I'm Krysten Ritter, and I play Natacha in "Nightbooks," a movie all about scary stories.
"Did you say...scary stories?"
That's exactly what I said, Natacha.
"Nightbooks" is a fun and terrifying mashup of the fairy tales that kids love, but there
are also a lot of details that only adults will notice.
"Do try to keep your eyes open.
I would hate to have to start over."
﻿One of Alex's favorite movies -- and mine too -- is the classic 1987 horror-comedy "The Lost Boys."
One of my favorite movies ever.
He likes it so much that he lets it lure him into the supernatural apartment.
"The Lost Boys" ﻿follows brothers Michael and Sam Emerson, who get involved with a crew
of teenage vampires living in their California beach town.
And Michael unwittingly becomes a half-vampire.
So Sam teams up with another pair of brothers, Edgar and Alan Frog -- the Frog brothers -- to
try and defeat the bloodsuckers before they can turn Michael into a full-on creature of the night.
The use of "The Lost Boys" in "Nightbooks" is no coincidence, because there are similarities
between the two films woven into "Nightbooks."
Alex is a kid who discovers a secret horror plot happening right under his nose.
And he knows everything about horror, just like the vampire-hunting Frog brothers.
Can I also say that The Lost Boys is a film that has an iconic, epic soundtrack, and we
may or may not have a song from The Lost Boys in the movie.
I wear some truly over-the-top fantastic costumes in "Nightbooks," including gloves with long,
razor-sharp fingernails.
While kids watching the movie might not know who else preys on children with these clawed
hands, parents definitely do: Freddy Krueger.
Kruger, as we all know is the villain from "A Nightmare on Elm Street.''
Freddy, as played by Robert Englund, is the malevolent spirit of a serial killer, one
who enters the dreams of children and teenagers and brutally murders them.
His signature weapon is a leather glove with these, like, steel blades.
Natacha's gloves aren't exactly like Freddy's of course, and they're not like crazy steel
blades, but among so many references to '80s horror and those movies we love you can't
help but notice the similarity.
﻿Natacha's hairless, invisible cat is pretty antagonistic at the start of the movie.
[farting]
But eventually she becomes a critical part of Alex and Yasmin's escape.
Even if you didn't predict that change in loyalty, you might have picked up the meaning
behind the cat's name.
"And the Grim Reaper's dog laughs at the carnage.”
“The Grim Reaper doesn't have a pet.
Isn't that right, Lenore?"
The name Lenore comes straight from Edgar Allen Poe's famous poem "The Raven" -- the
protagonist is grieving the loss of his beloved Lenore.
There's no direct connection between Poe's Lenore and Lenore the cat, but it's a nice
nod to the godfather of horror.
When Alex tells stories from his nightbooks, they play out in a visual style that's very
different from the rest of the movie.
It's very creative and artistic and has a very sort of heightened stylistic aesthetic
that I love so much.
"Give me a minute to get settled, honestly."
The stories have a dreamlike feel, with jerky, grainy images, and it's meant to look like
the celluloid film of an old silent movie.
These sequences are tributes to German Expressionism, an artistic movement that flourished in between
World War I and World War II.
Film fans might also notice the clever use of moody shadows and fog on unnatural sets
that reminds us of classic horror films, like "The Night of the Hunter."
"Nightbooks" is produced by Sam Raimi, one of the all-time great horror directors.
Sure, Raimi is also super popular for directing the original "Spider-Man" trilogy, but he
made a big name for himself with the "Evil Dead" franchise.
The films follow the misadventures of Ash Williams after he and his friends accidentally
unleash an ancient demon at a secluded cabin.
"Groovy"
These are the kinds of '80s horror movies that Alex loves.
However, Raimi has done more horror than just "Evil Dead."
When Alex and Yasmin battle the witch, the scene might remind adults of Sam Raimi's horror-comedy
cult favorite "Drag Me to Hell."
Both films have moments that are tense, funny, and gross at the same time.
"Sorry!"
Thank you for joining me, and be sure to watch "Nightbooks," now on Netflix.