This movie had a lot of potential as well as a fair amount of build up by the fans of the book. This movie was just okay for me as well, which is disappointing considering how excited I was to see it

So my excitement to see this movie is waning due to people’s reviews, I was super excited to watch this because those books were my childhood, but now I really don’t know. Thanks for writing how y’all perceived the movie. I’m sorry you guys didn’t like it.

It felt watered down and there was not much horror in it. The characters were interesting but it was a little dull.

I was also disappointed that it was rated PG-13. I wish it would’ve been rated R for the people who grew up reading this book could see a little more horror in it.

That wouldn't make sense at all. The books are primarily for 10-13 year old kids, and they're still read today, so the movie should be targetted towards the same age group. It'd be a bit like making Harry Potter or Goosebumps R rated.

I was already bored within the first 30 mins, but it was a free movie so why not just go ahead and finish it?

I'd be more inclined towards finishing a movie I'd paid for personally .

While I understand that the books are for kids, they aren’t as popular now as opposed to almost 40 years ago when the first book came out. All of the fans who read the books and loved them are adults now. And I cannot dent that the stories were very creepy. So for the R rating, I think it could have worked as a true R rating horror movie and been much better. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I have heard several people say it would have been better as an R rated movie.

And I think it’s different than if Harry Potter or Goosebumps we’re R rated. Scary Stories to tell in the dark set out to be scary as hell, and I personally think they are more scary than goosebumps. Goosebumps, and Harry Potter are also way more popular and still constantly being read by kids, where as the only people I ever hear talk about Scary stories to Tell in the dark are adults. Hell even @Box has read this, and he doesn’t read anything.

Scary Stories to tell in the dark set out to be scary as hell

Scary as hell for 12 year olds yes, not 18 year olds. So yes, I still beg to differ. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was a collection of stories for slightly older kids and it still is today. I read a few to my 7 year old only recently. Therefore the movie should be aimed at the same age group. If you want something R rated, you have the recent Pet Semetary and It: Chapter 2 is coming up which I am sure will deliver. Why should kids miss out on scary movies.

I’m not saying they should be missing out. I’m saying as someone who grew up reading these, I think they missed and opportunity to cater to their original audience. And Pet Sematary (2019) shouldn’t even be considered horror. They did terrible, and it was so slow. But as a fan of the series, I think they should have done better. And just because you read some of the stories to your kids does not make it popular with kids now days. I still stand by my statement that goosebumps is more suited for kids as being made into pg-13 horro. Scary stories to tell in the dark would have benefited way better if it was rare r

Skip to 02:45. Kind of shares both our points!

Okay. I will look at it later! Thanks for sharing!

Am I the only one who has never heard of these books?

The were noteworthy because the artwork was creepy as hell for their intended audience of little kids. Just look at some of the illustrations and imagine seeing these as a kid:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Stephen+Gammell

Probably.