Movie Reviews for Writers: Scare Me

Think about the first time you met a famous author. Did you at once want to (a) learn from them and (b) impress them — and somehow at the same time. It’s okay. We all want that. We want to be told we’re good at something we believe we are good at. That’s where Scare Me starts. But then it doesn’t just veer off the rails, it destroys said rails with high-grade acid so no other train can ever ride them again either. It’s that effective. 

Fred is a wannabe author (let’s not empower him enough to call him struggling) played by Josh Ruben. He rents a cabin in the snow-covered woods to work on his werewolf story. On the way he is ubered by another aspiring writer who treats him the same way “that person” treats you at a writing conference or literary/sci-fi/fantasy convention where you’re a guest. Gushing all over you. Picking your brain. Wanting to impress you. You get the picture. It’s a natural place to be as a beginning writer. But Fred is having none of it. It’s bothersome at best. 

Once at the cabin, he learns that one of his neighbors is the author of the acclaimed horror novel Venus, Fanny, played by Aya Cash. The two don’t hit it off exactly, but a storm forces them together to try to scare each other by telling scary stories (that may or may not be from their work). 

The trouble is though, that right off the bat, it’s clear that Fanny is years ahead of Fred. Her skills basically emasculate him (or e-write-ulate him) and put his lack of talent on display. He only does his best work when she chimes in and goads him into it. Outside of that, he merely teases ideas rather than telling stories. 

For example, after telling the outline and opening scene of his werewolf novel, Fanny is unimpressed. 

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