Horror may have come full circle with the slate of remakes and adaptations that have been released during the last few years, but it is still a genre that strives to find new heights by capitalizing on the latest politics, technologies, or whatever is on people’s lips at the time. But in 2020, filmmaker Josh Ruben, known for his recent Valentine’s Day horror Heart Eyes, directs and stars in a film that turns the magnifying glass onto the genre itself. Instead of looking for the latest and greatest thing, he strips the genre to its bare bones and hones in on the creative process, resulting in the utterly gripping, fresh, and must-watch movie, Scare Me.
It’s a film that has gone somewhat under the radar and definitely deserves an audience, especially as Ruben is joined on-screen by Aya Cash and Chris Redd to give the most theatrical yet creepy performances. Armed with a meta tone, an eerie style, and a well-timed power outage, the film isn’t what we expected from a self-aware horror piece, but it’s what we needed. If anything, Scare Me clutches at the essence of why we watch horror movies while being a love letter to the people behind them — sort of.
What Is Shudder’s ‘Scare Me’ About?
The film opens up with Fred (Ruben), a struggling writer, director, and actor, who books a remote cabin to stick his head down and write his next big script. After an infinitely awkward and unwelcome conversation with the taxi driver, he locks himself into his cabin and starts his writing process, one that involves a lot of growling to himself, just a hint of what’s to come. After a dismally unsuccessful writing session, he goes on a jog the next day and meets his neighbor, Fanny (Cash), an acclaimed horror novelist working on her next project.
That night, a blackout causes Fanny to seek shelter and company at Fred’s cabin, and despite their initial icy meeting, they eventually “bond” over their shared love for horror. They challenged each other to tell scary stories, but the catch was, they had to act them out as well. Throughout the night, they take turns performing improvised and creative takes on classic horror tropes, and are briefly joined by their pizza delivery driver (Redd), but the seemingly innocent and fun time soon takes a darker edge.
‘Scare Me’ Strips Back the Horror Genre in a Self-Aware and Engaging Way
Considering Scare Me nails nearly every horror trope on the head during the pair’s stories, it would be easy for the film to become cluttered and messy, but instead, it goes in the complete opposite direction. For the majority of the film, it is pared back to a two-people-talking-in-one-room kind of feel, with the two central characters only relying on their voices, bodies, and domestic surroundings to craft their diverse stories that feature ideas from werewolves to edible gift baskets. The discrepancy between the bare-boned, rustic surroundings and their fantastical tales is bridged by their animated storytelling, and that’s what makes this contrast so unexpectedly captivating. Even the film’s sound design stems from the characters’ vocal effects, making it feel more than a benign campfire story.
The film’s stripped-genre feel is also rounded out by a witty self-awareness and self-reflexivity that engages with the creative process behind horror storylines. All horror fans know that tropes pave the way to some of the genre’s greatest hits, and it’s not a crime to use them as long as you use them well. Fanny very clearly points this out to Fred as she pokes a million tiny holes in his ideas and urges him to pivot, creating fresh and sometimes wacky twists in each tale. So, just like the duo, the film indulges in the most classic and absurd horror tropes while re-inventing them in this minimalistic storytelling style we haven’t really seen much before. It’s not necessarily a criticism of the horror genre, but a meta approach that reminds us to appreciate the minds behind every idea.
Ruben and Cash Make a Dynamic Improv Duo in ‘Scare Me’
Naturally, Scare Me hinges on Ruben and Cash’s ability to scare us with their performances, and they absolutely do. As they sweep around the house with expressive faces and wild gestures, it is very easy to forget that they’re just in an old cabin rather than the world they paint. The improv-styled performance shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise if you knew Ruben beforehand, since he is a comedian and excels in this horror-comedy blend, which is also his directorial feature debut. Cash’s sarcastic, dry, and sometimes demeaning performance also pairs perfectly with Ruben’s more desperate-to-impress one, leading to fun back-and-forth banter. And when Redd enters the film briefly, he slips into their dynamic seamlessly, adding to the absurd atmosphere.
Their performances and dynamics are why the minimalist style of the production works so well, giving zeal to what could’ve easily been an arbitrary discussion about the creative process behind writing. Instead, whenever flaws are pointed out or when they dramatically pause their storytelling to pick a different creative direction, it doesn’t feel jarring but adds to the strange immersion of the film. Show-stopping is really the only word to describe their presence on the screen, where, at the end, you feel like screaming for an encore to hear the next tidbit of a familiar set of horror tropes twisted into an uncanny, theatrical experience.
Sure, there are parts of Scare Me that do try to reach for wider commentary on how the genre and industry treat certain demographics, with Ruben himself stepping into a caricature of what not to be at times, but these parts are definitely not why you should watch the movie. All thoughts of subtext will disappear the second the next tale of woe begins, whether that be zombie apocalypses or singers who make deals with the devil. The metaphorical spotlight that shines squarely on Fred and Fanny’s faces and storytelling will eclipse your entire attention, immersing us in a white-knuckled romp into all the many reasons we flock to horror and the brilliant minds behind the films.
Scare Me is available to stream on Shudder in the U.S.
- Release Date
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January 24, 2020
- Runtime
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104 minutes
- Director
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Josh Ruben
- Producers
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Brian Steinberg, Philip Erdoes, Steve Stodghill, David Kiger, Daniel Powell, Tucker Voorhees
