Scare Me

The whole movie you sort of just sit there, waiting for it to start. Then it drags on for an hour too long and suddenly it's over, leaving you wondering why the heck you didn't read some reviews first before wasting time on it.

Cast is okay. Camera work is passable. But the story is just... absolutely terrible.

Given "Scare Me" takes place mostly in a small winter cabin, the movie rests squarely on the shoulders of a very small cast. Aya Cash, a recent standout of Amazon's "The Boys" season 2, is excellent in this tight, compact thriller about two authors (one successful, one struggling) trying to scare each other with impromptu stories. The pizza delivery guy Chris Redd injects welcome humor and energy as he gets roped into the "rap battle" (with scary stories instead of rap). Decently entertaining but would make a better play on Broadway.

Horror is my favorite genre, but I swear only one out of every hundred films is watchable, and one out of every thousand are good. The rest are evenly split between movies that are so bad you turn them off after five minutes, or movies that are actually on track to be great... then end so terribly it ruins the entire film, and leaves you more angry than anything..

This movie is definitely a prime example of that last horror movie type. Aya Cash puts in a stellar performance... really, just top notch... but it can't save this movie. The first 90% of the film it feels like it's building to something, for sure; has its own tempo, its own style. Kinda goofy, but laced through with just enough seriousness you feel there will be some sort of supernatural twist in the end. (Now that I think about it, it felt like a really long episode of Tales From The Crypt or Tales From The Darkside).

I don't want to spoil the ending, but the finale is such a complete tone shift it feels like it was added by a different director and crew entirely. And the tropes they lean on for the finale aren't entertaining, aren't funny, and are not he kind of scares you've been primed to expect for the hour-and-a-half leading up to it (or you would have expected going into the film). It's just so...bad.

Honestly, if it weren't for Aya Cash's performance, this would have ranked a one or two stars, at best. If the ending had just been more in line with the tone of the movie, it could have been an eight or a nine. But really, don't bother with this one, or if you're too big a fan of Aya Cash at least go into it prepared for an unsatisfying ending.

This is a movie about storytelling. Not a horror movie as much as a movie about telling a scary story. I found it pretty brilliant and funny. Like a lesson in the craft of telling a good story. It has an improv vibe and does a lot with one location and for the most part, two actors. Chris Redd is not in it as much as I would like but his appearance is a lot of fun. Worth watching, but not what you expect.

Not sure why there are ratings of ten and not sure why there are ratings of one as it deserves neither. I really enjoyed this film, it's not really a horror (although there's a jump or two) but it is funny, it is engaging and the acting is top notch. If you're not totally dead inside, like some of these reviewers, then in sure you enjoy it.