Nightbooks

Name: Nightbooks
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Family
Released: September 15, 2021
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 65
Cast: Eden Gjoka, Jess Brown, Khiyla Aynne, Krysten Ritter, Liam Couvion

2021

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 5 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Ratings

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5.6

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5.6	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Ratings

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Nightbooks

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Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): September 15, 2021 | Not Rated

Starring: Eden Gjoka, Jess Brown, Khiyla Aynne, Krysten Ritter, Liam Couvion, Lidya Jewett, Luxton Handspiker, Miley Haik, Taylor Belle Puterman, Winslow Fegley

Summary: 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.

Director: David Yarovesky

Genre(s): Fantasy, Horror, Family

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 100 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Tara Bennett

Sep 16, 2021

By story’s end, I was happy to spend time in this original story that treats younger audiences, and the horror genre, with respect. Read full review

Scott Tobias

Sep 15, 2021

Its whimsical touches, along with a reverence for creative young minds, gives the film a warmth that counterbalances its shocks. Read full review

Natalia Winkelman

Sep 15, 2021

Its devotion to frights makes it memorable. Read full review

Matt Fowler

Sep 15, 2021

Krysten Ritter, along with Winslow Fegley and Lidya Jewett, provide enough pizazz to keep Nightbooks afloat, creating an engaging supernatural hostage scenario. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Sep 16, 2021

Throwing a lot of production design at the limp stories within this recycled tale doesn’t make it look or play scary. It just makes it loud and expensive looking. Read full review

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User Reviews

thiago777

Nov 2, 2021

movie is good and Lidya Jewett is beautiful and works very well

filme é bom e Lidya Jewett é linda e trabalha muito bem

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ResetButton

Sep 25, 2021

This is the best “kids” horror movie in years. All these negative reviews are coming from people who aren’t the target audience. The movie is too intense for anyone under 6, but if you’re looking for a good Halloween spooky movie that the entire family can watch, check it out. It goes upThis is the best “kids” horror movie in years. All these negative reviews are coming from people who aren’t the target audience. The movie is too intense for anyone under 6, but if you’re looking for a good Halloween spooky movie that the entire family can watch, check it out. It goes up there with The Witches (1990) and Gremlins for PG horror movies.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

HellHoleHorror

Feb 16, 2022

There are some really terrifying scenes but only once it feels like it goes too far for a younger audience. The near-perfect technical side of the production is only let down by some unconvincing cat CGI. Acting was excellent. Really great casting. Love the story and how it was told. TheThere are some really terrifying scenes but only once it feels like it goes too far for a younger audience. The near-perfect technical side of the production is only let down by some unconvincing cat CGI. Acting was excellent. Really great casting. Love the story and how it was told. The creative side of the production was only let down by some uneven pacing in the first half where it occasionally lost our attention. This is a great family horror, if you can take it! I loved the subtle The Evil Dead (1981) references.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

TheQuietGamer

Sep 27, 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 actorHorror 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.

7.5/10… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

JLuis_001

Sep 16, 2021

I admit that its tone is darker than I expected, and that gives it a bit more personality, but it cannot escape the rules of the young audience to which it's aimed at.

It might not be for simple kids, but it doesn't do anything out of the ordinary either. Krysten Ritter was good enough andI admit that its tone is darker than I expected, and that gives it a bit more personality, but it cannot escape the rules of the young audience to which it's aimed at.

It might not be for simple kids, but it doesn't do anything out of the ordinary either.

Krysten Ritter was good enough and the two lead kids are fine, and that's pretty much it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Sejusa

Sep 17, 2021

Quite boring and pointless.
For children, yes, but if not, you will not be able to endure the whole movie

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

MetacriticOnur

Sep 15, 2021

bad
[ bad ]

adjective, worse, worst;(Slang) bad·der, bad·dest for 36.
not good in any manner or degree.

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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