There’s horror that your soul or where you have getting scared
Guillermo del Toro proves he’s still the master of storytelling as he delivers chills, thrills and laughs in the screen adaptation of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark. GEMMA DUNN finds out more from the horror fanatic
The time period in which it’s set is also of utmost importance: a retro world without any hint of mobile phones or the internet, “where life was truly local, but in a time period that felt catalytic”.
And much like his previous features, while kids are at the front and centre (think Pan’s Labyrinth), there are still decidedly adult themes.
“The whole ideal of the American Dream and American innocence was shifting as the world became much more complex, and scary in new ways,” Guillermo says of the era.
“The Vietnam War itself is sort of a ghost that looms over the town; it’s a very unstable time for these kids to undergo this extreme rite of passage.”
That was his intention from the get-go, he admits: “When I presented the screenplay to Andre, I said, ‘It’s a movie about the past and it’s a movie about now’.”
However, while the overriding message is an affirmative one, Schwartz’s book trilogy – a product of nightmarish legends from old anthologies and folklorists – did cause a stir, both good and bad.
The books (published in 1981, 1984 and 1991) were so loved that it sparked a controversial movement to ban them from school libraries. Yet, it seemed that the harder the books were to find, the more their popularity swelled.
As Guillermo puts it, “the banned books became catnip for adventurous youth”.
So, despite its PG13 rating, just how “kid-friendly” is it?
“The funny thing is the books have been banned in certain states or districts, by a certain type of parent, and nevertheless, for one or two reasons I can think of, they’ve stayed in print for more than 40 years!” remarks the father of two.
“And frankly when I was a teenager people wanted to get them,” he insists. “The more you forbid something, the more you want to see it.
“My hope is that three generations come to the theatre and see this together.”
He adds: “This was a chance to honour the book by telling a bigger story that would be very scary but also full of the playful spirit of youth.
“It was also a chance to look at the weight and responsibility of storytelling, so relevant in our world of social media today.”
Therefore it’s a movie that sits in the ‘pro-individualist’ camp, Guillermo affirms.
“This one is pro-thinking for yourself; making your own conclusions and not believing what people tell you to believe. So pro-individual,” he confirms.
“There are two types of horror movies: first are the ones that sort of scar your soul, but then there is the horror movie that is like a roller-coaster ride. It’s fun, entertaining and thrilling but ultimately has a humanistic spirit.
“And that’s the type of movie Andre has made!” he finishes. “One where you have fun getting scared.”