Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (PG-13)

We’re less than 50 days from October, and the release of “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” makes for a fun warm up to the grizzly cinema mayhem that’s soon to begin.

Based on the popular short story series from Alvin Schwartz, “Scary Stories” closely follows the illustrated books – offering a horror themed movie that, while geared for children, can be enjoyed by adults as well.

Its Halloween night, 1968, and a group of teenage friends investigating a haunted house are plagued by a mysterious book that seems to be writing itself – focusing on each of the friends as targets of ghoulish tales. “You don’t read the book.” One of the characters explains. “The book reads you.”

Director André Øvredal does a good job of telling each independent short story while still holding together the entire plot of the movie – one that’s anything but uncommon yet nevertheless entertaining. I found common elements with many other horror movies, particularly classics like “IT” and newcomers like “The Babadook.” That the original writings by Alvin Schwartz are geared for a younger audience shouldn’t deter one from going to see the movie. It also shouldn’t encourage viewers that are too young from watching.

The special effects are what makes the movie impactful. CGI has been left behind for the most part, with actors and old school costumes chosen for the monsters that haunt the main characters. The result is some really cool creatures that are downright terrifying to witness. I never read the original books but faithful fans have lauded the near flawless representations of the printed counterparts to their on screen representations.

The ensemble cast is made up of unfamiliar faces. Zoe Colletti stars as Stella, the primary character and defacto leader of her nerdy group of friends. Stella is obsessed with horror writings and film, and bears the burden of caring for her overworked father (Dean Norris of “Breaking Bad” fame) who was recently abandoned by his wife. Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Zajur, Austin Abrams, and Natalie Ganzhorn round out the teens. All are average. None shine but none detract either.

It’s tough to tie in a host of shorts into one cohesive story, and for the most part, the film manages to do so with its plot. The chilling moments with the monsters and their individual tales – the Red Room sequence being my favorite – are nicely spaced out, keeping the tension high and the anticipation great for what’s coming next. At 1:45 it’s not too long and never gets dull.

My gripe would be twofold; the ending that leaves little in the way of closure (and an obvious sequel or two in the on deck circle) and a trailer that, like “Pet Semetary,” reveals literally everything you are going to see. There are no shocks at all since all of the individual stories and monsters are represented in plain site during the trailer. Movie companies need to stop doing this.

“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” is a fun and entertaining time. It’s not a classic horror movie, or one that has much replay value. But it’s a nice way to spend an evening at the theater.