Classic horror motifs are given fresh life in this fun chiller,
set in 1968 Pennsylvania, about a teenage aspiring writer (Zoe Colletti) who,
together with her two best pals (Gabriel Rush and Austin Zajur) and a stranger
(Michael Garza) the trio have just befriended, pay a Halloween-night visit to a
haunted house from which she purloins a tome that turns out to be capable of
unleashing mayhem. As the scribe and the out-of-towner fall for each other,
each character is imperiled in turn when a story about him or her magically is
added to the stolen volume. In adapting a series of books by Alvin Schwartz,
screenwriters and brothers Dan and Kevin Hageman throw in the ghost of a
troubled girl from the turn of the last century for good measure. Director
Andre Ovredal presides over a spirited, often funny collection of eerie urban
legends come to life.
Watch out for: Brief
moments of harsh but bloodless violence, sexual references, a scatological
theme, a few uses of profanity, a handful of milder oaths, occasional crude
language.
Rated: A-III, adults; MPAA:
PG-13
© Arlington Catholic Herald 2019