“Scare Me” premiered at Sundance 2020. The old school horror movie from Josh Ruben dropped on the Shudder platform in early 2020, making it a perfect accompaniment if you’re missing Halloween. A directorial debut for Ruben, he also wrote and stars in the campfire tale storytelling, single-location show. If you like the thought of bringing spooky stories to life in the creature comforts of your own home, Scare Me is the perfect way to feel like you’re camping.

In Scare Me, Ruben stars as Fred, and his voice and storytelling ability far outweigh my own meager attempts. More akin to two ventriloquists who happen to be exceptionally talented at imitating quite a collection of monsters, personalities, and sound bites, Fred is joined by Fanny. Fanny plays the role of the successful novelist about to launch a horror book. Aya Cash plays Fanny, the newest face of Stormfront in the smash series, The Boys. Both have so much enthusiasm and personality, I wish I could hire them for a party sometime.

Plot Overview: A Writer’s Retreat Turns into a Night of Chilling Tales

But “Scare Me” isn’t just two people riding out a storm in a cabin telling stories. Fanny and Fred are competing. Fred is a writer, a filmmaker, and more on the edge of giving up. Much to his chagrin, he realizes quickly that Fanny is not only about to smash all his goals, but she’s simply better than him at what he does. And she knows it too. Fanny b*tchslaps him often and with a grin, and sometimes with peanut butter on her face.

Of course, the “Scare Me” movie wouldn’t be much without something that allows it to level up. This is where the cinematography and sound effects come in. My favorite horror film, Let the Right One In, ended up being turned into a stage play, and as much as I wanted “Scare Me” to work in every aspect, it’s easier to imagine this as a stage play than a 104-minute collection of stories. Shadows appear at the behest of the narrative. Thunderclaps rumble at the mere mention of it during a particularly grisly story about a young girl trying to kill her grandfather.

Scare Me (A movie about camp fire stories) — Aya Cash stars in Scare Me movie 2020 as Fanny

Scare Me Is Not Trying to Scare You

The atmospheric tension is not garnered from the stories they tell. Like an anthology collection, some moments are more memorable than others. Scare Me isn’t trying to scare anyone with Fanny and Fred’s emotive adventures of werewolves, hauntings, and murder. The real story is about the make-or-break reality of talented people.

The harsh realities of those with a vested interest in their body of work. The competitive nature of the fact that there is always someone better at what you think you are good at. How far are you willing to go to reach the heights of your competitors? With so many mimics in various forms, does a generic mash-up really mean you shouldn’t be successful? Should uniqueness and never having been done before guarantee you those same fruits of fame?

In any case, Josh Ruben‘s Scare Me is a fun and well-constructed look at the perils of realizing your dreams. It’s imaginative well performed and a totally appropriate way to kick off Halloween or anytime you need some scary stories to tell.

Themes and Analysis: Exploring Creativity, Ego, and the Nature of Fear

Scare Me (Shudder) is rated

3.5 Riding a movie to greater heights with Aya Cash out of 5

Mother of Movies score

Scare Me 2020, on Shudder. Campfire stories done differently.

Streaming Options for “Scare Me” 2020

“Josh Ruben has created something genuinely unsettling here – a film that uses the act of storytelling itself as both weapon and shield, making us question what’s real and what’s performance until the line disappears entirely.”

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