Scary Stories

It's a rare feat that a director completes a documentary that is well-photographed, has a solid soundtrack, and good audio. Despite these solid features, and some highlights, this film is flawed, and unnecessarily so.

Some two thirds of this film contain solid interviews with contributors to the book, some reputable scholars, and Schwartz's son and wife. Glimpses of the man, a truly prolific writer, and his seemingly troubled family, are moving, insightful, and a joy to watch. Some of the scholars offer powerful considerations of the thematic content of Schwartz's memorable stories, and Gammell's incredible art. This is fantastic, and make the film worth watching.

Meanwhile, the other third of the film feels wasted. First, much ado is made about the controversy the book provoked. Why do I care about what a PTA mother was thinking about a book in the 80s? I care about the books themselves.

The film is also loaded with fan interviews; a pat, badly-acted recreation and other retellings; and lesser known artists talking about how cool Scary Stories are.

For example: the film opens with a musician you've never heard of. The first four minutes of the film is dedicated to his singing a song inspired by Schwartz. Later, five minutes are dedicated to a wedding photographer recreating Schwartz's work. Schwartz' grandson--who comes across as charismatic and intelligent--leafs through Schwartz's work. This young man never knew Schwartz personally, nor does he seem to have any credential beyond being a removed relative. An interesting, though again not especially important five minutes, focuses on a sculptor reproducing Gammell's iconic Scary Stories cover. But why?

It seems these smatterings (of which there are too many) are some attempt to link Schwartz's work to those artists alive, creating, and influenced today. But these artists (save perhaps R. L. Stine, who barely talks about the titular stories) are not especially renowned And these scenes are tiresome and overlong for an 80 minute documentary, while revelations about the works themselves are touched upon in a limited way.

The final scene, a staged moment between two interesting people, is exemplary of my point. For such a momentous, impactful set of books, we find ourselves seeing Schwartz's son defending the rights of children to read Scary Stories to the censorship weilding PTA mother. While it's lovely to see a son standing up for his father, in my mind the film again misses such fertile material: the works themselves.

The stories feel timeless, the books are infamous and the slice of nostalgia is priceless. And this documentary celebrates all of it. "Scary Stories" offers a deeper look into the controversy surrounding the books. The battle between censorship and free speech, framing literature as cultural heritage. Which is exactly what these books were then, and still are today. Cody Meirick, the director offers both sides of the argument, showing no forced, influential bias. Greatly appreciated because it allows for an authentic flow to the documentary's narrative.

The film includes introspective pieces from R.L. Stine, Amelia Cotter, Bruce Coville and Q.L. Pearce, plus plenty of artists and writers influenced by "Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark". The real star of the documentary, and rightfully so, is the books' original artwork. Meirick guides the viewer through the three distinct topics explored in documentary nicely. The author, Mr. Shwartz, the controversy, and the legacy of the book series' influence on pop culture and horror fans. This is clearly a must for both the horror reader and anyone who's childhood included the books- especially those who maintain a love for "Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark". It is a fun, informative, and entertaining watch.

Comprised of several interviews (including R.L. Stine), old news footage, and archived audio interviews of the late author Alvin Schwartz, Scary Stories is a wonderful, nostalgic, and immersive telling of the storied history of the classic children books. Loaded with interesting facts and information, it's fun watching former teachers and librarians or kids at the time look back discussing the book and actually look at them again for the first time. Part of the fun brilliance of the documentary is the illustrated recreated scenes drawn in the style of the famed artwork in the books as people tell their stories and memories of the books. Another thing the film does very well is explore and explain the subtle genius behind the seemingly simplistic writing style. It looks at the historical and cultural significance of several stories and the lessons they teach and the cultural and regional context in which they are told. There is a very compelling segment in the film showing footage from the time of parents and people making the case to ban a book. It's fascinating to watch and the topic is thoroughly explored and given proper time to look at both sides of the argument. Scary Stories is extremely well done and I would definitely recommend it to anybody, but it is especially recommended to anyone with fond memories of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books.

This simply didn't focus on it's topic enough and bored the hell out of me with just talking to the guys family, about how great they think he was.

Like many I grew up with these stories. The collection of folklore by Schwartz were a bizarre assortment that played to my morbid sense of humor. The illustrations by Stephen Gammell were a ripe slice of insanity.

The documentary is a mix of the controversy surrounding the books, the private lives of Gammell and Schwartz, and a tribute to both men and the influence they had over generations of academics and artists.

With the upcoming film, this doc is a nice prep for what producer Guillermo Del Toro will unleash in a matter of weeks.