Ep. 002: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

14 thoughts on “Ep. 002: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)”

1. Greetings Horror Movie Weekly,

   I really enjoyed this episode and all your takes on this film. I was very excited to see this movie, especially when I learned that Guillermo del Toro was attached to the project. Once I saw the trailer, I was even more intrigued. Unfortunately, the film fails to live up to those expectations.

   I actually thought the child acting performances weren’t bad and felt they were probably the best part of the film. In the main story line, the film does spend some time with character development, but once the film goes into the actual scary stories, there is a tonal shift that takes away effectiveness of both the larger story arc and of the individual vignettes. It does come off as a sort of faux anthology, but the individual sequences were too short and it felt off-balance. The straw-headed horror piece Harold, was probably the best sequence and the scariest, but it’s so short, you barely get a chance to enjoy it before it’s over.

   I did not enjoy the visual look of the film overall and bad CGI effects made it all that much worse. In the Red Spot sequence, those spiders are among the worst visual effects I have seen. The uneven tone of this film is also very poor throughout. It’s not scary enough to satisfy horror fans, and yet, it might be too strong for really young kids at the same time. This is a challenge for a PG13 horror film directed at kids.

   The stories are individual and are separate due to logical design and not because a killer is picking them off one by one. Each story has it’s own unique threat and are stand alone stories, not interconnected ones and so this film has nothing in common with slashers. Wasn’t sure about that comparison Jay.

   I really wanted to like this film, but it left me with nothing in it’s ending (with the exception of possible future sequels, please no). It presented only mildly entertaining moments, but was mostly mired in it’s own mediocrity from a story telling perspective, trying to mesh together these shorter individual sequences with the larger story arc overall with the lead protagonist trying to solve the mysteries of the book and save herself and her friends. It just didn’t work. and so who can I possibly recommend this to? If you are a fan of the book series, you might be the only ones that may find value in this movie. For me, it’s a 4 out of 10 and an avoid.

   I look forward to the next one on Alien Covenant. Jay, I’ve got a feeling you won’t like what I have to say about this film. I believe you praised it back when you reviewed it for HMP 🙂

   Thanks again all,
   Sean

   1. Hi Sean,
      Thanks for commenting and for keeping the designation “Straw-Headed Horror” alive. I love it! After reading your thoughts, I have a question for you… You addressed this somewhat in your comment, but do you feel like you were ultimately underwhelmed by this film due to its targeting of a middle-school, PG-13 audience?

      I’m honestly not sure… That’s difficult for me to separate sometimes. As a film critic (and a fairly hardcore Horror fan, meaning, I like disturbing stuff and gore), I am often underwhelmed and displeased by PG-13 Horror films. Oftentimes, not all the time. So, I just wonder if that might be a source for some of your dissatisfaction with “Scary Stories.”

      Thanks for writing!
      -J

      1. Hey Jay of the Dead,

         Was so disappointed when I heard the HMP guys go back to using creature feature when they reviewed the outstanding Crawl. I’ll do my part to keep your designations alive as a part of the overall horror discussion. I really think they are fun and come from the heart of a true horror aficionado.

         But in fact, the PG13 rating did not, or rather was not a deterrence for my enthusiasm for seeing this film. This applies across all genres. I would say that the standard is a combination of prior knowledge and prior works with the trailer serving as a visual for how all of it comes together.

         In this case, I had no knowledge of the books, but an appreciation for the film makers and a compelling trailer. It should have been a fun anthology, with the focus on the stories and not the wraparound. It’s automatically crippled due to it’s rating. The same thing that gives it appeal, also hurts it. Because it’s a horror film, it’s disadvantaged because it can’t be too graphic.

         I usually temper my expectations on PG13 horror. You are most likely to be disappointed, but you might not and if this is the case, it’s probably a really good film. It’s a really hard trick to pull off, a great horror film rated PG13.

         I want to discuss IT Chapter 2 and am waiting for the other podcasts to post reviews.
         Thanks Jay of the Dead!

         1. Hi Sean,
            Thanks for what you said about my Jay of the Dead terms. It means a lot. I’m glad my designations amuse somebody. I suspect my HMP buddies just want to go with terms that have more “universal usage” for clarity’s sake. That’s understandable. Sometimes I even say “Beastly Freaks (Creature Features)” to make sure people are on the same page with me. I do like to try to trailblaze terms, which is why I’m so resistant to the term “Folk Horror.” I just don’t love it or think it works. Standby for an alternate term soon…

            You’re right. There are some formidable PG-13 movies. I shouldn’t let the rating affect my preconceived judgments of a film. There have been some excellent (and scary) PG-13 Horror films, such as “The Ring.” Horror doesn’t have to be graphic or “objectionable.” To this day, one of the scariest films I’ve ever seen isn’t even a Horror film, technically. It’s called “The Last Descent.” It’s a true story about a dude who gets stuck upside down in a cave here in Utah. Absolutely terrifying… One of my all-time scariest films, and it’s only rated PG!
            -J

2. Twas a solid movie. Enjoyed the format, although it did drag a bit. Thought it was genuinely creepy at times. Entertaining and what made it whole was that there were stakes involved. I can see it being rated a 6-7, but I rated it a little higher because I feel it achieved the ability for nearly an viewer to enjoy. Which is great to bring more people to horror.

   8*

   1. Well said, Sam. I’m with ya. Thanks for listening and for leaving a comment. Welcome back anytime!
      -J

3. I’m with Jay on both episodes. I love “Halloween” (2018). It made my Top Ten last year. Yes, there are a few problems with it but, overall, it is a fun film. As I said on the horror movie podcast I do with my son, I’m not clear on how Bill Chete can nit pick “Halloween” (2018) and defend “Jason Takes Manhattan.:

   Team Jay!

   1. Ha ha Pastor Matt (aka The VelociPastor)!

      Thanks for giving our new show a listen and for weighing in. I won’t get used to you being on “Team Jay.” Everybody trades up eventually. ha ha I’m infamous for alienating the Horror community with my opinions, as you know. But in the meantime, it’s nice to have you on Team Jay while it lasts! At least I have one teammate. ha ha

      Thanks for the shout-out during your most recent episode of Father and Son Watch Horror Movies (found here: https://fatherandsonwatchhorror.com/podcast/friday-the-13th-franchise-review-pt-3). You posed a great question for BillChete, so I’ll ask him real quick during our Ep. 004.

      Thanks again, Pastor Matt!
      -J

4. That is interesting Jay. You must be referring to films like The Witch and Apostle. The Witch’s tagline is A New England Folktale. These films are historical fiction horror stories, so it will be a challenge to come up with a designation that is as easy as “folk horror” for these types of movies. I agree that it doesn’t exactly fit. What can represent it better though? I look forward to hearing what you develop here.

   Dreamscape is PG13, Poltergeist is PG! There are good ones for sure. Danny Boyle did 127 Hours back in 2010, also in Utah. James Franco survives in that one, unlike in The Last Descent. Speaking of Utah, I am about to watch The Utah Cabin Murders. It doesn’t look promising, but it is a 2019 horror film and will count at the end of the year, when creating my best of the year list. Ha Ha!

   1. Yes, in my upcoming Episode 013 of Considering Horror Cinema, I review “Midsommar” in-depth with Jody Horror Guy. We spend a few minutes discussing this classification of Folk Horror, so that might interest you. I’m hoping to release that show within the next week or so.

      Ooooo, “The Utah Cabin Murders”! OK, I’m in. ha ha Thanks for the heads-up on that one, Sean.
      -J

   2. Wait, are we calling “127 hours” horror? I really enjoyed that movie, but I would never call it horror.

      1. Hi LP, It was just a direct comparison to The Last Descent, where two different guys go into caves in Utah and get trapped. Just to clarify that for you.

         1. Oh, ok. I’m sorry, my bad. It’s an excellent movie.

5. Bill chete if you haven’t seen night of the scarecrow from 95 then check it out cuz its really good, great kills & great kill scene involving a great pair of tits plus sexy film

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