Scare Me – A Captivating Horror-Comedy (Early Review)

Shudder is a streaming service that continues to prove not only that its catalogue of horror-themed content is worth the subscription price alone, but that their original films and IP’s are worth every dollar, and then some. While some audiences may be sad that there won’t get to host or attend any Halloween viewing parties coming up in a few weeks, Scare Me will definitely be a great choice once the world gets back to normal hopefully sooner rather than later. 

Sometimes, it’s hard to find a good horror-comedy as many fail to find the right tonal balance. Though Scare Me admittedly feature those moments, it never feels as if it’s a disservice to the film. Ruben’s feature debut is a film that succeeds at keeping viewers both laughing and captivated throughout its entire running time some much so that many of those viewers will wish the events in it occurred in real life just so they could sit and hang out with Fred (Ruben) and Fanny (Cash), and later Carlo (Redd) for hours. The story saw a man named Fred who was nearly forty but still felt as if he wasn’t where he wanted to be. To try and write his great horror epic, he went off to cabin. On a walk, he ran into Fanny, a woman who just happened to be a successful horror author. After their power goes out, the two decide to spend the night telling scary stories to each other. 

Fred and Fanny were characters designed to mirror one another, it’s clear that they hold a lot in common. Fred constantly would see a basement, or a locked closet and turn on a creepy voice saying “let me out.” At that moment, one can see his mind running with a story of what would or could happen next. Fred and Fanny’s stories essentially become one-person shows, each giving them their all in order to make their stories come alive as much as possible. Fanny does the same and it is clear that there’s no real reason Fred couldn’t find similar success, but could if he sat down and did the work. This fact makes Scare Me, a total “writer’s film” because many of us surely have ideas and/or deadlines to meet. Sometimes, the big hurdle is just to sit down and do the work. The film also brings up the fact that gender or race may lead to a bigger struggle to break through as opposed to straight white dudes. Meanwhile, Carlo nearly steals the whole show thanks to Redd’s infectious energy and hilarious line delivery that will be sure to keep viewers grinning throughout.

At the end of the day, while the sheer number of scares may be low, Scare Me manages to ooze this feeling of spooky that will definitely keep many viewers on their toes, as they will find themselves laughing, until they don’t. If anything, that’s enough. 

still courtesy of Shudder

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Guest Writer