Director André Øvredal Loves to Tell SCARY STORIES

The director of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark speaks on making the film, the political subtext, and the current state of horror cinema.

By: Josh McCormack

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing the director of one of the great surprises of this past summer movie season, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. 

Norwegian filmmaker André Øvredal has made his name in genre filmmaking with the cult found footage film from 2010, Trollhunter to the critically acclaimed 2016 horror mystery, The Autopsy of Jane Doe.

Most recently he has found success in his biggest project to date, the Guillermo Del Toro produced adaption of Alvin Schwartz's popular YA novels, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. With a budget of $25 million, the film has now grossed over $85 million worldwide. With numbers like this, a new fantasy film due next year and a Stephen King adaption already in development, all eyes should be on Mr. Øvredal. 

Over the course of our conversation, André spoke about his cinematic influences, his working relationship with Guillermo Del Toro and how horror cinema has changed over the years amongst a great number of other things.

Below is the full interview with André. Please excuse some minor sound issues around the mid-point, this was recorded in a short period of time over Skype.

Enjoy!: