The official trailer for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is here. Based on Alvin Schwartz's short story collections, the film takes place in 1968 and revolves around a group of teenagers who discover the horrifying truth behind a local legend. The movie's been in development since 2013, and was being written by Saw 4-7 and Piranha 3DD duo Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton at one point. Guillermo del Toro joined the project as a writer and producer three years later, and ultimately recruited André Øvredal (Trollhunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe) to serve as director.
Between del Toro's involvement and the beloved source material (a nostalgic favorite among children of the 1980s and '90s), it's little wonder Scary Stories has been set to open this summer. CBS Films and Lionsgate clearly feel the movie has the makings of a potential hit, and got its marketing started with a handful of TV spots at this year's Super Bowl. Not long after, they dropped a teaser trailer that screened with the biggest horror releases this spring. And now that summer's a few weeks away, they've unveiled a full-length promo to go with this month's anticipated spooky offerings.
The official Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark trailer is now online, ahead of its premiere in theaters later this month. You can check it out in the space below.
Like the teaser, this new trailer offers a sneak peek of the stories that've been adapted from Schwartz's source material for the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark movie. In the big screen version, the stories were written by Sarah - "a young girl with horrible secrets" - and left behind for the film's heroes in find in the long-abandoned Bellows mansion. As the trailer shows, it's young Stella (Zoe Colletti), who comes to realize that Sarah's book is cursed and can bring the monsters she imagined over into the real world. Most of the creatures are very faithful to the designs featured in Stephen Gammell's original illustrations, and have been brought to seemingly terrifying cinematic life. Of course, this is bad news for Stella and her peers, who find themselves being hunted by these monsters as their names (magically) start appearing in Sarah's book, one after the other.
Altogether, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark continues to look as frightening as cinephiles probably expected from a horror flick directed by Øvredal and co-written by del Toro. The film is targeting a relatively younger crowd than other horror-thrillers coming out this summer, but at the same time it's definitely not intended for little kids. With the family-friendly Dora and the Lost City of Gold movie and R-rated mobster drama The Kitchen both arriving on the same day as Øvredal and del Toro's adaption, it's possible Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark will provide a nice middle-ground option for viewers wanting something a little darker, but far, far removed from a lightweight children's film. If so, it may yet become the success that CBS and Lionsgate are hoping for.
Source: CBS Films/Lionsgate
