- #SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK CAST AUGUST MOVIE#
- #SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK CAST AUGUST SERIES#
Luckily, the story connecting the monsters is intriguing enough to make the wait worth it. This means you might have to wait a bit too long before the next monster appears. When the kids are not being haunted or killed off by the magically-written stories, they look into the mysterious life of the book's former owner: the reclusive Sarah Bellows (Kathleen Pollard).
#SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK CAST AUGUST MOVIE#
What better way to make a horror movie seem real than by reminding you of the real world? Night of the Living Dead did it, Get Out did it, and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark wants to do it too. It helps contextualize the world of the movie through today’s lens by using a haunted book and fictional monsters as a way to portray the real fears we have today and the figures at the center of those fears. Nixon's presidential campaign from 1968 is often heard on the radio and seen on television in the background, and news about Vietnam is discussed by characters who are afraid of their kids dying for no reason.
In this case, the ‘60s setting serves as a perfect reflection of today's political turmoil and cultural fears. Scary Stories continues the genre's long-time tradition of using horror to comment on the real world, using the genre’s tropes as a way to “mask” the social commentary in a more entertaining way than a straight lecture and turn our very real fears and villains into heinous creatures. The script pays homage to those who grew up loving horror and those who always wanted to tell their own stories. The power of story is the heart of the film, as is the horrible fear of not being able to tell your own story. She wants to be a horror writer, reads Famous Monsters magazine, and her room is covered in horror movie posters of the time. Though we don't hear about it for most of the movie, her facial expressions tell you all you need to know about what Stella's been through. Colletti captures the feeling of being an outsider and shutting your passions deep down for the sake of fitting in, while carrying the weight of a family tragedy. While most of the performances are nothing to write home about, Zoe Margaret Colletti gives the movie's the standout performance as Stella. Those who grew up with the books may enjoy seeing their nightmares being brought to life, and those who aren't familiar with Alvin Schwartz's work will still enjoy the gnarly creature work and the fun scares, but don't go in expecting lots of gore or the kinds of scares in something like the R-rated The Conjuring. What follows is a fun and spooky horror movie, though be warned that this is still aimed at kids. They have to find a way to uncover the secrets of the book, and by extension their town, while dreading the terrible monsters that are coming for those whose names are written in the tome. They live in a small town in Pennsylvania in 1968, where they find a haunted book with stories that write themselves on Halloween night. You've got the joker who isn't interested in any kind of reading (Austin Zajur), the intellectual guy who doesn't believe in curses (Gabriel Rush), the outsider fleeing from a mysterious past who becomes friends with the protagonists due to being at the wrong place at the wrong time (Michael Garza), and the idealist creative kid who feels stuck in their hometown (Zoe Margaret Colletti). The cast of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is mostly made up of archetypes. After Goosebumps got a feature film adaptation in 2015, it was about time we got a live-action adaptation of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, especially one this good.
#SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK CAST AUGUST SERIES#
Shows like Goosebumps and the animated Tales from the Cryptkeeper to children's literature like Alvin Schwartz's series of short horror stories Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark helped create a new generation of horror fans by not being afraid to explore dark, heavy topics like death. The '90s gave us an abundance of great horror stories, especially those aimed towards kids.