Scare Me is a Comedy Horror film written and directed by comedian Josh Ruben who also stars in the film. The film also stars Aya Cash and Chris Redd.
During a trip to the Catskills, disgruntled artist Fred (Ruben) encounters best selling horror writer Fanny (Cash) who later comes to his cabin during a blackout during which the two tell each other horror stories.
The film premiered on October 1, 2020.
Scare Me provides examples of:
- Almost Kiss: Fred and Fanny almost kiss as part of their play acting one of Fred's stories, only to be interrupted by Carlo coming in without knocking.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Fred to Fanny, when his insecurities are on display, twice he attacks her as being unable to empathize due to her youth and success.
- Downer Ending: Fred finds Fanny’s journal while she’s going to the bathroom and sees that she’s been taking notes on him, possibly in order to write her next book. This pushes him over the edge and he chases her with a weapon to either scare or or actually kill her eventually falling down the stairs and impaling himself. Traumatized, she leaves him to die alone and his body is found the next day by the kindly Uber driver who brought him to the cabin the day before.
- Ghost Story: The meat of the film is Fred, Fanny and eventually Carlo telling improvising scary stories to each other. Instead of cutting to the stories, they are told completely in the cabin. There are sound effects.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Fred is barely able to hide his jealousy fit Fanny’s talent and success and this makes his attitude worse as the film goes on.
- Handshake Refusal: Fred tries to give Fanny a high five at the end of their first meeting, but she ignores the gesture.
- Hypocrite: Fanny and Fred, Fred for passing off the Uber driver's story idea as his own, and Fanny for refusing to share her story ideas for fear of him stealing them, but then orchestrating the scary story session to do just that.
- Inferiority Superiority Complex: Fred is a bundle of insecurities, around his lack of professional success, age and marital problems. When Fanny is curious and tries to reach out, he rebuffs her as never being able to understand, being young and successful and living her dream life.
- Jerkass: Neither Fred or Fanny are particularly nice people. Fanny’s success has gone to her head and she spends a good amount of the film belittling Fred. Fred is no better and probably worse as he’s jaded by his lack of success and clearly took it out on his ex-wife and later Fanny.
- Taken in context, Franny casually disses Fred's cabin as being smaller, then orders pizza from his phone (with his half plain cheese) and makes him foot the bill. Earlier she both refuses his handshake and when he introduces himself says she didn't ask for his name.
- Lack of Imagination: Fred has a case of this, or possibly writers block. Fanny relentlessly (but accurately) criticizes his werewolf story as just being an "idea", and as he develops the story pokes holes in it.
- Minimalist Cast: Fanny, Fred, Carlo and Uber driver Bettina are the only characters.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: Before leaving, Carlo describes the wonderful time he had with Fred and Fanny as "Some nights you get to spend with your favorite author— and a Fred."
- Nice Guy: Carlo the pizza guy balances out Fred and Fanny’s jerkassery with his affable demeanor. Unlike Fred who’s passive aggressive towards Fanny, he shows admiration for Fanny’s horror novel. And unlike Fanny he takes to Fred’s snipes with stride rather that sniping back. The Uber driver is also quite polite until she finds Franny's notebook next to Fred's body and steals the ideas for herself.
- No Full Name Given: Carlo refuses to give his last name, because he wants to be mysterious.
