IT Chapter Two Thrills But Doesn't Float As High As The First Chapter

      

      The fall 2019 movie season kicks off with the release of the much anticipated sequel to the 2017 box office smash IT with IT Chapter Two. Arriving in theaters exactly two years after the release of the first part, Chapter Two picks up 27 years after the original film with the first Losers Club group all grown up and reunited once again to defeat the evil demonic clown Pennywise once and for all. The first IT was a surprise to audiences not just with how big of a box office success it became (It was the most successful horror film of all time until the release of Chapter Two, which just crossed a billion dollars worldwide), but how strong it was in quality. It took the first chunk of Stephen King's bestselling novel and brought it to the big screen with passion, dedication, and authenticity. The first IT also arrived in theaters during the height of Netflix's Stranger Things craze, which helped propel the film to insane box office heights. While the first IT film wasn't exactly scary, it was every bit as creepy and effective in terms of executing its story making audiences dread the two year wait for the release of Chapter Two. Now that the sequel to IT has arrived, audiences can now see the completion of the two part arc that concludes the Pennywise story (Unless Warner Brothers gets greedy and tries to conjure an idea for a third film). IT Chapter Two doesn't reach the heights of its predecessor as it feels overlong and lacks some of the heart that made the first film a special occasion with audiences, but it remains a strong second chapter that stands on its own while remaining intense and creepy.

      The storyline for IT Chapter Two takes place 27 years after the events of the previous film with a series of violent acts occurring within the small town the Losers Club grew up in. One of the members of the club (Played by Isaiah Mustafa) hears of the news and remembers the series of murders that happened when he was younger along with remembering the clown Pennywise. He reaches out to the rest of the Losers Club, all who moved away and forgot about the past events though still get chills when seeing his name appear on their contacts. The group ultimately reunites and begins planning on how to track down and stop the murderous clown Pennywise for good. Whereas the first IT showed the formation of the Losers Club and their first defeat of Pennywise, the sequel shows the club as adults reconnecting along with remembering the past with flashbacks of the younger versions of each member looking back while being stalked by Pennywise. Chapter Two carries with it a running time of 169-minutes, that often feels far too long for the story with the films pacing coming off as feeling uneven, particularly the films middle section which deals with the memories. The film feels like its two movies merged into one with the old Losers Club trying to figure out a way to kill Pennywise with the young group reappearing through flashbacks with scenes never seen before in the first film. One wonders how the film would've flowed if the middle section of the movie was trimmed down to focus more on the adult version of the Losers Club noticing the return of Pennywise and coming together to stop him. What made the original a stronger film was how spontaneous it came across as feeling both in terms of the young child actors knocking it out of the park as well as storytelling. There was also a certain level of innocence and vulnerability to seeing the young kids being terrorized by the evil clown as well as heart when seeing their friendships unite. As hard as the adult Losers Club tries (They do pretty damn good), they don't hold the same kind of magic that the child Losers Club possessed.

      In terms of acting performances, the adult cast does a very good job of trying to match their younger counterparts from Chapter One, though the group chemistry as a whole isn't quite as strong. James McAvoy does very good playing Bill with him nailing the characters studder and sharing chemistry with older Beverly played terrifically by Jessica Chastain. As good of a casting choice Chastain was in the role of older Beverly (She's no stranger to the horror genre as she starred in 2012's Mama), one wonders what it would've looked like had Amy Adams played the part instead as she bears a closer resemblance to the younger Beverly. Bill Hader does a very good job playing the adult Richie with his casting feeling spot on to his younger counterpart. The character comes with some of the best one liners in the film even utilizing the F bomb in the same vein as young Richie. Isaiah Mustafa delivers a strong performance as Mike, the member of the Losers Club who stayed behind while the others moved away and ultimately is the only one who remembers the events of the first film while being the key figure in bringing the group back together. Mustafa does a believable job coming across as being obsessive, fanatical, and desperate to get his group of friends back together again to save not just the town but themselves from a dark fate. Jay Ryan does a great job playing Ben, the former obese kid in the group, whose now all muscles and still holding a crush on Beverly, who remains clueless for the most part of Ben's feelings. James Ransone and Andy Bean are solid as Losers Club members Eddie and Stanley with Ransone stealing the show at times along with Hader. Despite the performances of the adult Losers Club being strong and convincing overall, it is the phenomenal performance of Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise that is key and comes across as being totally creepy, manipulative, deceptive, and ultimately convincing. One cannot imagine anyone else stepping into the shoes of Tim Curry other than Skarsgard, he delivers a worthy performance that lives up to the legacy Curry left behind with the 1990 miniseries. The young Losers Club actors once again prove they are the perfect choices for their parts with Jaeden Martell, Wyatt Oleff, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, and Jeremy Ray Taylor delivering awesome performances. Audiences as well as fans of the first film will truly miss the presence of the young Losers Club as they shared unique chemistry, often times better than the adult group. The casting of the adult Loser Club was always going to be one of the key aspects to the success of the sequel and here the casting is largely successful for the most part with just about everyone fitting nicely into their roles.

      As far as the films directing and writing goes, Andy Muschietti returns to the directors chair after his strong directing job on the previous film with the first movies writer Gary Dauberman also reprising his screenwriting duties. Once again, Muschietti proves to be effective with setting up dark and creepy atmospheres, while pushing the films gore to the brink. Some of the films key sequences such as the restaurant scare, Beverly's big sequence with the elderly lady, the mirror scene with Bill, Pennywise and the kid, the basement turned vomit scene, the bathroom stall scene, and the films climactic battle with the giant spider version of Pennywise are all extremely well-executed, exciting, and ultimately gross to watch at times. While these scenes are fantastic to watch, the films pacing can be a slow burn process to get to those moments. Muschietti and Dauberman go to extreme lengths to make the second movie bigger than the first one in almost every aspect, though the sequel doesn't feel as tight as the first film. The energy that Muschietti brought to the first film is still present with the films opening scene being though doesn't top the opening scene from the first movie with Pennywise and Georgie. The main issue with the opening of the sequel is despite it being an effective opener to the story, it serves little relevance to the rest of the movie as the beating of the gay couple doesn't connect with the story of the Losers Club other than Pennywise appearing at the end of the scene. What would've been more creepier is showing Pennywise's control over the town during the scene such as showing the beating of the two young men with people in the town noticing and choosing not to intervene. One doesn't doubt that Muschietti was excited to tell this story along with Dauberman, one wishes that they had more restraint in keeping the story more centered around the adult Losers Club with less flashbacks involving the adults remembering the past in order to make the film move less of a slow burner.

     In regards to the films main execution, the movie itself feels like one terrifying dream that not only comes true but is executed very well. The performances from the cast, both young and old are very good (The young Losers Club group is some of the best kids group ensemble casting in years). The CGI monsters look pretty good, even Pennywise's true form which has received much criticism in the films third act. The films climax has a strong build up, but is ultimately let down by the way Pennywise is defeated, making it come across as feeling anticlimactic. The films humerous bits work for the most part, particularly with the characters Richie and Eddie. One of the strongest compliments the sequel gets is how emotionally connected the audience feels with the Losers Club. The audience witnesses each characters darkest fears along with the memories that haunted them for 27 years as well as the hopeless feeling that they can't beat Pennywise. When the group comes together to face Pennywise once and for all, the audience see's the young kids in adult form coming together once again to defeat an evil force. The films opening scenes where the audience sees the older group in their respective stages in life as they're summoned by Mike to return to the town they all grew up in together, is a treat to see as each actor sells the idea that they are this older version of the kid from the previous film now grown up and had nearly forgotten about their disturbing past.

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      Overall IT Chapter Two is not a perfect film by any means (The film drags in the middle portion and can be extremely slow at certain points, the climax comes across as feeling anticlimactic and tacked on, and Pennywise's true form may disappoint some fans of the story who will automatically prefer Tim Curry's Pennywise's true form from the miniseries), but it's still a worthy second chapter to the IT storyline and brings the arc of Pennywise to a fitting and reasonably satisfactory conclusion. This is a film that could've been told with a two hour running time instead of nearly a full three. Not much happened within the first hour other than seeing the whole group get together again and acting shocked at finding out Pennywise is back. The jump scares are effective though feel somewhat fewer than the amount the first film delivered with both movies sharing the same issue that while they are extremely creepy and disturbing to watch at times, neither film is truly scary. The creatures that appear do their job for the most part in grossing out the audience while being laughable at times with the awkward forms they reveal themselves as (Stephen King has a nice cameo as well in the film). The vomit scene, though funny, has a weird tonal shift where it goes from being a genuinely creepy scene to downright hilarious and goofy with the use of Rock music followed by Eddie's reaction to the situation. Upon watching both movies back to back, one wonders if splitting the story into two parts with the kids story being told first followed by the adults hurt the stories overall pacing as the second film clearly struggles in regards to juggling both subplots back to back. Perhaps it would've been effective if the movie was made into an HBO style miniseries, where it was allowed to remain as one large story that was bookended. Regardless of its faults, IT Chapter Two has much to offer in terms of creeping out its audience and pleasing fans of the 1990 miniseries as well as Stephen King's book. One cannot help but admire how high the filmmakers were aiming for the stars in regards to telling both sides of the IT storyline. As high as they reach, they just can't quite capture the charm and magic of the first film, which ended on a note that was moving seeing the kids take a pledge with each others blood that they would return as adults one day and kill Pennywise once and for all. There's just something about the first one that gives it a special feeling that the sequel, as good as it is despite its issues, can't quite touch.

Final Verdict: If you loved IT Chapter One, you will find Chapter Two enjoyable though agree its not as good of a film.

47 Meters Down: Uncaged Is Basically The First Film On Repeat But Double The Fun

      The summer movie box office season wouldn't be complete without the release of 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, the sequel to the 2017 surprise hit that starred Mandy Moore and Claire Holt. The first 47 Meters Down despite receiving mixed reviews from critics was a box office success overall, grossing over $62 million worldwide against a budget of only $5 million. The concept was a basic one though cleverly executed with the main characters being trapped inside a cage in the ocean surrounded by giant sharks with limited Oxygen forcing them to fight for survival. The film never reached the cinematic heights of Jaws, but still managed to be entertaining and thrilling to watch for the films 85-minute running time. The sequel 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, tells a different story while utilizing the same concept, giving audiences more of the ingredients of what made the first film a hit while increasing the shock and suspense level. Does the new 47 Meters Down live up to the thrills of the first movie and exceed it in terms of being scary? The answer is both yes and no, Uncaged delivers more of what audiences enjoyed about the previous film while upping the stakes compared to the first movie. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged is not a perfect film as the element of surprise from the first film is absent here, but audiences watching it will get their moneys worth in terms of experiencing a ton of surprise jump scares and suspense for the films 90-minute running time.

      The plot for 47 Meters Down: Uncaged focuses on four teenage girls diving down to a ruined underwater city and becoming trapped in a cave full of giant deadly sharks with no way out. What begins as a vacation with fun and excitement turns into claustrophobia as well as fear of being eaten by a series of killer sharks. Whereas the first movie focused on the characters of Claire Holt and Mandy Moore being trapped in a Cage with limited Oxygen as they figure out a way to make it to the surface without being eaten, the sequel doubles the number of characters being trapped underwater, not only keeping them female-oriented to bring a sense of vulnerability to the story, but also changing the setting of the cage to an underwater cave that's ultimately cornered off while being overrun by sharks. Uncaged feels like a sequel that knows what made the first movie a hit and gives larger doses of those ingredients to the audience while keeping character development and story grounded with the reality of the situation. There is no over exposition other than the necessary information given to the audience regarding the characters which helps the film move at a fast pace with it's speedy 90 minute running time. The filmmakers like the first 47 Meters Down, 
are focused on getting the main characters into the water quickly so the real story begins as well as the fun and excitement. Whereas the first movie came across as feeling like the film Gravity mixed with Jaws underwater, the sequel feels like The Descent mixed with Jaws with the number of characters being trapped in a cave with no way out. Uncaged is a bolder, riskier, and more challenging sequel than the first film, because the filmmakers are playing off a larger field but the end result works as being genuinely exciting and engaging to watch.

      As far as the acting performances go, the cast of 47 Meters Down: Uncaged does a believable job of playing a group of frightened young teenage girls trapped underwater. Sophie Nelisse and Corinne Foxx deliver solid performances as two adoptive sisters being unhappily forced together as family due to their parents marriage. Nelisse creates a likable and sympathetic young female lead trying to fit in with both her new family and school only to suffer extreme bullying from other girls. Foxx plays the unhappy sister part well with My Big Fat Greek Weddings John Corbett and Friday's Nia Long leaving notable performances as the parents trying to keep their family together. Brec Bassinger does well playing Mia's school bully, who the audience wants to immediately see get eaten up by the sharks due to the abrupt cruelness of the character. She does a really good job of making the audience despise her character. Sistine Rose Stallone and Brianne Tju add more fun to the mix playing amusing side characters to Nelisse and Foxx with Tju having some good moments. Overall, the cast as a whole is well put together and strong enough with the delivery of their performances to make the audience care about their fate, particularly the sisters with the audience witnessing their arc from being forcibly put together and not wanting to be apart of each others life to them fighting together in order to survive. With the emotions conveyed on the screen by these actors, there's just enough heart the film possesses to make the audience feel something for the characters besides wanting them to instantly get eaten by the sharks.

      In terms of directing, Johannes Roberts returns to the directing chair from the first 47 Meters Down, bringing the same level of energy to this film while using the same slick directorial style such as keeping the film low budget and utilizing several different camera tricks, that give the audience the feeling that they're underwater while placing them in the shoes of the characters. One of the things that made the original effective in terms of its use of jump scares, was the fact that both the characters and audiences couldn't see anything more than what was a few feet in front of them with the POV shots. When the sharks entered the frame with some cases feeling like they're jumping out at the audience, those were very intense moments that made the audience jump in the theater. The sequel understands that method and maintains that strategy of scaring the audience with the same style being repeated here with flashing red lighting being used heavily. Watching the film, one can tell that Roberts had a much bigger budget to play with this time as evidenced by the underwater set pieces involving the cave ruins, making it work well for the overall story and atmosphere. The CGI sharks are more improved this time with the visual and coloring aspects of the film looking sharp. The films fast-pacing helps push the intensity of the story, creating more suspense as the characters struggle to survive. As far as the directing goes, Roberts stays true to the elements that made the first one a hit with audiences, giving them larger doses without losing sight of what made the first movies story believable and frightening.

      The films screenplay by Ernest Riera and Johannes Roberts as co-writer is basic yet effective with it keeping the character development and exposition limited enough to the point where the audience gets a feel for the characters and story. One of the films smartest decisions early on was beginning its story with no connections to the events of the previous film, making both stories separate and contained to enhance maximum scares with the idea of playing with the unknown. The writers do a decent job of making the audience care about the siblings predicament and feel the abandonment Mia experiences with her father not being there enough as he's generally pulled away to work on an old underwater city, that's been recently discovered. The audience also cares when Mia is bullied by Catherine and literally wants to scream at the screen for her to not go with the other girls to the bottom boat tour that leads them to the sharks. The moments such as the girls deciding to take a detour and dive near the lost city where Mia's father is working can be mistaken as terrible or lazy writing, but it actually fits within the realm of stupid decisions that main characters in horror movies generally make as they need need a reason to visit the sharks. Riera and Roberts keep the spirit of the script much in tune with the first films concept with the main female characters carrying personal baggage with them as well as poor decision making, that places them in the situations they become entangled in. The audience might find it harder this time to digest the reasoning for the main characters going underwater (Especially when the father shows them a tooth of a shark early on), but it stays in the tradition of bad decision making that has become common in today's horror movies in regards to character traits while acting as a device for triggering what comes next.

      Like its predecessor, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged is an effectively entertaining and fun experience, that shouldn't be taken too seriously and enjoyed under the condition that logic is left at the door. As far as shark movies go, these films along with the first two Jaws, Deep Blue Sea, and Shallows are some of the stronger ones. Given that the film is rated PG-13 much like the first film, the jolts and jump scares are surprisingly effective with moments of gore being restrained yet effective when they appear. The sharks remain just as scary and intense as they were the first time around though the only main criticism that can be lauded at the film, is the film sometimes becomes too dark underwater that audiences have a difficult time seeing what is going on. Given that both movies could've easily been throwaway direct to video flicks, Johannes Roberts and co-writer Ernest Riera do a good job of elevating the material and trying to make the story something more that's at the very least mildly entertaining. Roberts desire here is to entertain his audience and with both films, he does so with energy and excitement. There is enough character development in both movies to make the audience care about the main characters, which is important otherwise the end result is just boring. The suspense is handled well in the film and keeps building up until the films third act, which becomes insane yet exciting nonetheless. It definitely feels like a more improved climax than the ending of the first movie for sure. This is the type of film that works great with a large theater audience or group of friends as the jump scares are solid. However if you end up watching it at home by yourself, its just as entertaining and eye-catching. As a sequel to the first 47 Meters Down, its definitely worth a watch and delivers on its promise to entertain. Some may prefer the more simpler tone of the first movie in regards to its plot which is fine but there's much fun and excitement to behold here.

Final Verdict: For horror fans and fans of films where animals attack humans, its worth watching as it ups the excitement and thrills of the first movie while in some ways being a more enjoyable film.

Crawl Is A Fast, Fun, And Intense Horror Flick That Surprises And Entertains

 Creating a horror flick is both a daunting and challenging task in itself as it must be effective in terms of scaring it's audience. Making a horror flick that has an alligator as the main antagonist is an even harder task as the concept comes across as cheesy relying on crafty writing and directing to make it work. With the concept of Crawl, the opportunity is there to not only be creative and bring something fresh to the screen, but also serve as a throwback to cheesy monster flicks such as Lake Placid for example. With a story like this one, the film knows exactly what it wants to be and ultimately delivers on being exciting and fun to watch while generating admiration in regards to how it tries to ground itself in reality with the films setting and emotional core regarding the relationship between the main character and her father. Crawl is a film that embraces the traits of a typical horror film and delivers on its promise to entertain while attempting to be creative with its story. Given that many horror movies today rely on excessive gore and loosely sell true events in an effort to entice their audience to buy tickets, its noble to see one that knows exactly what it wants to be and delivers on its promise to entertain and scare.

      The plot for Crawl centers around a young woman, trapped in a crawl space in a flooding house in her Florida hometown, tries to save her injured father while being pursued by killer alligators during a Category 5 hurricane, leaving them with no choice but to fight for their lives. Right off the bat, Crawl deserves props for attempting to be both creative and realistic with its story with keeping the environment grounded within a scenario, that feels absolutely believable to the audience. With the recent hurricane storms hitting the East coast of the United States, it brings believability to the story as well as the concept of people being trapped in their house and trying to avoid being killed by the hurricane, but also avoiding the fate of being eaten by alligators. Crawl feels like there was some genuine effort put into the story to make it exciting and make audiences think what would they do in that situation, such as would they rather take their chances in the Hurricane and open waters where there's numerous alligators probably floating around, or try to remain in the house until help arrives. Given how the story is well-restrained, the filmmakers delivered the best story they were allowed to with the barrier the plot set up. The concept of man vs nature with man fighting to survive against a force more powerful than him can make for a seriously compelling story with Crawl taking that scenario and making it Women vs nature with hugely satisfying results.

     From the beginning, Crawl was only going to succeed as a horror flick if it was handled in a way where both the writing and directing was crafty and exercised creativity.  The film wastes no time in getting the audience to know the main characters and connect with them so when the storm hits, they know what's at stake and can root for their survival rather than wanting them to get eaten because their characters are bland. The characters of Haley and Dave are fairly strong and relatable with Haley making for a strong main female character, who must out think an alligator or two. As far as their performances go, Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper both do a very good job of playing their parts and making the audience care about their plight as they share strong chemistry as being father and daughter. Given that their characters are the main focus of the story, both actors do a very good job of carrying the film on their shoulders. The fact that the filmmakers opted to go with lesser known characters in this story is a smart move as the latter would've distracted the audience and kept them from focusing on the characters themselves. With the films structure, the lack of characters with the main ones dominating the screen is a clever approach as the actors performances are not only tested but allow the other characters in the film to connect with their story despite having minimal yet effective roles. The performances Scodelario and Pepper give add both humanity and heart to the story making their characters strained relationship heartbreaking for the audience, but also makes them working together to survive even more thrilling. The heart and soul of the film was always going to lie within the films casting and luckily for it, the performances are top notch.

      In terms of the films directing and writing, Alexandre Aja does a good job of building up the suspense and tension with the characters being trapped in the house with the alligators with the script by Michael Rasmussen and Shawn Rasmussen coming across as a mesh up between Twister and Lake Placid with the films brilliant inclusion of a hurricane into the story. Crawl has elements that make it feel like a horror movie with the characters being trapped in a secluded location away from everyone else, leaving them to fend for themselves against the alligators pursuing them. Aja delivers gory moments with the story but restrains them in a fashion that makes the film feel like Jaws for alligators. The most notable aspect of both the writing and directing, is how the filmmaking team behind Crawl chose to put the human characters first making them people you want to see survive and putting the alligators in the background with impressive CGI work compared to the rubber shark used in Jaws. The film doesn't feel like it ever makes fun of itself, but it certainly gives the feeling that its enjoying its concept while giving it a serious enough tone that doesn't feel over-the-top nor ridiculous or goofy. The subplot involving the main character Haley being sad about her father Dave's divorce from her mother and her blaming him for not trying to work things out with her, is effective enough for the audience to care despite being loosely developed (Though dealing with a story like Crawl, a little exposition is better than excessive). Aja setting the film in a crawlspace gives the film a claustrophobic feel, that helps intensify the scenario presented with the film utilizing that angle pretty often. The films pacing is brisk as it immediately draws the audience in and takes them into the storm with the characters and never once letting go throughout the films 90-minute plus running time.

      Despite the well-execution of Crawl, the film isn't without its moments of imperfection such as the introduction of generic side characters, who serve no other purpose in the story other than to get eaten. The father-daughter dynamic despite being handled well by the main actors comes across as feeling rather vague with the CGI of the alligators being a tad obvious a few times. Though the film does contain flaws, those issues are minor ones that easily get overshadowed by the amount of craftsmanship and thought that went into telling the story. Crawl is a film that knows exactly what it wants to be and never feels like it overstays its welcome. It delivers on the chomping and popcorn entertainment while giving an appealing female heroine fighting to survive. The films climax is effective and serves as being a nice twist with the audience being on the edge of their seat wondering what happens next. It really speaks true volumes to the quality of the film when the audience shows concern for the dog in the film. Aja deserves praise for taking what could've easily been an extremely silly and cheesy story and makes something more of it, that can actually be taken seriously as solid entertainment while being exciting to watch from start to finish. If one is looking for a solid action and horror flick, that has a basic plot but delivers it in a way that comes with some fresh twists and turns then Crawl is worth your time and energy as its not only surprising but delivers in being loads of fun to watch. One hopes to see more surprises like this one come out of studios as rather than going to the extreme with big budgets, Crawl shows that being set in one setting with minimal characters can still make for a thrilling story as long as the characters and setting are believable.

Final Verdict: Crawl is a must see for horror fans as it will provide fast and fun entertainment without requiring one to do an excessive amount of thinking.

  

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark Is Final Destination Meets Goosebumps With Surprising Results

    

        Horror movies released 2019 have been hit and miss in regards to quality for the most part. Happy Death Day 2 proved to be a strong sequel to the 2017 smash hit original despite underperforming at the box office. The remake of Pet Semetary despite not reaching the intended box office stature of Stephen Kings other book turned movie adaptation IT, still managed to be a reasonably satisfying remake despite the crappy ending. Child's Play with Mark Hamill surprised as being a decent horror reimagining/reboot of the 80's classic, and now IT Chapter Two, has made its way into theaters with a thunderous box office intake though not as successful as the first both financially and critically. To get the point across, 2019 has been both a hit and miss year for horror movies both quality and box office as audiences are craving for a solid scare. With Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, that trend continues with a PG-13 childrens horror movie tale based on a collection of three short horror stories written for kids with the same title. Directed by Andre Ovredal and based on the children's book series by Alvin Schwartz, the screen story was written by Academy Award Winner Guillermo Del Toro and adapted to the screen by Dan and Kevin Hageman. Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark despite being grounded by it's PG-13 rating, is surprisingly​ effective as a horror movie while providing a gateway into the genre of horror for young generations of filmgoers and horror enthusiasts.

      The plot for Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark takes place in Pennsylvania town 1968 during the Vietnam/Nixon era. The town has been haunted by dark mysteries surrounding an old family mansion where a teenage girl turned her experience of torture into a book of scary stories. For a group of young teenagers (Played brilliantly by Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, and Austin Abrams), the stories become too realistic as they not only end up discovering her tales, but must fight to save their own lives as their own dates are being magically written. Making a children's horror story is a unique and bold move, that pays off nicely here as the film is not only effective and we'll executed in terms of drawing young audiences into the plot with young characters they can relate to, but also manages to entertain older horror fans as well. It helps that the young actors all deliver strong performances, that are believable and add heart to the story with an atmosphere that's dark and staged well enough to provide some solid suspense. The audience grows to care about the young teenagers characters as they watch them try to be different in a small town, making them feel lost or
misunderstood. The story has a combination of both IT and Final Destination with the small group of young teens feeling like the Losers Club from IT, 
with how society views them as well as them trying to out think and survive their supernatural Boogeyman before each one is ultimately picked off. Director Andre O Vredal takes a simple yet effective formula and gives it a sense of freshness to it, that carries a perfect balance of young teen drama mixed with them trying to deciper a system of rules in a haunted book which ultimately comes with terrifying results.

      As far as the films acting goes, the young cast does a believable and terrific job playing a group of young teens encountering something spooky while trying to stick together to change their fate. Zoe Margaret Colletti, Austin Abrams, Michael Garcia, and Gabriel Brush all deliver surprisingly strong performances, as they completely sell their situation to the audience as well as making a believable group of young kids befriending each other while struggling to defeat this spirit they unearthed. Zoe Margaret Colleti does great playing young horror fan Stella, who ends up finding Sarah's book and taking it home. She tries to discover the truth about Bellows family and save the lives of her friends from unwritten fates. Stellas character is the heart and soul of the film as she helps bring the rest of the cast together in terms of the story. Other notable supporting performances come from Dean Norris in a brief role as Stella's father as well as Lorraine Toussaint. Gabriel Brush does well as the local town sheriff, who constantly harrasses the young Hispanic teenager in the group played by Michael Garcia. He comes across as the typical authoritative character, that audiences dislike in horror movies because they not only come across as being useless but don't have a clue what's going on. Despite the cast being relatively unknown for the most part, the performances they deliver are most impressive with Zoe Margaret Colletti and Michael Garcia shining as Stella and Ramon. Both not only do great jobs here but have chemistry making the audience care about their friendship/romance in the midst of things. Austin Abrams shines as the effective yet generic bully Tommy. His character isn't anything original in the realm of horror yet Abrams makes the most of his character like the rest of the cast. The performances as a whole help to give the film a sense of innocence within the films spooky edge, that echos children's horror stories of the 80's and 90's era.

      In terms of directing and writing, Andre O Vredal does a good job of creating a genuinely spooky atmosphere and centering it around the Vietnam era in America during the late 1960's, using it as the films backdrop. He crafts a film that serves as being a nice throwback to the 80's children movies, that were allowed at the time to lean on the side of being creepy, unusual, a tad spooky, and feeling unsafe. The film has a Goonies/The Outsiders feel to it. Vredal gives the film a pacing that feels just right for the type of story he's trying to tell with the film never feeling like it slows down and goes back and forth between the main characters and the scary scenes. What makes the directing in this movie commendable, is how it chooses to build a steady and well-crafted atmosphere that's genuinely creepy rather than being grisly and gruesome. The movie has moments where it's intense and disturbing but it's not excessive nor done to the point where it feels like it's over-the-top. There is never a point in the film where it feels scary, but its effective at being dark, creepy, and engaging with the teenagers arc being the heart of the story. In addition to the IT and Final Destination vibe, the film also carries a Goosebumps and Stranger Things feel to it with the young kids being surrounded by an atmosphere, that's spooky and unpredictable with the presence of ominous creatures and spirits making it haunting. The films screenplay is written strongly as it spreads the different horror stories of the books throughout the film, while giving the young teens enough backstory and personality to make them more than just cutout generic characters in a horror flick, that the audience can grow to care about as well as ponder their fate. Given the film is 108-minutes total in length, its actually longer than the typical horror flick but it utilizes its running time to create appealing teen characters, while building off each scene creating a unique blend of suspense and character growth mixed with a rich visual scenery.

      In the end, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark doesn't break any new ground nor change the horror genre, it simply presents a slick horror story that manages to be surprisingly entertaining and well-executed with the twist being it's teen oriented. The acting is believable due to it's likeable cast, strong writing, effective directing with the film carrying some fun set pieces, top notch make-up effects, stellar art-set decoration and costume design showcasing the 1960s style of clothing, and brilliant cinematography giving the films setting a nostalgic and authentic feel. Some of the films most effective and creepy scenes have to deal with spiders, a scene involving a pimple, and a red room with an end fate that's both creepy and funny with the audience getting a kick out of it. A good horror movie isn't complete without compelling characters that the audience can relate to making Stella and Ramon the ideal duo, who ultimately have no choice but to face their own worst fears in order to stop the carnage and save the townspeople.

      Is the movie perfect? No, the film is often light on actual scares and has some elements that don't work for it. Examples are the use of the Nixon and Vietnam War subplot for the 1960's angle, they don't do anything to advance the story other than just to be in the background. The only thing in the whole film it pertains to is the character of Ramon as it's implied he attempted to dodge the draft after seeing his brother sent to war and ultimately killed. While effective in character growth, it still doesn't do much in terms of pushing the actual narrative of the story which brings the focus on that subplot into question. Some of the dialogue and acting has moments where it comes across as being cheesy such as the climactic scene with Stella and Sarah where Stella says it's not excusable what Sarah went through but her actions afterwards are on her or as she puts it "that's on you." Despite similarities to other films as well as obvious borrowing of other horror movie subplots (The movie doesn't have to be Scream level original but some attempt at creativity would've been appreciated instead of coming across as familiar territory at times), the film still manages to be an interesting and fresh take on the horror genre while being faithful in terms of bringing the books haunting illustrations to life. Although light in originality, its well-built in suspense and chills making it an entertaining horror flick worth checking out by both young horror fans as it carries with it a Goosebumps type vibe while having elements for older horror fans to enjoy.

Final Verdict: Definitely worth watching if you're a horror fan. Don't be put off by the fact that it's PG-13, it's still effective in terms of being both scary a creepy.