Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live your own horror story? 

Just imagine the possibility of the book you’re reading turning real. You’re running down the hallway only to see a distorted figure chase you, all while you’re trying to find your friends. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Well of course not, but that may be what you see in the film “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.”

This film, which was released earlier this month, is based on the children’s book of the same title by Alvin Schwartz. The story itself follows a group of friends who decide to enter an abandoned house and find a book that turns out to be cursed and bestowed horror stories onto the unexpected gang. 

An aspect of the film that I enjoyed would be how the director really stayed true to the original text. The movie demonstrated a realistic representation of the visuals in the book, such as Harold the Scarecrow and the White Woman. Aside from that, there was a lot of practical makeup work on each of the characters. The CGI melds well with every effect and scene.

Clocking in at one hour and forty-seven minutes, “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” sets up a wide variety of character developments. Although some of the events in the film were rushed, the development of the plot was reasonably well put together. However, the tension and suspense demonstrated in the film is very well polished. There were many scenes in which you would feel chills down your spine as you prepare for what may come, making it feel as if you were the character.

The plot demonstrates this mostly from how the film is on a “time-based” plot, meaning that throughout the film, you feel the tension of “Are they gonna make it?” You can see this moment when the group of friends tries to save each other from a horrible end. While the time-based plot is not something we see often, there are also events in the movie that is like any other horror movie: visiting old people to get a historical event, going to a place where you’re not supposed to, etc.

Each actor represented their character to the fullest extent. Every scare scene built for each character is utilized in which it would affect that character emotionally. Once again, some parts of the movie were rushed to set up a character, even if it wasn’t about them, which in reality impacted the payoff at the end if you really focus on the story to an extreme. As of right now, the film currently has 81 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 6.5/10 on IMDb. Among Google users, 84 percent of audiences reported liking the movie. Scary Stories is best recommended for children that are not ready for more extreme horror movies. The story really follows the lore as in the book, staying faithful to the source material. The film was well shot, exposing more scenes and angles for the audience. While most other horror films only keep one general camera shot.