Nightbooks is now on Netflix.
If you have a tween, this David Yarovesky and Sam Raimi’s film adaptation of J.A. White’s children’s book of the same name will most likely be the movie that turns them into horror fans or scares the bejesus out of them, more on that later.
This film stars Winslow Fegley as Alex, Lidya Jewett as Yasmin, and Krysten Ritter as the witch aka Natacha.
About Nightbooks:
When Alex (Winslow Fegley), a boy obsessed with scary stories, is trapped by an evil witch (Krysten Ritter) in her magical apartment and must tell a scary story every night to stay alive, he teams up with another prisoner, Yasmin (Lidya Jewett), to find a way to escape.
The movie starts with Alex, running off in a tizzy and ending up in front of an open apartment door where he sees a table with a slice of pie and a glowing tv playing the movie The Lost Boys, this alone had my attention and without giving the rest of it away, The Lost Boys will pop up again in another way later on.
The apartment, unbeknownst to Alex, is magical and it lured him inside on purpose. This is where we meet the Gothy/raver like Krysten Ritter as Natacha the Witch and her evil little naked disappearing kitty, Lenore. We find out that Natacha wants Alex to read her a scary story every night or else suffer the consequences, which to save his hide, he agrees to, especially since he writes stories already in his Nightbooks.
Alex realizes that there is no escaping the evil witch, and upon looking around the apartment he runs into Yasmin who is also stuck in the apartment. They don’t get off to a great start but after time, they band together to figure out a way to get out of the apartment.
This is not a spoiler-type review, but I will tell you that this movie is dark. The whole feel and look of the movie is dark and it deals with some dark topics. There are also some really scary scenes that will most likely scare a younger viewer, in fact, I am pretty sure it will, especially at two specific spots: the night garden scene chock full of creepy critters and where you learn of the twist. I would highly suggest viewing it beforehand to see if it’s right for your child.
Overall, I, who loves all things dark and spooky, really enjoyed it. I loved Ritter’s portrayal of Natacha and the twist. I also really loved the references to The Lost Boys, and to the Evil Dead (I’ll let you try and figure out that one).
Nightbooks is now streaming, so check it out and let me know what you thought.