Do you love crazy and wild fantasy stories? Or how about nostalgia? Or heartfelt, funny and magical stories that just grab you in and keep you on the edge of your seat? Well, ́Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark ́ directed by André Øvredal, is the right movie for you. ́Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark ̈ will be abbreviated to ́SStTitD ̈ as it is a very long title to keep saying. The movie is also based on a popular and old book series with the same name which older audiences will find very nostalgic. However, most teens probably did not read it so it will be easy not to compare the movie with its book series predecessor. Although, older audiences have given a majorly thumbs up saying they lived up to the book and even the director added little details of his own to make the movie his, which they appreciated.  The movie has basic and not overly dramatic angles but it does incorporate enough trademarks like of kids running and certain scenes where they look at something and all you see are the kids shocked or horrified faces and you are on the edge of your seat (or bed) to find out what they are looking at. 

́ ́SStTitD ́ has a relatively unknown cast composed of Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Natalie Ganzhorn, Austin Abrams, Austin Zajur and Gabriel Rush. All of these actresses and actors both did extremely well and acted amazing. A bit of a quick summary with no spoilers starts with our main character Stella and her friends Ramón Morales,  Chuck Steinberg, and Auggie Hilderbrandt all go to a haunted house with a bunch of conspiracy theories behind including a girl named Sarah Bellows who was severely abused died and never saw the likes of day. They then discover a secret book of stories but things quickly turn sinister and people start disappearing left and right. All the characters have an interesting backstory which was fascinating to watch. Sounds wicked cool right? This movie is full of twists and turns that you will most assuredly not see coming even if you had the world's most clear eyes or glasses that can magnify by 100! 

The characters in SStTitD are extremely relatable and humorous, especially the character of Chuck Steinberg who is most definitely the funniest character in the whole movie. He will have you belly laughing, and even pausing the movie to laugh so hard you might wake up anyone in the house if you are watching it during the night. Though, like every movie, SStTitD has its flaws. Sometimes the pacing can be a bit slow, but the amount of things going on really masks it and it is hardly noticeable. For example, while they were at the police station, the police officer talked about Ramóns personal life which did not really have major importance to the plot. Obviously since this movie is a horror movie, the amount of horror was really good and was not overrun with jumpscares. This movie was both bewildering with the perfect amount of horror, humour, serious moments, and sad moments. A specific scene worth noting is the scene where they discover the book is not just a book, the acting was extremely well done and you can physically feel the fear they are feeling (or that might be from you). The main character, Stella, is what a protagonist should be. She’s funny, relatable, and is a typical high school girl who has crushes and is worried about her schoolwork. Something most, if not all, teenage girls can relate to. Other characters like Chuck, is extremely hilarious with his witty one liners. One of his lines which will always get a chuckle out of me was when they try and discard the book, he kicks it after a failed attempt and says “You stupid, STUPID BOOK! See, this is why I don’t like books!”. Yes, it may sound a bit cringy reading it but he said in the most angry nonchalant voice which sounds better coming out of his mouth then typing it, trust me. If I have read this before watching I would not find it funny but if I watch the movie after this review I would genuinely laugh and have to pause the movie to do so. You will DIE laughing. I am a ghost typing this because I laughed too hard at Chucks remarks. Which is quite a coincidence and you will find out why if you watch the movie.The character of Ramón is very attractive and a lot of girls and even guys will like to look at. The mean character Tommy Hillner is a character the audience will very easily hate and was interesting to see what happens to him.
Throughout the humor and horror, this movie has a good amounts of sadness sprinkled in which can effectively make you cry. The main character is dealing with her mother leaving and the abandonment she feels and at the end two characters interact (not who you think it is!) and it is very tear jerking and you feel for that character. The movie deals with plenty of loss and throughout your time watching this astonishing, well-made movie you will gasp and even yell “No!” at certain scenes. I liked how this movie dealt with serious issues and also had characters like Chuck to break the ice and stop an overly serious moment with some humorous levity. 

Although this movie is not necessarily a ‘horror comedy’ the movie balances its horror with its comedy which does not make it feel like a straight horror movie or a straight comedy movie. Audiences who are looking for a good horror movie with more emotion and physiological horror moments rather than the same old jumpscares will most assuredly love this movie just as much as I did. I give this movie a 9/10 as the pacing was a bit, just a bit, too slow but as I previously said, enough story was able to mask it. My favorite characters were clearly Stella and Chuck and I think you will like them the most too, but there is still a complete array of characters to favor and that is definitely okay too! I highly recommend this movie as it is one of my favorite horror movies ever, and I have seen A LOT!