Film Review: Scare Me
This is a pickle of a movie. Simple in design but surprisingly profound. So obvious in its meaning yet still managing to distract you enough that you can’t see it coming until it’s practically on top of you. On the surface, Scare Me is nothing but a fun horror flick that puts a new spin on the overused “campfire stories” trope, but its true centerpiece is the commentary on gender politics within the American Dream. More specifically, the writer’s dream.
If Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus was a wacky piece of horror fiction, and way more fun, it could be comparable to Scare Me. Coming from Josh Ruben, who not only wrote and directed the film in his directorial debut but also starred in alongside Aya Cash, Scare Me feels like the kind of film that a couple of friends thought up after having too many beers one Friday night, only better. It’s a great mix of thrill, humor, and social reflection.
(Major plot spoilers below!)
Two strangers, Fred and Fanny, are stuck in a snowbound cabin during a blackout and decide to tell scary stories to pass the time. Fanny is a successful novelist, almost too confident to be bearable, and Fred is a sad poser. He claims to be a triple threat, a writer/director/actor working on his next project, but in actuality, he is not working on anything. He’s a frustrated marketer who would rather wish upon a star than do the actual work, hoping that if he tells enough people he’s a writer it will magically come true.
Fanny, however, has achieved that dream and is proud of it. She’s written a critically acclaimed zombie novel titled “Venus,” that Fred is dangerously intimidated by. Before knowing anything about the book or Fanny herself, he scoffs at her success. “You’re not so great,” he mutters to himself.
When the power goes out, Fanny gets the idea that they should play a “friendly” competition of storytelling consisting of scary stories. “Scare me,” she demands and the game begins. Most of the film revolves around this, the two of them trying to one-up each other with their individual scary stories. They’re eventually joined by a friendly pizza deliver man, Carlo (Chris Redd), whose presence is made to both boost the film’s comedic side and highlight the increasing tension between Fanny and Fred.
The three of them go all out, crawling on the ground, growling in gravely voices to imitate the likes of dying old Slavic men and trolls named Devon. They tell five stories total (a werewolf attack, a man haunting his granddaughter, an office building inhabited by a troll, a singer possessed by the Devil, and a reenactment of Fanny’s own novel) that only get crazier as the night goes on. When viewed as a whole, these mini-plays make Scare Me feel slightly disjointed. Which normally would be a bad thing, but in this case, it’s an improvement. It makes Scare Me feel like a film within a film; dark drama beside a certifiable insane horror-comedy that connects through thin strings sewn throughout the picture.
Although their stories contain supernatural details, the true monster of the film is very set in reality and lives within one of the main characters.
It’s hard to get a proper reading on Fred until the final stretch. There are moments where he acts like an adorkable idiot that just can’t catch a break and others where you think he might be totally off his rocker. In reality, he is neither. Fred is just the average man but with a superiority complex, and with wounded pride. The word “emasculated” is probably shouted about 10 times throughout the film. All in a humorous context. But for Fred, there’s nothing funny about it.
Overall, Scare Me is an excellent addition to any Halloween watchlist. The only glaring flaw is pacing. It has a rocky beginning where it struggles to get started, and a rushed ending that, after a somewhat relaxed middle, undergoes a dramatic shift. Everything else is a blast. Every writer, successful or struggling, will relate to Scare Me on some level. Either you’re Fred, wanting the dream but incapable of finding out how to get it, or you’re Fanny, you did the work and want others to know it. I will give the film a major credit for being one of the few to actually make me tense for a moment. It only lasts a moment, this tension, but not many films can do that anymore (I’ve become desensitized) so for that, Scare Me has become quite memorable.
Scare Me will be released as part of Shudder’s 61 Days of Halloween on October 1st. View the complete October line up here.
(3 / 5)
Photos of Scare Me by Brendan Banks courtesy of Shudder, along with Artists First, Irony Point, and Last Rodeo Studios.
We’ve reached the end of the road in Marvel’s Agatha All Along. As it turns out, it had a hell of a final twist.
I guess we can’t be surprised.
The story
We begin this episode with Jen and Billy mourning the loss of Lilia. Agatha doesn’t seem phased at first, but it’s fairly clear she’s hurting. At least, it’s clear how she’s lashing out at everyone around her.
Eventually, the three find themselves in the final challenge of the Witch’s Road. There, Jen and Billy get what they want, though through some unexpected means.
Agatha, though, doesn’t get what she wants. Instead, she gets a knock-out fight with Rio in the real world. And Rio is playing for keeps. In the end, she has to decide between her own life, and Billy’s.
What worked
I don’t think I’ve said this once, but it does bear saying. So let’s get it out of the way first. This episode, and frankly the whole show, was so pretty. The effects are lovely, dark and gothic. The costumes were like something out of a witchy or emo teen’s wildest dreams. Every single building from every single challenge was gorgeous. And the road itself was, frankly, too beautiful to be scary. Even though it probably would have killed me.
There was one scene in this episode that knocked it out of the park, visually. And it was the result of one character’s death. I won’t say who, but you’ll know it when you see it. The colors and atmosphere were just fantastic.
Of course, that isn’t all this episode had going for it. We also saw one of the most touching moments of the series, and maybe one of the most heartbreaking scenes from anything I’ve seen this year. If you’ve been online at all since the episode came out, I’m sure you’ve already run across it.
Billy asks Agatha if he’s killing a teenage boy so that his brother can live.
No, she tells him. Sometimes boys just die. Of course, it’s her son she’s thinking of.
This was such a quiet, sad moment from a show that has been so loud and fast-paced. It’s a moment of deep sorrow from a character who’s always had a smile on her face. Even if she’s laughing at someone else’s tragedy.
Finally, I couldn’t possibly review this episode of Agatha All Along without talking about the season-ending twist. And my Goddess, it was a good one. I don’t dare ruin it for you. So let me just say this.
I complained loudly about the twist ending in a recent episode of American Horror Stories. There, I said that a twist isn’t satisfying unless you can look back and realize it was adequately foreshadowed. It’s a hard thing, to foreshadow something without giving the whole thing away. But this twist, when you get to it, makes so much sense. It could never have been any other way. And so many things make more sense now. I can’t wait to watch the whole series again now, with this new perspective.
What didn’t work
It’s honestly hard to say anything bad about this episode. But I do have one complaint. And that complaint is about Jen.
I love this character, don’t get me wrong. But I feel like we missed a step in her character arch.
In the beginning, Jen is self-centered and angry. She’s full of herself. By the end, she wants to protect Agatha and Billy. She wants to make sure they make it off the road. And while I suppose one could argue that she was moved by Lilia’s sacrifice, it doesn’t seem like enough. I think this could have been solved with a flashback, or something from Jen’s point of view. But without it, this just doesn’t feel right.
We may have reached the end of The Road, but we are still not quite done with the story. So check back soon for our final review of Agatha All Along.
Follow me, my friend, to glory at the end.
(4.5 / 5)
I’ve just finished watching the sixth episode of season three of American Horror Stories, titled Clone. In which a young man has to live with the clone of his lover after said lover has health complications. And, well, that’s 47 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.
The story
Our story begins with a quiet birthday celebration between our two main characters, John and David. David is a billionaire who’s getting on in years. He’s frustrated by what he perceives to be a lack of drive in his younger partner. But when David has a stroke and needs to seek serious medical care, he sends a clone of himself to keep John company.
At first, John is incredibly put off by the clone. Until he realizes that the clone might just be the real love of his life.
What worked
This wasn’t a completely terrible episode. There was a lot about the premise that I enjoyed.
Most of the tension in this episode comes from John feeling like he isn’t in control of his life. He feels, rightfully so, that David is simply telling him how to live. And this is something that I don’t think we talk about enough.
This also comes up when John’s horrible friend, Jordan, tries to assault him. Once again, John feels entirely out of control of his life. He feels like a victim, and rightfully so.
I enjoyed the scene in which the David clone kills Jordan and chops him up in little pieces. This was a delightfully bloody romp, funny and dark.
What didn’t work
Unfortunately, that’s where the good part of the story stops. And most of the good acting stops with it.
Look, I usually have high expectations for acting in American Horror Story. I was especially expecting good things when I saw that David was played by Victor Garber. And that man has never acted badly in his life.
While I won’t say that Garber did a bad job here, he’s far too professional for that, I will say that it felt like he was phoning it in. He just didn’t seem like he was having fun. And that’s the kindest thing I can say about the acting.
No one else knew what the hell they were doing. It’s impossible to tell whether the main character John, played by Guy Burnet, is emotionless or just high the whole time. He can barely seem to work up any emotions, even when being almost assaulted.
The poor acting plays a part in this story being very, very dull. There are a few fun scenes, like the slaughter of Jordan. But they are shoved between long boring scenes where characters talk to each other about nothing interesting and chop onions.
I’d also like to complain about the ending. I’m going to try not to spoil it, like I did for the last episode. So I’ll be as vague as possible. Yes, it’s true that I didn’t see the ending coming. But that’s because the ending makes no sense.
Look, we all want to be surprised by an ending. But that surprise only works if it makes sense. If we can look back on the story and see the breadcrumbs that brought us here, then it’s great. But if you just throw in a twist that doesn’t fit, just to have a surprise ending, then that just feels cheap. This ending felt cheap.
Finally, and this isn’t just a complaint about this episode, I am so sick of stories about rich people walking around their rich houses with their rich problems. I am, in short, sick of rich main characters.
Killer Queens, I am starting to feel discouraged. This episode of American Horror Stories was not good television. Neither was the last one. In fact, the whole last season of American Horror Story was pretty terrible. But there are three episodes left in this season. So I’m going to hold out hope that this season has some good chills and gore waiting for us still.
Hopefully, they won’t let me down.
(2 / 5)
Movies n TV
Juju Stories (2022), a Film Review
Juju Stories (2022) is a horror anthology of Nigerian folklore, evoking the directorial visions of C.J. Obasi, Abba Makama, & Michael Omonua.
Juju Stories (2022) is a horror anthology following tales of Nigerian folklore and juju, evoking the directorial visions of C.J. Obasi, Abba Makama, and Michael Omonua. This unrated film stars Belinda Agedah Yanga, Paul Utomi, Elvis Poko, Don Ekwuazi, Nengi Adoki, and Bukola Oladipupo. As of this review, the film is only available on Amazon Prime.
Mercy (Belinda Agedah Yanga) uses a juju potion to entice her lover (Paul Utomi as Leonard). Amos (Don Ekwuazi) wanders the streets, unaware his life will change forever. Chinwe (Bukola Oladipupo) suffers misfortune as others claim her friend is a witch (Nengi Adoki as Joy).
Thoughts on Juju Stories’ “Love Potion” by Michael Omonua
The first “chapter” of Juju Stories follows a story of false love and manipulation. While not a particularly scary story, it earns recognition as the most unsettlingly real. The juju empowers a type of manipulation that we find in too many relationships. Of the three short films, “Love Potion” provides an intimate cinematography, perfectly feeding into the delusion of the characters. This entry appeals to me most, though I admit it’s likely not the entry that haunts a viewer. It’s the least concerned in horrifying the audience, with only one moment of body horror that might get some level of engagement in said area. A final note of approval is Belinda Agedah Yanga’s Mercy. Her performance seems the strongest of the three shorts, though “Love Potion” gives her more to work with as the central character.
A few considerations for viewers are the concept of a love potion in general, forcing a victim to love the owner of said potion. Another consideration is the brief moment of body horror. Though, a more accurate description leans toward bodily horror. It intentionally indulges in the grotesque to solidify the dark implications. However, it’s not proper body horror or particularly grotesque for most horror fans.
Thoughts on Juju Stories’ “YAM” by Abba Makama
“YAM” provides the most politically charged entry of Juju Stories, following characters of different economic classes as they live their lives. This entry provides a fabulism to its horror that leans towards metaphor or symbolism. The focus feels too scattered for my liking, but I recognize my own ignorance of juju or Nigerian culture might make the social critique misfire for me. However, it balances three plotlines within its time frame. A full-length feature might better explore the message of “YAM.”
The only consideration that comes to mind is that of mental illness. However, the examples in question lean more toward the fabulism aspects of the short film. Still, the story does show a character’s breaking mental state.
Thoughts on Juju Stories’ “Suffer the Witch” by C.J. Obasi
Of the three entries in Juju Stories, “Suffer the Witch” earns a placement as the most horror-focused short film. As an anthology revolving around juju, it’s only natural a witch occupies space in Juju Stories. “Suffer the Witch” creates a more haunting and horrifying plot, producing a genuinely effective witch horror in a short runtime. However, it’s also the entry that targets the youngest audience, focusing on teens in high school. The tone reflects this target audience.
There is a brief moment of nudity. It’s not particularly exploitative, aside from the target audience being younger. Another point of consideration is the queer coding of the villain added at the end. It’s interpretable, but it’s a point worth mentioning for consideration.
Final Thoughts
Juju Stories provides three short films rooted in Nigerian juju folklore and culture. The concept stands out against other potential competitors. Each entry adds a different interest to appeal to a wider audience, but this decision also means not all will haunt said audience. When there are only three entries to discuss, that could mean one-third doesn’t hit the mark, if not more.
This film earned 4 awards and 1 nomination, making respectable waves with critics.
(2.5 / 5)
