Scare Me explores the nature of storytelling, but it’s also a creative take on the horror genre that’s as successful as it is due in part to Aya Cash’s strong performance. Cash spoke to Screen Rant about some of her experiences working on the 2020 horror movie.

Scare Me is set to debut on Shudder, the meticulously curated horror streamer. It offers an interesting, meta look at the horror genre. Scare Me centers around two writers, Aya Cash and Josh Ruben (who also wrote and directed the movie), who try to scare each other with the better horror story. The self-aware nature of the movie's characters allows Scare Me to stand out as an enjoyable and unexpected look at horror-comedy hybrids. Scare Me isn’t just funny and frightening—it also has something to say.

Related: How Shudder Is Single-Handedly Keeping 2020 Horror Movies Alive

Scare Me’s story unravels in an unconventional fashion that allows the horror film to feel like many different movies in one. Aya Cash has gotten rave reviews over her work in season 2 of Amazon Prime's The Boys, but Scare Me features an even more nuanced performance from Cash. In celebration of Scare Me’s arrival on Shudder, Aya Cash has taken the time to break down the new movie, her performance, and the dangers of gender dynamics in storytelling.

aya cash in scare me movie

ScreenRant: What’s also really cool about this movie is that it gets to indulge in all of these different sub-genres of horror based on all of the different stories that the movie tells. Was it satisfying to get to cover so much ground and play all of these different mini characters?

It was a blast, but it was also terrifying. That's sort of what Josh [Ruben] does. He just creates character after character. So working with him and Chris Redd from SNL had me completely intimidated in some ways. That can be great, but it also has you more receptive to just try whatever and really swing for the fences. Josh was always there to let me know if what I was doing was too much or too little.

What was the filming process like because the movie feels very theatrical in nature. Did you rehearse a lot to figure out the right tone and if you wanted to lean more into a comedic or serious vibe for certain parts?

It felt pretty early on that the tone had really been established well thanks to Josh's script. There was a real comedy to these pieces and if they weren't generating any laughs then we knew that this was going to be a big failure. It is this solid horror/comedy blend, but then it really does take a turn, too. To be able to successfully make a turn like that you need to have room to grow from somewhere else. So at least with this Josh tried to make sure that it was clearly laid out, but that there was still a place to push it all.

Through those different roles you also get to be both the predator and the prey at various points in the movie. Was it nice to get to play around with power dynamics like that?

Yeah, totally! You kind of don't know where it's going and which of the two is the one that you should really be afraid of in the end. It's fun to keep that dynamic in flux, especially when the place that it ends up is also part of the bigger question between these characters.

My favorite part of the movie, and what I think elevates it to something greater, is that it’s really this delicate conversation about gender dynamics and toxic masculinity, which are prevalent everywhere, but can be especially present in the horror genre.

Absolutely and that again is something that Josh really wanted to make clear with this movie. He also definitely understands the horror genre in a way that I don't. I'm more of a sci-fi and fantasy kind of person. I'm just following his lead a lot of time, which isn't a problem when he's thought so carefully and deeply over what he wants to so on this subject. It's interesting though because the film plays it both ways. Fanny's not the most likable person either. They both have problems and she's brash and rude in a way that's different than he is. I appreciated those touches because it means that nobody really gets to be off the hook in this movie.

Aya Cash and Josh Ruben in Scare Me 2020

On that note, how do you think Fanny feels about Fred during the beginning of their meeting? Do you think she genuinely wants to help him with his writing?

I think it's all about what keeps her entertained in the end. Fanny is ultimately a narcissist. I think she's pretty dismissive about him and what he can do, so as soon as she realizes where he's at she becomes bored and is looking to be entertained. She just wants to get something out of this, which leads to all sorts of other situations, but she's definitely using him through this. She's pushing his buttons to see what will come of it all. Pop in a quarter and see where it takes her.

Something that I really love about this movie is that it’s all about the nature of storytelling. Are you the type to tell stories around a campfire and get into that atmosphere?

You know what? I'm really not. I'm an actor, not a comedian, so I get very anxious when I have to tell stories like that. I've basically decided that I've bored everyone halfway through the story and then try to abandon it all, which is the absolute death of the storyteller. You have to have a certain degree of confidence in storytelling so that people will continue to listen to you for long stretches of time. I just speed up the endings and get all, "Ahh, this is ending! You know how it goes!"

You mentioned that you’re more of a fantasy and science fiction fan. You haven’t done a ton of horror projects in the past, but is it a genre that you’ve wanted to do more of?

I'm down for whatever seems like the most interesting and entertaining project. The great thing about the horror genre is that for the most part it's not really scary to actually shoot it. I've really just done horror/comedies, but it's still a very different experience to be on the set doing something versus actually watching the finished version. So on The Boys there will be bits where I have to do stunts or wear prosthetics and that's a ton of fun, but there's also a part of horror that I really enjoy in terms of the magic that happens both on and off the set with all of that blood and guts and craziness.

This film in particular is such a good example of that since the artifice of the horror movie becomes more dominant as Fanny and Fred get deeper into telling their stories.

It's all part of the magic and this movie adds so many extra touches in that department, whether it's the sound or lighting. That's the stuff that's the most fun; that extra layer of magic that's not there when you're shooting.

This is a movie all about scary stories, but what are the scariest types of stories to you and the stuff that really gets under your skin?

It's more thriller stuff, to be honest. I'm watching Dark right now and that feels like the kind of horror vibe that I'm into. I like that, but I'll also love like a Stranger Things-style of horror where there are monsters, but also tons of humor. I guess it's more of that '80s and '90s horror that I'm drawn to than the contemporary stuff, but that also could be because I haven't seen very many contemporary horror movies.

Scare Me premieres on Shudder on October 1st

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