![]() ![]() Dan and Kevin Hageman’s screenplay, however, is guided by the kind of 21st century “everything is connected” mentality that molds cinematic universes, and it contrives a way to bind all of the Scary Stories it borrows into one master narrative. The beauty of Schwartz’s urban legends was in their simplicity: In a hook on a doorknob, a ribbon around a girl’s neck, or - maybe worst of all - a pair of headlights in your rearview mirror. More often than not, that approach is the film’s Achilles’ heel. < span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block width: 0px overflow: hidden line-height: 0 ” class=”mce_SELRES_start”>  < /span> 'Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman' Review: Murakami Anthology Nails the Essence of an Unfilmable AuthorĢ023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Specialġ7 HBO and HBO Max Original Series to Get Excited About in 2023 'Mafia Mamma' Review: Toni Collette Inherits a Crime Syndicate in Fluffy Feminist Comedy A portion of the blame for that can be chalked up to the basic nature of making something that has to perform at the summer box office before it plays at sleepovers, and “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” is very much a movie that tries to split the difference between the YA crowd and a general audience. It never feels like it could be coming for you next. ![]() Here is an R-rated concept that’s been watered down until it passed for a PG-13 movie it’s plenty harrowing and full of gruesome effects, but it never feels dangerous. There’s hardly a millennial in the United States who wasn’t happily scarred by the three volumes of Schwartz’s “ Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” series, and couldn’t describe Stephen Gammell’s rotting illustrations to their therapist in all of their red and blue detail.Īndré Øvredal’s film adaptation, as clever and well-crafted as it is, can’t help but invert the formula that the source material relied upon for its success. “We also make it clear everywhere that our book is an unofficial fan-made tribute.The late American writer and folklorist Alvin Schwartz tapped into the minds of young readers and traumatized generations of eager children by telling otherwise PG-13 horror tales with a transgressive, R-rated glee that made kids feel like they had read something they weren’t supposed to. “We contacted Alvin Schwartz’s son Peter, who ended up being very supportive of the project and even bought two copies,” Shane says. In a world where beloved franchises are attracting audiences and original IP has a tough time breaking through, it makes sense that Tuckfield and Hunt are exploring a franchise they’ve loved since kids (and the 2019 film based on the anthologies doesn’t hurt, either). ![]() ![]() In the end, it created a very deep well to draw ideas from.” But I also grew up in a house that was considered to be haunted, was plagued by nightmares as a child, exposed to local native American folklore as a Boy Scout, and experienced decades of all sorts of strange and scary things. I feel nostalgia for things from my childhood and project back to that world of the past, then suddenly I’m imagining Twilight-Zonish scenarios taking place within those parameters. When I take my now-adult intellect and level of experience and momentarily combine it with a perspective of being a child, somehow ideas begin sprouting up all over the place. I have an ability to remember basically everything that happened back then and exactly how it felt. “A lot of very interesting things happened to me when I was a child growing up in the 80s and 90s. “The main way I generate ideas is by going back to my childhood,” Tuckfield says. ![]()
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