Lad Bible: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark isn’t released until Friday in the UK, but our pals across the pond have already been treated to the new film from Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro, based on the books by Alvin Schwartz. The movie is set in 1968 and tells the story of three teens who find a scary book inside a haunted house – well, that’s never good, is it?
After their discovery, the friends find that the horrifying tales from the book start to play out in real life.
Directed by André Øvreda, the movie stars Zoe Margaret Colletti as Stella Nicholls, Michael Garza as Ramón Morales, Austin Zahur as Chuckand Gabriel Rush as Auggie Hilderbrandt.
Movie-goers have flocked to social media to confess that the film left them terrified, with one writing: “Just got home from watching Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and now I’m a little scared to go to sleep.”Another praised: “I saw it at mid night a few days ago! Wow, what a terrifying, fun movie! Andre and Guillermo knocked it out of the park, with the practical creature effects being the highlight. The grotesque monsters truly looked like they popped off the pages of the book. A new Halloween classic!” A happy-fan added: “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark legitimately scared the hell out of me.
I haven’t been that scared watching a movie in years. Great CGI, amazing acting and a great story.”
While one guy, quite bluntly, posted: “That new Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark movie made me s*** my pants.” Fair enough.
Fans of the book series seem to be pretty happy with the retelling, with many praising the impressive special effects and creepy monsters created by the team at Spectral Motion, the same guys who made the Demogorgon from Stranger Things.
One woman pointed out the ‘Pale Lady’ as a particular spooky highlight: “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is proof that a horror movie doesn’t need to be rated R to be terrifying. I’m going to be having nightmares about the pale lady for WEEKS.”
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark hits UK cinemas on 23 August and is already out in the US. Enjoy.