A malicious witch holds a preteen boy hostage in the children’s horror film “Nightbooks.” Alex, the character portrayed by Winslow Fegley, is an intelligent young man who enjoys composing terrifying stories. Alex renounces the hobby at the film’s opening, which has been released on Netflix, fearful that it will turn him into a freak show.
On his way to burn his notebooks, Alex is drawn into Natacha’s, the character portrayed by Krysten Ritter’s enchanted apartment, where she threatens to murder him unless he tells her a new story every night. Natacha’s house is both a dark and menacing jail and a Victorian wonderland for Alex.
The fans will also get to see a magnificent library, a magical garden, or a unicorn woodland if they go through the appropriate door. Alex quickly befriends Yasmin, the character played by Lidya Jewett, who is another youngster being held captive in space, and the Hansel and Gretel duo plots their escape together.
Whether to Stream or Skip Nightbooks?
Kids will love to watch this horror movie, as we’ve seen that most movies that are made for kids do not have horror as their main theme. Nightbooks is actively dealing with some old stories and fairy tales, interestingly, not the ones we generally define as horror, but ones that are terrifying when you think about them.
While the numerous underlying texts are clear, Nightbooks cleverly employs its classic literary framework without straying too far from the tried-and-true tale ideas of 1,001 Arabian Nights or Hansel and Gretel to lose its uniqueness. It also helps that much of the film’s distinctiveness comes from the great art direction, production design, and costuming, rather than the tale itself.
While Natacha is the clearest example of this complex world-building, it is incorporated into the universe she inhabits and controls. Parents can watch the movie with their kids to teach them that life has difficulties and can be overcome by having faith and hope.
What’s the Nightbooks All About?
It’s a terrific notion for a scary fairy tale, as Brightburn director David Yarovesky brings Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis’ story to existence, and for a movie that seems to be aimed at younger audiences or at least stars two of them, and it has some truly terrifying parts.
Moreover, there’s no surprise that Evil Dead horror master Sam Raimi has produced the flick. There’s a shot with candy-colored projectile vomit that feels like Evil Dead but no spoilers. In addition, the film is chock-full of jump scares. These horrors aren’t quite on the same level as Yarovesky’s superhero horror Brightburn, but they’ll catch you off guard.
As a film about crafting terrifying stories, Nightbooks pays special attention to their extensive history and the essence of what makes a good one. Finally, while the film’s tone can be grim at times, Nightbooks’ set design is stunning, with much of the action taking place in a colossal library complete with spiral stairs and cobwebbed books.
Also, there’s a glowing “night nursery” for magical plants that are ideal for splattering glowing splatters all over the place, a wonderfully familiar-looking mansion you might have read about, and even a pink, shimmering prison at one point. It’s the most delectable-looking cell you’ll ever see on a computer screen.
