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 tome.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a 2019 horror film directed by André Øvredal, based on the children’s book series of the same name by Alvin Schwartz. The screenplay was adapted by Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman, from a screen story by producer Guillermo del Toro, as well as Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. The film, an international co-production of the United States and Canada, stars Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Zajur, Natalie Ganzhorn, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows, and Lorraine Toussaint.
In 2013, CBS Films acquired the rights to the book series from 1212 Entertainment with the intent of producing it as a feature film. By January 2016 it was announced that del Toro would develop and potentially direct the project for CBS Films. Øvredal was later to set to direct the film, with del Toro, Daniel, Brown, and Grave being among the producers. Principal photography commenced on August 27, 2018, and ended on November 1, 2018, in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was theatrically released on August 9, 2019, by Lionsgate. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the horror elements, characters, acting, and accuracy to the original Stephen Gammell illustrations, although it did receive some criticism for the screenplay and CGI effects on the monsters, and grossed a worldwide total of $105 million against a production budget of around $28 million.
About the Production
Around 1997, Del Toro was overcoming the traumatic kidnapping of his father Federico, who was taken off the streets in Guadalajara, Mexico and held for $1 million ransom. The filmmaker’s friend James Cameron paid the sum, and the aftermath left Del Toro in poor financial shape.
Still, he couldn’t resist picking up a piece of Scary Stories history when after having a meeting at New Line he discovered an art gallery selling original art from the series. Del Toro, who is known for his huge collection of movie art and memorabilia, explained it all to about 100 people who gathered for a trailer launch luncheon Thursday at Neuehouse in Hollywood.
“I was really, really broke. But I was extravagant and I bought the key illustrations from the book that I love, which led to a lot of financial trouble after that,” Del Toro said to laughs from the crowd. “And marital trouble after that. You cannot justify a buy like that. But I needed to have the key images that affected my youth.”
To bring the film to life, Del Toro assembled a team and handpicked Trollhunter filmmaker André Øvredal to direct Scary Stories. There are dozens of stories in the series, but Del Toro and his fellow screenwriters did what he described as an American Idol-style showdown, in which they chose the best five or six to be presented in the film, which has a story by Del Toro and Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan, with a screenplay by Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman.
“This is not an anthology movie,” said Øvredal. “It is a cohesive, two-hour feature with one story, where everything is weaved together to be part of that story.”
The film is set in 1968 America, a time when unrest was sweeping the nation. Far away from the strife sits the small town of Mill Valley, where the Bellows family has been a major fixture for years. A young girl named Sarah turns her tortured life into scary stories from within the Bellows’ mansion on the edge of town, creating a book of stories that will become real for a group of teens who discover her home.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)
Directed by: André Øvredal
Starring: Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows, Lorraine Toussaint, Kathleen Pollard, Marie Ward, Natalie Ganzhorn, Javier Botet, Stephanie Belding
Screenplay by: Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman, John August
Production Design by: David Brisbin
Cinematography by: Roman Osin
Film Editing by: Patrick Larsgaard
Costume Design by: Ruth Myers
Set Decoration by: Patricia Larman
Music by: Marco Beltrami, Anna Drubich
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for terror/violence, disturbing images, thematic elements, language including racial epithets, and brief sexual references.
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films, CBS Films
Release Date: August 9, 2019
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