Nightbooks
A dark fantasy film about a boy trapped by a witch.
Nightbooks is a 2021 American dark fantasy film. David Yarovesky directed it, and Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis wrote the screenplay. It is based on a 2018 children's book by J. A. White. The cast includes Winslow Fegley, Lidya Jewett, and Krysten Ritter. Netflix released the film on September 15, 2021.
The story follows Alex Mosher, a boy from Brooklyn who loves writing scary stories. After overhearing his parents worry about him, he destroys his room and takes his notebooks to the basement furnace. The elevator stops on a strange floor, where he enters an apartment, eats pumpkin pie, and passes out. He wakes up in the home of Natacha, a witch who keeps a closet of children's clothes. When Alex shows her his stories, she forces him to read a new one each night or die. He works with Yasmin, a girl trapped as a housekeeper. The apartment moves around the world, and only Natacha's keys open its doors. Her cat, Lenore, spies on them.
Natacha demands unhappy endings; if Alex fails, the apartment shakes. Searching for inspiration, he finds notes in books from a girl he calls "Unicorn Girl," who planned escapes. Alex and Yasmin befriend Lenore. Yasmin reveals that Natacha turned other children into figurines. Alex realizes Unicorn Girl escaped. They use a sleeping potion on Natacha, steal her keys, and enter a forest, but it is still inside the apartment. An evil unicorn leads them to a gingerbread cottage. They eat it and fall unconscious. Alex wakes to find Yasmin and Lenore caged. Natacha reveals she was Unicorn Girl: she escaped a witch, returned home to find her parents gone, studied witchcraft, and used scary stories to keep the witch asleep. Alex's stories help her harvest magic. The room shakes; the witch will wake if the story ends happily. Alex tells his own painful story of being called weird and losing friends. He ends with a happy note about finding friends in Yasmin and Lenore. This wakes the witch. While the witches fight, Yasmin grabs Natacha's perfume bottle, and they flee. The witch chases them to Alex's basement. Alex tricks her into reaching into a furnace, and they push her in. Alex introduces Yasmin and Lenore to his parents. Yasmin later gives Alex a notebook signed "Stay weird storyteller. Yas." A figurine in Natacha's cabinet cracks, and her laughter is heard.
Quick Facts
- Director
- David Yarovesky
- Screenplay
- Mikki Daughtry / Tobias Iaconis
- Based On
- Nightbooks · J. A. White
- Producer
- Sam Raimi / Romel Adam / Mason Novick / Michelle Knudsen
- Starring
- Winslow Fegley / Lidya Jewett / Krysten Ritter
- Cinematography
- Robert McLachlan
- Editing
- Peter Gvozdas
- Music
- Michael Abels
- Studio
- Ghost House Pictures / MXN Entertainment / Catchlight Studios
- Distributor
- Netflix
- Released
- 15 September 2021
- Runtime
- 103 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film follows Alex Mosher, a young boy from Brooklyn who, after overhearing his parents' concerns about his obsession with scary stories, trashes his room and takes his Nightbooks to the basement to burn them. The elevator stops on a dark floor, and he enters an apartment where he eats pumpkin pie and passes out, awakening in the magical apartment of a witch named Natacha. She demands he read a new scary story each night or die, and he works alongside a trapped girl named Yasmin. The apartment moves around the world, and Natacha's cat Lenore spies on them. Alex discovers notes from a previous captive he calls Unicorn Girl, who he later learns is Natacha herself. Natacha had escaped the original witch, studied witchcraft, and now uses Alex's stories to keep that witch unconscious while harvesting her magic. Alex ultimately tells a story with a happy ending, waking the witch, and after a struggle, he, Yasmin, and Lenore escape, pushing the witch into a furnace. Alex introduces Yasmin and Lenore to his parents, and Yasmin is reunited with her family.
Reader's Guide
Nightbooks serves as a gateway horror film for younger audiences, blending familiar tropes with creative fantasy elements. The film's reception was generally favorable, with an 87% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews, and a Metacritic score of 65 out of 100, indicating generally favorable reviews. Critics noted that while the film's contents may be busy and overly familiar, it offers fun and fairly scary horror for younger viewers. Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting gave it three out of five stars, praising its back half for bringing gateway horror fun and calling it silly, whimsical, and creative with charming leads. The film was produced by Sam Raimi and Romel Adam through Ghost House Pictures, and by Mason Novick and Michelle Knudsen through MXN Entertainment. Principal photography took place in Toronto from October 14 to December 17, 2020.
Did You Know?
- The film is based on the 2018 children's book by J. A. White.
- The apartment in the film moves around the world, seeking victims.
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