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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

2019
Suspense/Thriller, Horror
1h 48m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 33.99% from 562 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(561)
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Rated 30 Oct 2020
78
40th
Incredibly frustrating. Like many others, I loved the books as a kid (still kinda do), and this movie is strongest when it actually uses the source material. Unfortunately, the good stuff is adrift in an insipid plot with lame characters and some inexplicable political subtext. Definitely should have been a straightforward anthology film instead.
Rated 09 Aug 2019
50
21st
Just like being drafted into ‘Nam it starts out fun with all the sights and sounds but next thing you know the new friends you made are dead or missing and you have no idea what’s going on and just want to go home. The Harold scarecrow looks like Neil Young.
Rated 23 Dec 2019
50
45th
With great source material comes great responsibility. I used to scare myself silly reading this book when I was in grade school. Sadly, the director didn't see what I saw in my head, which gave me nightmares. Besides a good jump scare that builds tension and pauses for dramatic effect (Missing Toe segment) and an interesting/creepy creature (Red Room segment) the rest of the film is pretty lackluster, with boring characters and barely passable CGI. Hopefully the sequel will be better.
Rated 29 Mar 2020
60
15th
As a kid, I recall the books having some some of the scariest pictures I had ever seen, it was like an eight-year-old's first look at real adult horror. As you would have guessed, the big screen adaptation plays like just another horror film aimed at teenagers, sacrificing its teeth for ratings sake. While a couple of the designs do have a scary thread, the harsh truth is that horror is an adult's genre and teen horror is like a vegetarian steak.
Rated 14 Aug 2019
65
48th
Wondering if you're brave enough to watch Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark? Well, you'll need to be at least as brave as the scriptwriters who courageously stepped out and took pot shots at the highly revered Richard Nixon. Actually a nice introduction to horror anthologies for a younger generation even though it's not really an anthology itself. Yet it's best when it is. Stupid Nixon.
Rated 08 Nov 2019
79
30th
I had a pretty fun time with it. I didn't think anything was all that scary, but there were some decent jump scares and all of the monsters and actual stories were pretty cool to look at. Most of the acting isn't too bad either. I never read the books, so maybe that's why I'm not too crazy about it. If you want a fun little monster movie with some cool lore, by all means, check it out.
Rated 29 Dec 2019
25
13th
I couldn't get into this I think it was intended for the pre-teen generation Scary ? ...Not so much
Rated 04 Nov 2019
41
39th
watchable
Rated 09 Aug 2019
58
13th
The beginning is impressive but steers all over the place creating gaps and loopholes throughout the film. Had high hopes for this but unfortunately just not satisfied with the meandering screenplay.
Rated 08 Sep 2019
60
38th
cast is acceptable filling archetypal characters, but plodding, cliche nature of the plot, mystery, build-ups, come-downs...to a point, when the monsters aren't around you will feel the weight of this movie's runtime. It takes FOREVER to get to the 1st monster, then every minute that's not a scare goes on&on&on. 1 hour 50 mins?? This could have been way better with 20 dragging minutes cut right out. But hey, I can't fault the creativity in how these monsters come alive, and they're shot well.
Rated 26 Dec 2019
82
65th
Young horror buffs should love this film. I know I would have. The stories within a story is extremely well done - one long narrative as opposed to an anthology. There are also a couple of great gross-out (as opposed to gory) scares & the teen characters are very relatable. 2 of Del Toro's creature designs are also some of his most creepy. Unfortunately the last quarter becomes predictable and anti-climatic (a ghost that behaves after a stern talking to is different, but a bad idea.)
Rated 11 Oct 2020
55
29th
Sure, okay. This is as decent as a film can get without ever being good or bad.
Rated 20 Aug 2019
67
19th
The framing story has Del Toro's perennial trademarks of innocence and brutality, but the screenplay lays it on thick with the Nixon/Vietnam references and the protagonist's missing mother without doing anything interesting with them. Meanwhile, the horror is built up with the typical jump scares and nonsensical behavior by the victims (and featuring particularly shitty acting by Austin Zajur). In all, a rather unsatisfying horror flick.
Rated 13 Nov 2019
75
39th
Really wish they'd done an anthology of scary stories rather than try and work this bizarre overarching story of the book writing itself into it. Has some good sequences, really great creature effects.
Rated 12 Aug 2019
75
56th
I mean I'm not going to act like this was some bastion of the genre or anything, and the characters are more wooden than Noah's Ark, but I don't really care about that, honestly. I came for a horror movie and I got exactly what I came for. More often than not, I found myself really engaged, eagerly awaiting the next creature and jump-scare. Papa Guillermo did yet another solid job; visually, the movie is pretty excellent and effective, even if the screenplay is a little on the weaker side.
Rated 15 Aug 2019
62
48th
Incredible creature design with a fairly standard plot and mechanics. I had a ton of fun with this even if it wasn't incredible, and it does way more than I thought it could with its PG-13 constraints.
Rated 18 Aug 2019
50
21st
Rather dull and restrained. Doesn't capture the feel of the books, which was an odd thing to attempt at feature length anyway; the tales were very short and, having originated as folk tales, were often borderline nonsensical (she finds a toe growing out of the ground and brings it home for soup? They keep a scarecrow in their shack to humiliate?). Transplanting these weird fables into a realistic late-60's America, complete with the Vietnam War lurking in the background, doesn't work.
Rated 21 Aug 2019
87
23rd
Keeps the intensity scaled up. Good story. Interesting characters. The ending feels a bit rushed. Solid popcorn flick.
Rated 28 Aug 2019
4
51st
There's some genuinely terrifying scenes in here. That red room scene is one of the best shot/freakiest things in horror this year. I would prefer if this was just a classic horror anthology because that's when it actually works. The connecting tissue leaves a lot to be desired.
Rated 29 Aug 2019
45
5th
Good beginning, but turned into a comedy.
Rated 01 Oct 2019
86
90th
Giving a rating more for what the movie would have been if I was watching it at home and not seeing it with disrespectful idiots. The younger individual I understood, but the adult behind me who decided it was necessary to say "so suspenseful" when the one character was hiding and it was dead silent. Yeah, not a chance. Completely ruined any and all tension. Other than that I really enjoyed the movie for being a more teen/young adult version of that goosebumps movie.
Rated 17 Oct 2019
47
49th
the monsters are great, and the film was better than i thought it'd be.
Rated 19 Oct 2019
2
15th
The connecting thread is about as lazy as you'd expect from filmmakers who know that we're here for the highlights, but if nothing else, those highlights occasionally nail the nightmare aesthetic of the original collection's drawings. The best part of the film was Tommy from Shawshank Redemption saying "You've gotta be shitting me" to a nightmare humanoid monster that immediately breaks his fucking neck.
Rated 21 Oct 2019
60
52nd
I really liked this neat little ghost-story.
Rated 02 Jan 2020
50
33rd
Kinda decent horror for kids with a good eye for political background -- Vietnam as the real horror of its time while Nixon is about to win the election -- and with a concept of storytelling as both curse and cure. Some good sequences here and there -- the hospital corridor, the toe, the scarecrow -- but it falls short in the second half with tons of exposition stuff and a weak payoff.
Rated 12 Jan 2020
50
20th
Doesn't quite live up to the source material. The film takes too long to get to the titular scary stories and tries to force an uninteresting period-based coming-of-age story into the mix as well (probably to ride the coattails of It and Stranger Things). It probably would've been better as a straight anthology. Still, the monster design is decent (I'm glad they were inspired by the book's illustrations) if a bit too CGI heavy and there are some occasional spooky/fun scenes. It's alright.
Rated 21 Jun 2020
57
21st
Little bit too much Scooby Doo searchy housey filler, but the creature effects are outstanding. Wish they'd done it like Creepshow in segments but enjoyable for what it is!
Rated 30 Jun 2020
55
15th
Meh. Barely adequate.
Rated 13 Aug 2020
77
43rd
The bar started off too high by being associated with the books I grew up with so it probably deserves more credit than I'm giving it.
Rated 18 Apr 2021
6
31st
look how they massacred my boy. faithfulness to the books was 25% at most. just unnecessary. third act really sucked. wish they would've just done the stories straight.
Rated 26 May 2021
60
42nd
I read the books as a kid, and was pretty excited when I heard this was being adapted. I kept away for a while since I’d heard it wasn’t that scary, but finally tried it out. It actually does have some creepy moments to it. It’s shot and acted well enough. The two biggest issues I had were the story/backstory used to tie everything together (plenty of clichés here), and the overuse of CGI in the latter half. Good for teens/those who scare easily. Decent introduction to the genre.
Rated 21 Nov 2021
5
43rd
I feel extremely split on this. I went into this thinking the PG-13 rating would hold this back…it didn’t. Scary Stories best attributes are it’s creative imagery & design. A lot of the deaths are fucked up or left in this weird morbid limbo. However, like most horror films based around teenage characters…the screenplay just isn’t interesting, and it makes the final act kind of anticlimactic. It truly feels like a mixed bag in the most backwards way I may have ever seen.
Rated 23 Feb 2020
55
30th
I could rate higher if the ghost was not victim. It's overused now. The stories are well written and spooky except the one with spiders. Especially Red Room is simple and disturbing.
Rated 10 Aug 2019
73
41st
B
Rated 09 Nov 2019
75
66th
♥ bilinçli yapılan ve kendinin parodisi gibi olmayı başarabilen saçma sapan b movieler ♥
Rated 19 Sep 2020
50
13th
Why do these movies invariably get good reviews? I mean, they're set in the 80s/70s/60s so you imagine the audience is older. They're labelled as horror. But what you get is "Scooby Doo" tier "horror". A cliche-storm of horribly 1 dimensional and stupid characters - the unrelenting asshole, the racist cop -, terrible writing, shit that strains belief everywhere - why would a child know anything about industrial poisoning? Whom are these movies meant for, exactly? Same shit as Summer of 86 again.
Rated 11 Aug 2019
75
37th
A very average horror flick. It's certainly bolstered by the fact that the monster art is so thoroughly enmeshed in the original materials, but the narrative is flimsy and often nonsensical. The acting is solid, though on occasion it feels like some of the cast are struggling to keep a straight face. Feels a little like Stranger Things mixed with The Haunting of Hill House, minus the psychophilosophical musings.
Rated 20 Aug 2019
36
21st
Adequately scary, and great creature design that faithfully preserves the only scary parts of the original books - the illustrations. However the movie has a lot of idiotic characters, unanswered questions, and vague, unresolved political commentary.
Rated 20 Aug 2019
55
43rd
Great creature designs and some extremely intense moments. I was impressed with Zajur's performance as Chuck. I'm not sure about all the Nixon and Vietnam mentions. This probably would have scared me to death when I was 13.
Rated 03 Sep 2019
60
47th
Buyrun yeni Final Destination. 70'li yıllarda geçen 5 genç perili bir evden kitap aşırırlar. Kitapta yazılan hikayeler gerçekleşince gençler teker teker ölmeye başlıyor. Heyecanlı olduğu kadar da korku klişe öğeleri kullanılmış. Filmin sonunda kötü ruh özgürlüğüne kavuşsa da arkası yarın bitmesi üzücü. Çok fazla karanlık sahne olmasaydı. Renkli sahneler de bir o kadar başarılı. Örümceeekkk korktun mu?
Rated 27 Sep 2019
48
24th
An over reliance on jump scares and other horror cliches keep an otherwise reasonably well directed and acted horror movie from truly shining.
Rated 02 Oct 2019
69
50th
Having no connection to the source material is probably a good thing judging by others reviews but I had fun with this. Legit spooky and some obvious RETRO pastiche stuff that has to happen with every horror these days lol
Rated 11 Oct 2019
56
26th
I never throw up, even in the most disgusting scenes. this movie made me almost throw up. congrats.
Rated 22 Oct 2019
63
42nd
A horror movie for kids. Lots of jump scares and creepy creatures that aren't too scary for older audiences. Except for one segment, which is beyond creepy and actually well made. The story has some nice touches but overall isn't complex enough to be more than a scary story for kids. Which might be exactly want the movie wanted to achieve.
Rated 24 Oct 2019
58
40th
2 girls and 1 Latino survive at the end, because they are oppressed groups and so are now immortal (at least on TV). Otherwise, decent horror flick .
Rated 22 Nov 2019
72
40th
Now, this is an interesting film. It falls into the category of being a perfect introductory film for kids/teens who might be interested in the horror genre - it's actually pretty creepy, the character designs are freaking wonderful, but it's not nightmare-inducing. The only problem with this film is where the actual kids in the film are extremely forgettable
Rated 05 Jan 2020
60
40th
There's something here. I was surprised, myself. I didn't think that this movie could pull off anything from the books I remember reading as a kid. Del Toro proves, yet again, that I should never stop putting my faith in him, though. Solid teen horror flick that actually carries some good tension.
Rated 05 Jan 2020
60
51st
Decent film that felt like a kid's take on King or Stranger Things. I'd watch a sequel if they ever make one.
Rated 09 Feb 2020
72
54th
arkadas grubu, ergenler, cadılar bayramı, metruk ev, eski hikaye, bir odada mahsur, kitap, ölümler, pespese ölümler SPOILER cadılar bayramında metruk bir eve giren bir grup arkadas, burada bir kitap bulurlar. Bu ev karanlık gecmisi olan bir evdir. Kitabı evine götüren Stella kitapta yazan olayların gerçekleştiğini görmüştür.
Rated 14 Feb 2020
75
75th
Basically this is Stranger Things combined with the Are You Afraid of the Dark series. And after a slow start it just worked. Almost an anthology movie, meaning that people get offed in very different and creepy ways.
Rated 13 Jun 2020
60
5th
eh, very average kind "kiddy" PC 13 horror
Rated 01 Apr 2020
62
34th
62.4
Rated 05 Jun 2020
59
29th
Like the books, it successfully bridges the gap between kids-horror (like Goosebumps) and the world of adult horror. And like the books, I feel like this movie is best enjoyed by middle schoolers at a sleepover rather than adults. It's good at being what it is, but that's not something that I personally get great enjoyment from. I will say the ending was surprisingly dark, and doesn't take an easy "Everything turned out FINE!" ending, which I would guess was Guillermo del Toro's idea.
Rated 21 Jun 2020
30
3rd
So-called horror for kids.
Rated 28 Jul 2020
88
36th
Better than average horror with teens in starring roles.
Rated 19 Aug 2020
5
1st
Kid stuff. Not scary at all. MY SCORING: 99-96=Great; 95-90=Very good; 89-85=Good; 84-80=So-so; 79-70=Boring; Below 70=Forget it
Rated 07 Oct 2020
82
47th
Hits its target audience dead centre and has plenty of fun while doing it. This is well made and delivers on just enough creepy to be tolerable for teens. The plot probably retreads familiar ground too often but the deft filmmaking held my interest, and I'm eager for the sequel they wisely set up.
Rated 18 Oct 2020
55
28th
Worth watching (or at least watching clips of) for the creature effects alone. The conceit of the story to tie a bunch of short stories together is clever in theory but lame in execution.
Rated 06 Dec 2021
62
54th
The visuals are really neat, and some of the "monsters" are nice and creepy, while others are less so. Scary for young kids, but maybe less so for people older than 10. The ending sent me though, when they went, it's okay, we're sending the draft dodger to Nam.
Rated 28 Oct 2021
45
5th
Given the background behind this film, it could easily be a terrifying experience, but most of the time you feel like you are watching a Disney movie.
Rated 03 Apr 2022
50
11th
Would’ve been more effective as a true anthology versus interweaving stories into an overarching story, similar to Goosebumps. It was okay for what it was attempting to do, but there’s nothing innovative here.
Rated 01 May 2022
50
17th
Bad ending, nice 60’s aesthetic and nice that a modern film wasn’t overly politicised
Rated 04 Oct 2022
80
42nd
the narrative frame mostly works for bringing us from scary story to scary story. Has some great tense scenes despite being PG-13. some mediocre CGI
Rated 27 Dec 2022
50
41st
Not really scary but entertaining nonetheless
Rated 20 Jun 2023
79
51st
Far from perfect, but I don't really get the hate that it's gotten after its initial release.

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