Review #352: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
October 2025 Holiday Horror Review #25 - Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a film adaptation of the children's horror book series of the same name. The film follows a group of four teens in a small town in 1968, who run afoul of some local bullies on Halloween night. After escaping the bullies, they decide to visit a local haunted house. According to legend, the young girl that lived in that house- Sarah Bellows- was a witch, who committed suicide after several children in town died mysteriously. In the house, the four protagonists find a book of scary stories written by Sarah, and to their horror more stories start getting magically penned in the book- and the stories start coming true. Can they stop Sarah's otherworldly presence before they all end up dead or missing like the children before? Or was Sarah a victim, just like everyone else?
First things first: I'm not super familiar with the book series this movie was based on. I'm certain I read at least one of them when I was a kid, but I only vaguely remember anything about them (compared to my wife, who was calling out references left and right). I'm sure if I was more well-versed I would have had extra layers of enjoyment watching this movie, but I do want to say that this is perfectly enjoyable for someone who misses every single reference or easter egg. The story, setting, and characters are strong enough on their own that this movie works even if it's a standalone piece of media!
This movie ticked a LOT of boxes for me. The setting is great (much like The Halloween Tree, that I watched yesterday, a lot of care is taken to show off the classic aesthetic of this small New England town in the fall) and the characters are all incredibly easy to catch onto the first time they're introduced, but they also still have some surprises waiting for you later in the story. I love a good haunted house story, I love stories where the characters are fighting a futile battle against some inevitable force, and all of the creatures in this movie are incredibly detailed and well-designed. (While watching I did have a complaint that so much of the monster design in here is entirely CGI and I felt they should have used more practical effects if possible, but after reading some of the IMDB trivia apparently there WAS a lot of practical work going on, which was only enhanced by CGI. So I guess I can't really complain TOO much, but I do think the creatures looked a bit too uncanny, whether that was the result of CGI or not.)
In a lot of ways this movie felt very similar to The Ring; the plot follows a similar structure and the characters' search for information behind this curse they are saddled with involves a lot of similar details and locations. That's not a bad thing- The Ring is one of my favorite horror movies and this is different enough to not feel derivative- but I definitely felt like I was going down a familiar checklist as the film went on.
I don't really have much else to say about this one; it was a fantastic period piece and a great bit of nostalgia-driven horror. It looks good, it sounds good, it moves along at a nice clip, and all of the individual elements each feel like the perfect ingredient. There's something I can't quite put my finger on that made this movie not quite stick in my memory like other movies- I had to glance at a plot synopsis to recall some of the specifics to write this review, for example- so I'm not going to give it a perfect score, but this is a very entertaining movie that I recommend for anyone looking for a good, solid horror experience.
Overall Rating: 9/10 Pages Inked in Children's Blood
Additional Viewing: If you have fond memories of the Scary Story to Tell in the Dark book series, there was a documentary that also released in 2019 all about the series' history, from its creation, to its legacy, to the many attempts to ban the books over the years. It's on Tubi as well, so check it out when you get a chance!
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