When it comes to the horror genre, few names have more clout than Guillermo Del Toro. The Oscar-winning director has always worked within his own gothic sensibility, creating wholly original films like Pan’s Labyrinth that have stood the test of time. Del Toro continues to work in the genre, this time serving as a producer for an adaptation of Alvin Schwartz’s anthology novel Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
Teaming up with director Andre Overdal, the duo are teaming up to adopt one of the more chilling young adult works. So it should come as no shock that the film has been given a PG-13 rating, with the MPPA rating citing the film for “terror/violence, disturbing images, thematic elements, language including racial epithets, and brief sexual references.” Check out the official trailer of the film along with its 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.
While this film has gone under the radar compared to other horror films, I am excited to see the final results. Del Toro’s films always have a unique macabre/fantasy tone to them, which perfectly suits this source material. Director Andre Overdal has already proven himself as an adept craftsman with films like Trollhunter, so the pairing certainly has what it takes to make this adaptation work.
Are you excited for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark? Let us know in the comments!