2006
Six teenagers wake up in a grimy, abandoned factory, their every move captured via security cameras, asked by an electronically altered voice to participate in a game where the outcome is literally life-and-death. For instance, a guy has 60 seconds to disarm a bomb using a key surgically implanted in his gut, while a girl must walk barefoot over broken glass in the same timeframe.
"Saw," right? Technically, no "? but make no mistake: "Are You Scared" is "Saw" right down to each serrated tooth. If Lionsgate "? the studio behind that hit franchise "? wasn't distributing this, I'd fully expect massive litigation.
As a shameless rip-off, "Are You Scared" isn't so bad. It's not exactly good, either, but at a mere 80 minutes, it at least sustains interest as you await the next bloody death. Following the formula, the deaths entail placing the kids in traps, which here can involve shotgun tripwires, bloodthirsty rats or a lobotomy by power drills.
The acting is generic, as expected from performers you'll never see again. The disc sports nothing in the way of extras, save for trailers to other Lionsgate films more worthy of rental dollars, like "Hard Candy."
"?Rod Lott
