Chances are if you were a kid in the 80's and/or 90's that you've come across a tale or two from the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book series. Whether you've read'em yourself or a friend might've talked about'em, it was hard not to be somewhat acquainted with it in one form or another. I personally remember reading some of the stories while in the library in High School and naturally it was only a matter of time before the series was adapted to a feature film.

At one point Guillermo del Toro was thought to go behind the camera for this before settling as a co-writer/producer, while Norwegian director André Øvredal (Troll Hunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe) took the helm instead. Set in the late 60's, the movie follows a group of teen friends on Halloween night, as they decide to visit the town's haunted house, which was once owned by the notorious Bellows family. Local legend details that the house is haunted by the restless spirit of Sarah Bellows, who was once blamed for the deaths of several children.

The teens eventually discover a hidden room and an old book once owned by ol' Sarah herself. Of course messing with the book unleashes the dark powers within (because when did finding a worn out old book ever result in something positive?), causing the mysterious disappearances of each person that set foot in the house. It turns out that each person is being haunted by the antagonist from each tale like Harold the scarecrow, a corpse looking for her missing toe and an obese "Pale Lady." The surviving members of the group have to turn to old school research into the Bellows family in hopes of somehow finding a way to put an end to the madness before it's their turn in the story.

While the movie is a bit formulaic and derivative at times, I still found myself enjoying it for the most part. I liked the period setting and it offered a good Halloween/Fall atmosphere throughout. The pacing also wasn't terrible thanks to there not being much of a gap between each tale coming to life. Sadly the bits between aren't very interesting and are mostly underdeveloped, especially involving the key characters in the movie. Obviously the creatures from each tale are the highlights of the film and also manages to deliver some decently creepy moments, with the light mostly shining on "The Jangly Man," who was my favorite from the bunch; next to The Pale Lady. Though with the movie aiming towards a younger demographic you can't expect much gore (if at all) and things getting TOO dark storywise.