New ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ Trailer Looks Legitimately Terrifying

The world of streaming has made horror more accessible to younger audiences, so it makes sense that a studio might be willing to take a chance on a real-deal horror movie aimed at pre-teens. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is based on a classic short story collection that terrified virtually every child of the 80s, and now a new generation will get to deal with these haunting and downright terrifying tales.

Guillermo del Toro is on board as both a co-writer and producer, with Norwegian filmmaker André Øvredal (Trollhunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe) directing. This gives the film some serious horror pedigree and this new trailer indicates that this is a step-up from the likes of Goosebumps, which is appropriate given that the book is basically the same.

While you could convince me that this might get slapped with an R-rating, I think they'll stay just below the line and secure a PG-13. After all, kids do have to be able to get in to see this thing, it's not like streaming where you can just steal your parents' password and watch whatever you want. Not that kids do that.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark hits theaters on August 9.