10 Amazing Trailers That Tricked You Into Seeing Terrible Horror Movies
3. Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was at one point poised to be the next IT.
With a similar throwback setting, young cast and fantasy framing, all of the ingredients were there. Also based on a series of books, the filmmakers had plenty of material to pick from, with some particularly gruesome ghouls and ghosts waiting to be plucked from the page and implanted on the big screen.
The first trailer didn't disappoint either. It effectively set up the central premise of the storybook monsters coming to life, and the glimpses of said monsters also highlighted just how creative the filmmakers were getting with the designs.
Unfortunately, the film itself didn't have the bite promised by the trailer. The dynamics of the young characters felt too familiar, the scares were lacking in creativity, while the plot ran in circles before fizzling out into a shrug.
Hampered by poor CGI effects, the horror of the monsters was undercut at almost every step as well. While some were still memorable in spite of this, it didn't help the whole effort feel like a missed opportunity.