R.L. Stine’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark creeped out an entire generation of young readers, but it’s taken almost four decades for a film adaptation to hit the big screen. So who is this new film for? The now considerably older adults who have a fond, if fearful nostalgia of the books? Or a new crop of budding horror fans that may not be allowed out past curfew? Producer Guillermo del Toro (Pacific Rim, Pan’s Labyrinth) and director André Øvredal (Troll Hunters) joined IGN during Comic Con 2019 to give us the answer.
“It’s PG-13, number one,” del Toro said. “The other thing that is important is we’re trying to capture the same audience as the books. These books have now entertained three generations. A lot of fathers know that the stories are campfire stories basically. They have a factor of fun. None of them are gory. They’re all creepy. They all have a humorous slant or very human. So we’re trying to cultivate the same PG-13, but spooky and fun.”
Source: IGN.com Del Toro Answers How Mature Scary Stories Movie Really Is