collectively. Each person has their own unique fears. It is those scares that lie at the root of everything that happens to each one of them. Having one’s worst fears come back at you is not a new concept in storytelling. But in the hands of del Toro and all the creative types involved in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, it feels fresh and yes, horrifically haunting.
It is a gripping film that never slacks in its tenor or thrills. Much of the credit for how well this works lies in the cast. Without their thespian talents, this doesn’t work. The audience must be swept up in their stories. Through a firmly established emotional tether to Stella, Auggie, Ramón and Chuck, we are not only compelled to root for our leads in their endeavor to figure out why this haunted soul’s still writing stories that encircle them in a fresh coat of hellish experience, but also it is the most thrilling of experiences to witness them try to figure out how to stop it.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark does suffer on occasion by falling into some familiar tropes of the horror genre. Amongst some truly creative scares, there are a few too many elements that one could predict the outcome from a mile away. For example, the entire use of Gil Bellows’ Chief Turner drove me a little nuts. Then again, maybe that is a horror milieu moment that simply exists and is par for the course. How many times have we seen a skeptical law enforcement individual walk towards what is clearly a monster with the most “what on earth?” looks on their face. Everyone, including a few of our leads, are screaming at him. But alas, I guess it adds to the horror for some … just for this reviewer, it is annoying. Thankfully, del Toro knows all too well about what works well and what doesn’t in this genre and there aren’t too many moments like that.
Speaking of del Toro, there are touches that abound that are pure the Oscar winning filmmaker. From the design of the monsters to the look of the film itself (stellar job by cinematographer Roman Osin and production designer David Brisbin) it is pure del Tori-ian terror. Even the architecture of the haunted house at the center of our tale is classic del Toro. When a film such as Scary Stores to Tell in the Dark comes from such a place of affinity and affection for the genre like the filmmaker has (one shared by his director, clearly!), one cannot go wrong.
What works uniquely well for this film is that it is pure del Toro, yes, but it has a firm YA touch that should bring a legion of new horror films to the genre. This is a tale firmly told from the point of view of teenagers. As such they bring a certain innocence and nuance to how the scares are approached and interpreted that is a joy to behold. Yes, tons of terror tales are from the teen point of view (Halloween, Friday the 13th, etc.) but there was always something about those 70s and 80s set stories that felt like many of these youthful characters were caricatures and that is so not the case in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. These are well rounded and three-dimensional souls, who just happen to be between the ages of 13 and 19. Sure, those jocks are pretty stereotypical, but everyone else involved in this story is a rich representation of an individual. After all, it is their fears that are returning to them in the form of ghost, ghouls, monsters or what have you and without a layered human being producing these fears, the terror would feel flat. Can’t think of anything in del Toro’s latest love letter to the genre he loves that is anything remotely flat.
Grade: B