SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK Movie Coming from SAW Writers
When I was growing up there was an insanely creepy series of books called Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Some of you might remember them. They included some pretty jacked up stories and some nightmarish images that are burned into my memory. For those of you who need a refresher, click here!
I'm excited to report that CBS Films is going to develop a big screen adaptation of the series! The studio picked up a pitch by Saw writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, who will adapt the Alvin Schwartz book series for the big screen.
According to Deadline, the writers will "adapt some of the Scary short stories into a screenplay about a group of outcast kids who stand up to their fears to save their town when nightmares come to life."
I personally think that's the wrong way to adapt these books. These stories are perfect material for a horror anthology film. They could pick five different stories, adapt them for the big screen and have different directors take on each one. They could turn it into a franchise, kind of like the V/H/S horror franchise. It would also stay truer to the spirit of the book.
Who knows though, maybe the story they come up with will be good. I just think there is a better way to do it. What do you think about the way they are adapting it? Do you have any better ideas?
Schwartz collected the Scary Stories tales from folklore and urban legend. The three-book children’s series, which has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide, began with 1981′s Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark and continued with More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (1984) and Scary Stories 3: More Tales To Chill Your Bones (1991).