Nightbooks, directed by David Yarovesky and written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis, is an adaptation of the children's book by J.A. White. The film follows Alex (Winslow Fegley), a young boy obsessed with scary stories and all things horror until one day, he doubts himself and vows never to write another scary story. This is the same day he is lured in by a witch Natacha (Krysten Ritter) and must write scary stories to survive. Once trapped, he meets up with another kid, Yasmin (Lidya Jewett) who has given up the hopes of escape.
The child-friendly horror is a somewhat rare thing, especially in the realm of movies with films like The House With a Clock in Its Walls and Goosebumps being some of the only somewhat recent releases. Having another addition to this small yet in-demand genre is wonderful. Also, the timing is perfect for parents and children wanting to start celebrating the spooky season. In this house, we celebrate Halloween through all of September and October.
Nightbooks succeeds in its ability to craft fun and scary moments that will keep horror-loving children entertained without going too far. But the biggest success is knowing that horror-loving kids want some amount of fright. So often films in this arena do not go far enough, assuming that any amount of fright is too much for every child.
Nightbooks is produced by Sam Raimi through Ghost House Pictures, and its blend of humor, memorable creature design, and POV forest shots brings to mind Evil Dead II. The scares in Nightbooks are well-crafted and the cinematography of the film captures different eras and styles of horror from the aforementioned Evil Dead style POV shots to silent horror and the art style of Fangoria covers and the nostalgic pull of Creepshow.
