Netflix Catalogue: 'Are You Scared?'

Having signed up for a free month trial on Netflix, I decided to watch any films that took my fancy due to it being free, and I wouldn't feel cheated when seeing a pure stinker of a film.
First up to receive judgement is 'Are You Scared?' from 2006, and during this review there will be *SPOILERS*.


From the beginning scene it's clear this film is a rip-off from the Saw franchise but with a lower budget. Before any sort of credits we're treated to a blond girl walking slowly through corridors of an abandoned building whilst being told that within the next room she needs to press the red button followed by the green button all in the space of a minute. Unfortunately for her ugly bare feet, which are shown in close ups, she has to walk across broken glass to reach the red button before going to a tank of water containing the green button. Sadly the girl plunges her face into the water to discover it's acid, pulls her head out screaming, and the film cuts to the opening credits. This is where I'd like to say that the film gets better, but if I did then I'd be lying.


The whole premise of the film is that these teenagers/early twenties have sent in audition tapes for a reality TV show called 'Are You Scared?'. During these auditions the characters confess something they are scared off, and when selected for the show they'll have to face their fears.

• The black guy is scared of being having surgery while awake, and stereotypically dies first, but via explosion.
• Long haired waster, Brandon, is scared of the dark and dies via multiple shotgun blasts.
• Male twin 'isn't scared of anything' whilst female twin is scared of losing brother twin.
• Annoying girl is scared of germs, and it was unclear to me what killed her. She had to put her hand in a tank containing mice but she just kind of falls over and dies?? I'm not watching again to clarify.
• Sweaty, lead role girl is scared that people will find out her big secret (it's not a penis) but proceeds to tell everyone and anyone who'll listen that she has a big secret.

The twins' game was to sit at opposite ends of a track, strapped into a chair, holding start/stop buttons for the motorised drills at the ends of said tracks. Their own buttons work their own drills, but one has to keep moving at all times, forcing the twins to argue over who is going to sacrifice themselves.

He was an asshole anyways

Multiple times during this drill trap, the camera shows the drills getting closer and closer, only to then show them miles away from each twin. During each 'camera feed' shot the drills have barely moved from their starting positions, despite actually being an inch from boy twins face. Epically bad continuity!

There are multiple wardrobe issues scattered throughout the film:

• SWAT Police would not just be wearing dark, short sleeved shits without any arm protection when investigating potentially dangerous crime scenes.
• The skateboarder logo on Brandon's shirt switches which side it's on multiple times
• No brother/sister combo, even twins, would be caught dead wearing colour coordinated clothing.

Even the soundtrack is terrible, with backing music doing nothing to make the film scary or add tension. It all sounds wrongly placed.

Now for the major *spoiler*. The leading girl character's secret is actually that she killed her abusive father by setting fire to the house while he slept. Unfortunately for her, he actually survived and came up with this whole reality TV show scheme, ran it for two whole years, all just to get his daughter back. The police have been making a hash of the case since it began, but somehow during this latest 'game' they start finding clues and getting somewhere. It turns out the killer buys some equipment for his traps from a guy in a warehouse, but gave him his home address. The police go to this address and find work tools with an abandoned factories name carved into all the tools. Now I understand why the Americans use the word 'tool' to mean idiot!

His daughter out smarts him during his final game involving her, and her mother. The daughter sets fire to the final game room with her dad still inside. and we clearly see him go up in flames screaming. However, during the close of the film, a TV reports only six bodies being found at the factory instead of seven, cutting to crime scene investigators finding a hatch in the floor that the killer escaped through.

Now, I put up with a lot of bullshit during this film without yelling 'Shenanigans!!' at the TV, but by the end I was pushed too far and had my intelligence insulted. All in all I give this film a rating of 'fucking awful'...or 1 out of 10, whichever you prefer.

I'd tell everyone to avoid this film, but I also want everyone to see just how poor it is. So, if you insist on watching it, at least make it a drinking game.

Drink anytime:

• someone says 'Hello?'
• someone says 'Are you scared?'
• someone screams
• the police mention the killer's motive/psychology
• someone mentions a secret
• Brandon's skateboarder logo switches sides

That should be enough to help you enjoy this film....or poison your liver.

Have fun!