PopHorror Let's Get Scared
To make a good horror comedy these days, you need a delicate balance between the tension and the humor. If it’s too silly, it takes the audience out of the film and they lose interest in its characters. If it’s too serious, it becomes too heavy for people who don’t like dark horror. A good balance is something that Scare Me does very well. In a time of constant cash-grabs and re-imaginings of already famous properties, Scare Me is a relevant breath of fresh air that’s fun to follow from the opening frame.
Scare Me was written and directed by Josh Ruben (Freddy Derryl 2017), and it’s the story of two writers who are seeking isolation in the mountains to pen their next big projects. Amidst a storm, they get holed up together and decide to scare each other by telling spooky stories to pass the time. This is a classic character study, accentuated by the strength of its writing. These two characters are polar opposites—one an indecisive, sheepish recluse, and the other a headstong but off-beat success story. Josh Ruben also plays the recluse, and Aya Cash (The Wolf of Wall Street 2013) plays the famous writer. Chris Redd (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping 2016) also steals the third act as a friendly, horror-loving pizza guy who brings added comic relief.
The tension of being stranded in a cabin during a storm sounds like it would be hard enough, but the whole thing is heightened by the stylized approach of the stories that the characters tell each other. This is essentially an anthology, like Creepshow (read our retro review here), but what sets it apart is that we never cut away to the stories. It’s a self-told anthology, where the actors reveal their stories live in front of the camera all by themselves. This not only takes a tremendous amount of range and charisma from the actors, but also clever writing to ensure that the long monologues never get old.
But it’s not just the superb acting chops from Ruben and Cash that resonate here; it’s also the chemistry of the two characters. The writing catches them not only as conduits of terror, but in moments of romance and anger as well. The 1:44 runtime cruises by in Scare Me, so much so that you’re hoping for one more story.
Scare Me will go down as one of the freshest, wittiest scripts of 2020, but should also be praised for its ability to maximize minimal resources. This films feels like they could’ve shot it during quarantine, boasting a four person cast and setting most of the film in one location. For something that relies so heavily on long-takes and dialogue, it never gets stale or overstays its welcome. The cinematography is great, even when the camera is pointing at an invisible character that we can’t see.
Scare Me will do a lot more than scare you, it will stay with you long after your television is turned off. It’s available on Shudder right now, and it comes with my highest of recommendations for horror comedy fans.
