Horror movies are supposed to be scary. They’re supposed to disturb you, shake you, and leave you scarred at least for a couple of minutes. That’s the whole goal of the genre, to take you to a primal position of fear in order to escape the mundane, often overwhelming reality.
Comedies are similar in nature. They’re supposed to make you laugh so hard you can forget about the things that happened to you minutes ago. If they’re actually good, you will get new memories and you will laugh several hours after at the same stupid joke. Again, you escape.
Now, what’s the deal with horror comedies? Think for a minute about what you get out of a thrilling comedy that may or not include a few stabs, gut pulls, or gallons of blood. It’s confusing as it is effective. When done well, horror comedies make you feel something different altogether. It’s kind of a nervous chuckle while looking at your partner thinking if what just happened on the screen should really make you laugh. Yes, it’s a escape, but one with a more specific target.
Scare Me is a film that goes back and forth without defining the genre it’s portraying. It’s not even important when you finally understand the kind of movie you’re watching. It doesn’t mean you cannot expect things to happen. They do. Sort of.
In Scare Me a wannabe writer rents a cabin deep in a remote area. He’s trying to helm his next work but it seems it’s not as easy. When he goes out walking because of the typical writer’s block, he meets a girl on the side of the road. Quickly she admits she’s a successful writer. They both start a conversation whole walking and say goodbye to each other.
That same night the power in the cabin goes out. No batteries. No company. But a knock on the door will change this young writer’s life, as his new friend comes to visit him and help him somehow. They begin drinking and talking and eventually start making up scary stories.
Too much honesty may be dangerous when they both reveal their true selves in a night full of mouth sound effects, booze, and the creativity of two writers having fun.
But… something will happen tonight.
Scare Me has its moments and you will enjoy them. Its ending will be divisive among everyone, but it works save for a few concerns I had regarding a controversial decision. It’s curious how the film introduces another character in the middle of the movie without any expectations from the viewer and the film doesn’t have an issue including him in the game that has been developed for quite a while now. Scare Me is a very confident film (just watch that dancing scene and tell me it’s not).
It’s definitely not a movie for everyone, but enjoying it is far easier than it sounds.
It’s really hard to say go watch Scare Me if you’re not a fan of horror comedies, specifically those that take the silly subtext too far. This one does and some of you will be disappointed. However, it’s so different from what you always see that maybe you’ll have a great time and I’m just an idiot.
Rating: 3/4
Editor’s Note: Federico Furzan is an OFCA and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic.
