Children of the ’80s, ’90s and beyond — especially those of us who prefer darker tales — are getting excited about the film version of Alvin Schwartz’s deeply disturbing “Scary Stories” books.
Norwegian filmmaker André Øvredal (“Trollhunter”) is directing, which is great news. If you haven’t seen the found footage creature feature “Trollhunter” (and aren’t bothered by subtitles), definitely check it out.
But what has most people looking forward to this movie is Guillermo del Toro’s involvement. The modern-day master of horror and fantasy is a co-writer (along with Dan and Kevin Hageman) and a producer. With his input on the already-creepy source material, there’s almost no way this project could go wrong.
The first look at the movie backs up that assumption. A poster for “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” was released on February 1 and boy, does it look…well, scary. It features Harold the Scarecrow, from a story aptly titled “Harold the Scarecrow.” The artwork is based on Stephen Gammell’s original illustrations for the books — which really raised the bar on how terrifying the series was, for the record.
During the Super Bowl, they premiered a few clips from the movie, featuring some familiar stories and characters from the series. Good news: The creature design from the poster definitely carries through when those monsters are in action. Check out the video up top to see some of those horrid designs.
So, how are they going to make a movie of this collection of horrifying short folk tales? Well, the plot is said to focus on a group of teens who are trying to solve a mystery in their hometown, where several truly gruesome deaths have taken place. I don’t know about you, but my interest is beyond piqued.
What are you most looking forward to about “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”? Sound off in the comments below!
“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” is slated to come out on August 9, 2019.
Originally hailing from Pennsylvania, Jackie has called Austin home since choosing to attend the University of Texas, where she graduated with a degree in multimedia journalism. She loves spending time with her dogs, writing about pop culture in all its forms and spending time with friends – eating, drinking and doing trivia.