Just when you thought it was safe to turn out the lights, a new trailer for Are You Afraid of the Dark? has arrived, bringing with it a Carnival of Doom. The new miniseries is a reboot of the Canadian TV series that ran from 1990-2000, with each episode using a gathering of the Midnight Society as the framing for a spooky new story.
Nickelodeon's limited series reboot was originally intended to lead into an Are You Afraid of the Dark? movie, which was supposed to release in October. However, Paramount Pictures took the movie off the release slate in February, and there has been no further news about it since. Fortunately, the Are You Afraid of the Dark series is still on track, with a main cast that includes Jeremy Taylor (IT), Sam Ashe Arnold (Best.Worst.Weekend.Ever), Tamara Smart (Artemis Fowl), Lyliana Wray (Black-ish), and Miya Cech (Rim of the World).
A 15-second teaser for Are You Afraid of the Dark? was released last month, but now we have our first full-length trailer. This lays out the plot of the miniseries, which is distinctly reminiscent of another recent horror-for-kids release, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. A new member of the Midnight Society (Wray) brings a story to the fire called "The Carnival of Doom" - but the story doesn't end when the fire goes out. The carnival actually rolls into town, bringing with it all manner of terrifying clowns and creatures. Check out the trailer below:
Unlike the original series, which featured an anthology of stories, the Are You Afraid of the Dark? reboot will spread the "Carnival of Doom" storyline out over three episodes. Still, based on this trailer alone it looks like there will be a diverse mix of monsters and villains for the kids to contend with - including a ringmaster called Mr. Tophat, played by Rafael Casal.
The past few years have seen a resurgence in the genre of stories about plucky kids working together to fight off nightmarish horror creations - IT, Scary Stories, Goosebumps, and Stranger Things among them. Are You Afraid of the Dark? has the benefit of both appealing to a new generation of young horror fans, and also drawing in adults who have a nostalgic attachment to the original TV show. Based on this trailer, it looks like the new Are You Afraid of the Dark? miniseries has great production quality, and it's a shame that the attached movie seems to be dead in the water. Who knows - perhaps if this miniseries is enough of a success, a movie might still happen after all.
Are You Afraid of the Dark? begins October 11th on Nickelodeon.