“Creep” comes with high praise in the horror community and I’m not sure why. I can appreciate the roots of a true indie film. It was written, directed, and produced by two men; Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice – both of whom star as the only two characters. It has an incredibly limited budget, and comes across as such. Its issue is the lack of scares or real tension in any capacity.
The flick clocks in at 77 minutes – perfect length for found footage. It was released in 2014 – the tail end of the golden era of found footage horror. Brice makes his directorial debut. It feels amateurish, but that can go with the genre. Brice does a fine job in the role of director. It’s the writing that misses the mark.
Aaron (Brice) is a videographer responding to a Craigslist add. The job takes him to a house in the remote wilderness. Josef (Duplass) is the client. Josef is dying of cancer, and wants to record a video diary for his unborn son. I was on board to this point. Josef is a bit quirky, but Aaron feels for the situation and thus won’t leave. Even as Josef’s strange behavior starts to escalate.
“Creep” starts slow. Very slow. The two characters are well established and that’s a good thing for found footage. The acting can be corny at times, but again, it goes with the territory.
These are supposed to be real people, not Hollywood stars. The men are real life friends, and the relationship feels genuine because of it. Even Duplass’ real life spouse (Katie Aselton) lends her voice.
But nothing happens.
There’s a weird wolf mask, some personal insights that are revealed, and a lot of back and forth between the two. But nothing was scary, chilling, or suspenseful.
Even as things start to go awry, I wasn’t concerned in any way. I found it distracting that Aaron films everything – several times throughout the normal response should have been to put the camera down and run or fight. But he keeps it recording until the end.
“Creep” isn’t good or bad, it’s just nothing. I really like the two guys who made it. It’s quick, and while I won’t recommend it I won’t urge you to avoid it either.
“Creep” is available to stream on Netflix
