SCARE ME (2020)
When HEART EYES dropped earlier this year, I noticed loads of people mentioning WEREWOLVES WITHIN. Both movies are pretty fantastic and directed by Josh Ruben. So, it makes complete sense that they would have very vocal fan bases. However, I also noticed way too many people have not seen Ruben’s debut feature, SCARE ME. The movie that became my personality when I discovered it on Shudder in October 2020. The film that made me realize I don’t hate horror-comedies—I just need them to be smart. The cinematic gem that I watched so many times, and made countless people watch in multiple virtual watch parties during lockdown. This indie darling is that girl, and she deserves your attention immediately. Buckle up because I am about to tell you why you need to call out of work and open Shudder ASAP.
SCARE ME seems simple as hell on the surface. It’s a film where two writers, Fred (Ruben) and Fanny (Aya Cash), stuck inside a cabin, tell each other scary stories during a blackout. However, the summary doesn’t do the film justice because as soon as the two leads finally sit down in this location, the film reveals why it gathered us all here today. It becomes a surprise horror anthology with shades of almost magical realism. This is especially impressive because we never leave the cabin again until the mid-credits scene. The only other person we see during Fanny and Fred’s impromptu writer’s workshop is the enigmatic Carlo (Chris Redd). Otherwise known as horror’s favorite pizza delivery guy. Apparently, that was enough to spin yarn into gold.
One of the many things I love about SCARE ME is that it reminds us that creativity is our greatest asset. With a few cool camera angles, some delightfully timed sound effects, and a spoonful of peanut butter, we are fully immersed in these weird stories. It avoids stitching together different segments and having a larger cast of characters. The script trusts the performers enough to give them this magical playground and let them play. In this way, the film is a love letter to the art of storytelling and the people who master the art form.
By scaling this anthology down to the bare bones, Ruben, who also wrote the script, manages to weave the wraparound story into each segment. This is how SCARE ME avoids another common pitfall most anthologies fall into. It does not struggle to bring it all together later. Instead, each story gives the tension in the cabin more ways to build as the writers interrupt each other.
I knew Cash from You’re the Worst, where I immediately hopped into her fan club. Everyone with internet access is familiar enough with CollegeHumor to wonder why Ruben looks familiar. However, I still was not sold on this movie when I hesitantly hit play that fateful October. After all, too many horror comedies are white guys regurgitating the same offensive jokes in a modern package. Should you state this obvious observation online, you’re met with white guys mansplaining satire and comedy to you. As a Black woman, I spend tons of time wondering what part of punching down is supposed to be funny, as I scream internally. This is why it was refreshing to have SCARE ME tap so many parts of my weird little nerd brain. It felt like a weird feminist love letter to theatre kids and horror nerds. No wonder it became my pandemic comfort movie.
SCARE ME avoids all the horror-comedy sins by making Fred the punching bag. He takes strays for days while we watch the “nice guy” façade slowly fall all night. Beneath the surface, there is a lot of insecurity and toxic masculinity. Fred is jealous of Fanny’s success, but he never actually writes anything. He feels that he deserves her status while his pages remain blank because, like most men, he's broken.
When Fred turns on Fanny and she tells him he’s just a man who thinks he’s good, but knows he’ll never be great, it cuts him deep because it’s the truest thing he has probably ever heard. I live my best life every time I watch her tell Fred to just do the work during this confrontation when the film pulls the rug out from under us. Even while he’s threatening her and she’s scared, she refuses to lie to him. Since they met earlier in the day, Fanny has refused to let Fred hide from the truth.
I know SCARE ME tries to distract us with cinematic magic on an indie budget and Fanny’s iconic sweatshirt. However, the film is even cooler if you look at it through a feminist lens and notice how audiences perceive Fanny. Many people accuse her of having a superiority complex and being “unlikable.” However, I see an ambitious woman who is unafraid to speak her mind. She helped Fred fix his stories and got him to think outside the box.
Was Fanny probably going to steal anything useful or use Fred as inspiration for a pathetic character? Yeah. However, is that worse than chasing someone around with a fire poker? My answer changes depending on the kind of day I’m having. In all seriousness, I think the people's disdain for Fanny is because they do not know what to do with women who refuse to shrink. If Fanny had been a dude, I bet the conversations would be different.
I love a Josh Ruben-directed horror movie with my oxygen. So, when people say that HEART EYES or WEREWOLVES WITHIN is their favorite, they are not wrong. However, I hope some of you check out SCARE ME, or in some cases, revisit it. It’s my personal favorite of the three bangers, and you can clock the beginning of what I call “Rubenisms.” She has so much to unpack that I could write a book with a chapter dedicated to why men keep tripping over things in this cabin. SCARE ME is also the reason I became a yearly subscriber to Shudder. I stopped sometimesing the app so I could have access to this unique gem that knocked me on my ass.
The movie made me stop rolling my eyes when someone recommends a horror-comedy to me. This is the power of this film and why Ruben’s fans should check it out. I insist you grab some ‘za and beer (or root beer) and watch SCARE ME now.
