Review of Nightbooks (2021) by Thequietgamer — 27 Sep 2021

Horror for the whole family! I think the most impressive part of the movie for me is its opening. In a brief scene we are introduced to the young protagonist's struggle with fitting in and making friends entirely through the emotions being displayed by the incredibly talented child actor Winslow Fegley and the story being told in the environment. It stands out to me because it subtly lets the viewers know what's going via their own intuitions, rather than simply spelling it out for them the way any other film with kids in mind would. It also means Nightbooks wastes no time in getting going, as immediately after we see the character thrust into supernatural enslavement to a sadistic witch.

What follows is admittedly not always as interesting. While the surprisingly frightening dark fantasy imagery and legitimate life-or-death stakes the middle school aged leads face ultimately kept me engaged until the credits rolled, I'd be lying if I said my attention didn't drift towards my phone during the actual plotting until the next big set piece kicked in. That's because the script is full of clichés which can be seen in its rather generic "stay true to yourself" message or really in the character of Yazmin as a whole.

The biggest problem though might be Krysten Ritter. The former Jessica Jones star is having a bit too much fun hamming it up in her villainous role. Her exaggerated performance and the fact that she herself is just so darn sexy prevent her from ever being a menacing presence. A big difference from what we saw from Anne Hathaway a little less than a year prior.

Still, while this may not have anything on Robert Zemeckis' remake of The Witches, if you're looking for something to bring the entire house together this Halloween season Nightbooks is one of the better options out there. Largely because of its little flourishes, such as the inclusion of Chvrches' beautiful cover of The Lost Boys theme song "Cry Little Sister" (the vampiric cult classic is acknowledged multiple times throughout), that make it clear director David Yarovesky is just as interested in pandering to the adults in the audience as he is in providing poop and barf gags for the kids watching.

7.