Search - Are You Scared on DVD

Kat D. (KatlynAva)
Reviewed on 1/6/2010...

Wow, where can I begin? I picked this movie up from blockbuster, because it was recommended to fans of Saw. I couldn't even make it half way through this atrocity. It has traps like saw, but absolutely no plot. The traps are horrible, not even planned. The acting...is an abomination.

If you are a fan of Saw, any of them, I recommend you not touch this movie with a ten foot pole.

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Jessica J. (JessyBird03) from MOORE, TX
Reviewed on 12/10/2008...

this movie sounds an awful lot like "Saw"... I haven't seen it, but just the description turns it off for me.

1 of 9 member(s) found this review helpful.

Decent addition to the Saw-like clones.

PureLake | NY | 02/02/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, this movie is similar to Saw, but not a total rip off. It has its interesting moments, and a good twist. The ending was a little too improbable, but I'll let it go, since the movie was interesting and kept me awake. Fun horror movie. Nothing too gory or gross."

Yes, it's like "Saw"

P. Mann | Los Angeles | 05/16/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, "Are You Scared" is a great deal like Saw and Saw II. That's a given. The plot: Several young adults find themselves in a warehouse after having been abducted. The one thing that links them all is that they submitted videos to be on what they thought was a legitimate television show called "Are You Scared." The ersatz "show" turns out to be like Fear Factor with a serious case of 'roid rage. As part of the would-be auditions, each of the young adults had to identify his or her worst fear. Inside the warehouse, each will have to face that fear. This premise is the basis for more of the inventive torture that made the Saw films popular.



As I said, yes, this film is like "Saw." While that fact certainly causes the film to lose points in the originality category, it does not, in and of itself, mean the film is bad. After all, this film comes at a time when Hollywood is producing remakes (e.g., The Ring and Black Christmas), sequels (e.g., Saw II and Saw III), remakes of sequels (e.g., The Grudge 2), prequels of remakes (e.g., The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning), and every other combination of copying imaginable. And, in fairness, it is true that many have not seen and will not see the originals, a fact that I presume explains the scene-for-scene remake of the original Psycho. So the question is, I think: What does "Are You Scared" bring to the table that makes it stand on its own?



Only one thing works as an answer. There is one particular torture device that shows great (albeit depraved) cleverness. That device is the one on the cover, a drill that travels on a conveyor belt. That's about the only thing that I can find to recommend this movie, though. After that, the movie is too derivative and too implausible.



Two significant elements make the film thoroughly implausible. Well, three if you count the demented killer who has the time and funds to rent warehouses, construct elaborate torture devices, abduct six people, and arrange for their torture. But since that point IS the plot, I'll overlook it. The two elements that I am referring to are the police investigation and the ending.



There are only two cops investigating this serial killer (who has done this sort of thing before). The explanation in the film is that one of the cops has cried wolf too many times when he thought he had the killer within his grasp. The real reason, I assume, is cost. It's cheaper to have one semi-rogue cop and a criminal profiler than to have the sort of coordinated effort that would involve scores of officers and detectives. Instead, two people seem to be the extent of the police effort to stop the killer who is playing his game again. Moreover, these two do everything wrong, most notably when one of them rushes alone into a building in an attempt to stop the killer.



The second problem is the ending, which undoes almost everything that the film has set up to that point. I won't give away the ending, but I will say that it's thoroughly absurd. One of the victims has a connection to the killer that supposedly explains the reason for the deadly games. But if the filmmakers thought it necessary to have a connection to one character, they apparently thought it thoroughly unnecessary to explain the others or the fact that this killer has done this sort of thing previously.



So "Are You Scared," missing question mark and all, is not particularly good. I give it three stars, though, for two reasons. First, I reserve the minimum one star for those films I find truly painful to watch. Second, I thought the film was moderately engaging until the end. The set was well done (although, once again, too derivative of "Saw"), and the acting was not as bad as others have suggested, at least not to me. So, until the ending, the film was more than merely watchable. Besides, based on titles alone, this film is a great companion piece to I'm Not Scared."

What An Amazing Knockoff!!

Jill Dunsmore | 12/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Okay. Before I begin, if you don't already know, "Are You Scared?" is a knockoff of Saw II, and let me say: What an amazingly hilarious knockoff it was! For an obvious knockoff, this movie is pretty good and very fun to watch with a group of friends.



The actors are terrible, but they are so funny to follow and so fun to watch get slaughtered by the unexpected killer.



The deaths are so incredible!! I loved every one of the traps, and every one of the deaths, because they are so brilliant!! They are almost better than the Saw movies, I would easily say!!



Don't be fooled by other reviews, because "Are You Scared?" is an incredibly cheesy movie, that will be a heck of a good time to watch. Just get some popcorn, soda, some snacks on a platter on the coffee table, invite over your best friends and stick this into the DVD player and have a really awesomely good time, because it won't disappoint!

"