It’s 1968 in America. Change is blowing in the wind…but seemingly far removed from the unrest in the cities is the small town of Mill Valley, where, for generations, the shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large. It is in their mansion on the edge of town that Sarah (Kathleen Pollard), a young girl with horrible secrets, turned her tortured life into a series of scary stories, written in a book that has transcended time. For a group of teenagers who discover Sarah’s terrifying home, the stories become all too real in this spine-tingling film.
You can read our original review of the film by Tom Moore here.
I took the time to watch through all of the special features to see what was worth watching and what wasn’t. Ultimately, the bonus features are all a lot of fun, with the exception of the Mood Reels, which I didn’t quite understand the purpose of. I thought I would share a little about my favorite features you will be taking home with you today.
4K UHD / BLU-RAY / DIGITAL SPECIAL FEATURES
- “The Bellows Construct” Featurette
- “Creature from the Shadows” Featurette
- “Mood Reels” Featurette
- “Behind-the-Scenes Trailers: Set Visits” Featurette
- “Dark Tales” Featurette
- “Retro Horror” Featurette
The “Creature from the Shadows” featurette gives you a look behind the scenes at how the book’s art was brought to life with makeup and FX. As a personal fan of the books, the FX artists did an incredible job recreating the frightening characters—especially the Pale Woman. This is, by far, the best special feature on the disk.
The “Bellows Construct” explains how the story was brought together and how the set was created. It is actually really neat to see how they took this beautiful house and made it look old and decrepit. The mental institution they used to film was apparently an actual haunted building, so you get to hear a few stories about that as well.
The “Dark Tales” featurette takes a look at the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books and their effect on the horror world. On a personal note, I think the books helped open a lot of people up to the world of horror. The stories and creepy art work terrified us all as children and many of us still enjoy them as adults.
This movie is a must-have for any fan of the Alvin Schwartz books. The excellent bonus features are just that—a bonus. Go grab your copy today and enjoy a little late Halloween treat.
