In director André Øvredal and producer Guillermo del Toro’s “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” “you don’t read the book. The book reads you.”
The latest horror film from the mind of del Toro is based on a trilogy of children’s horror books, the first published in 1981, written by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Each one is a collection of over two dozen horror stories, and the new film draws inspiration from all of them.
During the Super Bowl, we got brief teases for moments based on the stories “The Big Toe,” “Jangly Man,” “Pale Lady” and “The Red Spot.” Here’s the full synopsis:
It’s 1968 in America. Change is blowing in the wind…but seemingly far removed from the unrest in the cities is the small town of Mill Valley where for generations, the shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large. It is in their mansion on the edge of town that Sarah, a young girl with horrible secrets, turned her tortured life into a series of scary stories, written in a book that has transcended time–stories that have a way of becoming all too real for a group of teenagers who discover Sarah’s terrifying home.
Del Toro produced the film and wrote the story for the screen, with the screenplay penned by Dan and Kevin Hageman. André Øvredal (“Trollhunter”) directed.
Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows, Lorraine Toussaint, Austin Zajor and Natalie Ganzhorn star in the film.
CBS Films & Lionsgate are releasing the film, and Entertainment One (eOne) co-financed. “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” opens Aug. 9. Try to keep your eyes open while watching the chilling first trailer for the film above.