Interview: Scare Me and Heart Eyes director Josh Ruben on creating comedy horror successfully

The average horror fan probably knows Josh Ruben as the guy who directed last year’s hit slasher flick Heart Eyes. But in addition to his mad directing skills, Ruben is also an actor, comedian and writer who specializes in horror.

Ruben wrote, directed, produced, and starred in Shudder film Scare Me in 2020, then directed Werewolves Within the following year before jumping into Heart Eyes. I had the chance to chat with him briefly at Spooky Empire in October, where he graciously agreed to an interview once The Horror Lounge launched.

THL: Josh, you have directed films such as Werewolves Within, Scare Me, and Heart Eyes. With Scare Me, you wrote, directed, produced and played the lead character. Which of these roles do you enjoy the most, and what were the challenges with playing all of them in one movie? 

JR: Scare Me was the movie that started it all, and though a couple of back to back snowstorms battered production, we were so well-prepped and the cast and crew were all so lovely, it’s hard to pick which part of the process I enjoyed the most. It was an absolute labor of love. 

The challenge for me was mostly felt in the back half of the process. We were venturing into this dreadful, unknowable territory with covid… the combo of rallying to get audiences excited about my movie while the “world was ending” was tough. 

THL: I love Scare Me so much, it’s just such a unique premise, and I appreciate that it is funny, but also genuinely scary. What inspired you to write it? 

JR: Thank you! Two things inspired me to write Scare Me -- the first of which was an industry in the throes of the #MeToo movement. I noticed a harsh silence from the men in my community while women were vocalizing left and right these sort of horror stories of power dynamics. I was talking to a lot of women about their experiences... and something kind of twisted sparked: what if I told a story - not about this specific issue - but about gender dynamics? Specifically, what happens when you force an insecure man into company with an empowered woman? That envy and resentment seething over in micro (and ultimately macro) aggressive fashion made me delightfully sick to my stomach. The script poured out of me in four or five days. 

THL: What was the experience of working with Shudder on Scare Me like, and how did it come about? 

JR: Fantastic. Shudder was the new punk kid on the block. They had movies like Halloween and Dogtooth on the platform (the latter of which was a big tonal reference for Scare Me). I worked closely with Sam Zimmerman, Emily Gotto and Sean Redlitz at the time. They were lovely, and so supportive - so filmmaker-forward. It felt cathartic to have folks in their position seeing my film for what it was, its value. They were instrumental in getting it in front of the Sundance curators. Their PR team was lovely to work with, too. It came out well, all things considered, though the pandemic derailed our plans for experiential screenings (outdoors, in cabins, etc). It also kneecapped our shot at a limited run at Alamo Drafthouse, which was such a bummer. Even though my second film Werewolves Within was released during covid, I was thrilled it went to theatres. I'll never forget pulling down my mask in between bites of a burger and doing a Q&A to a brave & teensy audience afterward. I loved every second of it. 

THL: All three of your feature horror films are comedy/horror,  it must be a fine line to walk, because you want people to laugh, but also to be scared. How do you achieve that balance? 

JR: It's largely casting and score. An actor's performance can tip a hat toward an emotion. Music can do the same. If the actors play the horror - the terror of a situation for real, we'll buy into it; we'll go along for the ride, we'll want them to survive. If musically I'm telling you to be terrified, I'm less likely to use a whomp-whomping tuba than, say, shrill and melty strings or an eerie chorus...

THL: Clearly you are a fan of horror, and I have found that people who love horror were usually led to it as kids by a family member. In my case, it was my Uncle Ronnie, who took me to see the original Black Christmas (which was then known as Silent Night, Evil Night) when I was 10. How did you discover a love for the genre? 

JR: Our local video store growing up was Potomac Video. My parents let me rent just about anything I wanted. Robocop was the one time my mom made me shut it off, but Jaws I could watch 'til I broke the tape. Between that and my sister Rachael letting me watch all things Freddy and Jason on cable in her room, that was the cornerstone of my horror education.

THL: Heart Eyes was a big hit when it was in theaters last year. The idea of a sequel has been teased, what are your feelings about that? 

JR: Incredible.

THL: Is there anything you are currently working on that you can talk about? 

JR: Well, since it's been announced I can talk about Wilderness Reform. The team behind it is incredible, but I specifically have to shout out my Paramount exec Mika Pryce. She helped bring the Smile franchise to life. Mika saw something in Wilderness that she felt I could elevate - an opportunity to do something fresh, scary, and moving. I'm so grateful to her for that.

THL: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me, I really appreciate it. I can’t wait to see what you do next! 

JR: Thank you!