Jaron Henrie-McCrea’s Hey Babe is a tidy little serving of horror that baits and teases and plays mind games with the audience, eliciting uneasy smiles rather than just scaring the pants off them. Henrie-McCrea plays with the familiar elements – ominous soundscape, jump scare, and alternating between reality and illusion. But the real fun and fear emerge from the portentous, repetitive use of a couple’s term of endearment for each other and the freaky skirmish between them and an inanimate object – a green bottle that refuses to leave the cabinet shelf despite several attempts to throw it away. Not only do Kiran Deol and Rupak Ginn make a cozy couple, their familiar charming ways are a perfect foil to the seemingly placid but menacing bottle. Revealing any more will be detrimental to the enjoyment of the film.
Jaron Henrie-McCrea
Jaron Henrie-McCrea is a writer and director based in Los Angeles. He has directed two independent feature films, Pervertigo and Curtain. Curtain premiered at London’s Film4 Fright Fest and Los Angeles’ BeyondFest, and won Best Screenplay at the New York City Horror Film Festival. Jaron has spent the last few years creating a series of horror shorts that have amassed over 8 million views on YouTube. He is currently developing a feature-length psychic horror movie with his wife and filmmaking partner, Carys Edwards.
