Where are the scary things are?

[{"displayPrice":"$11.00","priceAmount":11.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"11","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"e6kohDaddQEypDAaN3ONMs1UVhwuq6XQPQ9u5yaBJeIsm3XYUX4hDvFW79snZVB3LAYDBhMYUpErs8028TdHghuIjnGBz561P90mhmTXL1iXs88zNgAl7yCr2mKSSixMY%2FfyU1RBfsgTDeKIu5uxQw%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"}]

Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Details

${cardName} not available for the seller you chose

${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}.

Your transaction is secure

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

In the first few minutes of Where the Scary Things Are I thought the title referred to Ayla (Selina Flanscha, The Night Time World) the perenially snarling leader of a clique of high school kids called The Dockers that includes Scribble (Oliver Givens, All I Want for Christmas), Bran (Quinn Andrew Fickes, All I Want for Christmas), Snack (Peter Cote, All I Want for Christmas), and Mighty (Riley Sullivan). And in a sense I was right.

After being given the assignment to create their own urban legend they sneak back into the amusement park and find out that not all urban legends are false. They discover Lockjaw, the semi-human serial killer that supposedly haunts the area and turn the creature…

Where the Scary Things Are is a new film that follows a group of teens, who were motivated to “make their ideal urban legend” through a curriculum at their high school titled “Create Your Own Urban Legend,” rapidly go out of control in their pursuit of more “likes,” which leads to fatal outcomes.

B. Harrison Smith wrote, co-produced, and directed the film (The Special; Death House). Phillip B. Goldfine, Doug Henderson, Matt Nease, Chad Oliver, and Tom Van Herwarde collaborated on the production.

Starring: Michael Cervantes, Peter Cote, Quinn Andrew Fickes, Oliver Givens, Selina Flanscha, and Emma Lim. Paul Cottman and Michael Cervantes star in the movie, which has a runtime of 1 hour 34 minutes.

At first the film was giving off the ‘ IT ‘ remake vibes or perhaps even Stranger Things where the film is following a group of friends but in a more modern setting, but it really went off track from that setting early into the movie. Instead of being characters that are good spirited and likeable they are the opposite the kind that are not likeable and irritate you.

After being assigned the task of developing their very own urban legend, the group manages to sneak back into the amusement park and discovers that not all urban tales are completely untrue. They make a semi-human serial murderer that is said to haunt the area known as Lockjaw, and a video of the creature becomes popular on the internet as a result of their discovery. But in order to keep the buzz going and the likes coming in, they have to produce videos that are progressively revolting. Because of this, many end up losing their lives.

Building on the local urban legend of Lockjaw the group in Where the Scary Things Are ventures out to create their own monster, there own urban legend but wait… the movie drags on and on with little to no captivating moments.

See also  Should You Watch Smile (2022)? Movie Review

You could tell the film wanted me to feel sorry for the group rather than pity them as Lockjaw sprinted after them through the park. But the film already missed it’s mark by the time the action started I was disengaged from the movie waiting for it to end.

This review of Where the Scary Things Are may seem to be lackluster and short, but in all reality there is nothing to say I was not a fan of the film, with an overall feeling of all being done before and overall a feeling of being a Stranger Things rip off where the only difference is the characters are unlikeable. The movie is boring and dragged out with to much time spent on developing shallow characters.

On the 28th of June 2022, Where the Scary Things Are will be released on digital and disc format for home viewing.

In the first few minutes of Where the Scary Things Are I thought the title referred to Ayla (Selina Flanscha, The Night Time World) the perenially snarling leader of a clique of high school kids called The Dockers that includes Scribble (Oliver Givens, All I Want for Christmas), Bran (Quinn Andrew Fickes, All I Want for Christmas), Snack (Peter Cote, All I Want for Christmas), and Mighty (Riley Sullivan). And in a sense I was right.

After being given the assignment to create their own urban legend they sneak back into the amusement park and find out that not all urban legends are false. They discover Lockjaw, the semi-human serial killer that supposedly haunts the area and turn the creature into a viral video sensation. But to keep the hype, and the likes flowing they have to create increasingly nastier videos. And that eventually turns deadly.

Where the Scary Things Are’s publicity refers to it as “Stand by Me or The Goonies with a deliciously dark twist” but one big difference was already abundantly clear by the ten-minute mark. The kids in those films were supposed to be likable, These ones are varying shades of obnoxious and evil right from the start.

Watching Bran sitting in the car shrieking at his mother I seriously wanted her to slap him till he shut up. That, followed by Max’s (Asher Ruppert, High School Crimes & Misdemeanors) father mentioning that they’ve been videotaping and blackmailing other students, followed by a scene of Scribble actually blackmailing a teacher confirms it. These kids aren’t misunderstood or loveable outcasts, they’re a bunch of budding psychopaths being led by a female Manson wannabe.

Writer/director B. Harrison Smith’s previous films have been something of a mixed bag, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Where the Scary Things Are. Most, like Death House and ZK: Elephant’s Graveyard aren’t exactly fan favourites. But The Special is a wonderful mix of nastiness and jet-black humour. The main difference seems to be that he didn’t write that one.

But he did write this and it seems to confirm that while he can write a good non-fiction book his strengths as a filmmaker lies in the visual aspects of the medium. Where the Scary Things Are has plenty of great-looking scenes and a creature that looks like Return of the Living Dead’s Tarman on steroids. But it’s wasted on a story revolving around a bunch of unlikable assholes. If you’re going to make the bad guys the focus of the film, they have to be interesting, The Dockers are just mean little shits taken to the next level. And the ham-handed attempts at making Ayla some kind of jailbait temptress are the wrong kind of gross.

By the time one of the group develops a conscience and tries to do something Where the Scary Things Are is well past the point of saving. By the time the creature finally turns on its tormentors I was so zoned out that even seeing them get what was coming to them didn’t interest me. Maybe if the film had managed to include some gory effects or made the deaths more horrific. Instead, it seemed to want me to feel bad for them, especially Ayla as Lockjaw chases her through the park.

You can add Where the Scary Things Are to the long list of films involving YouTube, influencers and viral videos that turned out to be utter failures. The way this one is misadvertised is just adding insult to injury.

Lionsgate will release Where the Scary Things Are on DVD, VOD and Digital platforms on June 28th. It’s telling that they mention duds like Zero Contact and Mid-Century on their site, but not this film. And if that’s not quite what you’re looking for, FilmTagger has a few alternative selections.

Where is the scary things are?

Is Where the Scary Things Are a good movie?

Is Where the Scary Things Are ok for kids?

How long is Where the Scary Things Are?