Movies
Fred Andrews Calls ‘Creature’ Haters “Bottom Feeders”
Just last week Fred Andrews saw his indie Creature self-distributed by Sid and Jon Sheinberg’s Bubble Factory. Sid was the president of Universal Studios during the release of classics such as Jaws, ET and Jurassic Park, so it’s a shock knowing his new company had faith in this incomplete creature feature. The film grossed only $331,000 opening up in 1,507 U.S. theaters this weekend, making it the worst premiere ever for a film opening in 1,500 locations or more, according to BoxOfficeMojo and Yahoo.
The film flopped. It currently has a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes and was panned by most critics. And while we respect the opinion of those who enjoyed the flick, director Fred Andrews has none for those who hated it. In fact, he sort of implies that the film was made for morons. How so? Read on to see.
Chris Alexander, Fangoria’s newest Editor-in-Chief, explains that the long running magazine – who also gave the film a cover story – is “friends” with Andrews, and offers the director their platform to insult critics who hated the film. We’ll use ours to respond.
“Oh no, the negative reviews have been in no way disappointing; in fact, I am impressed with how many different and creative ways people have been able to express their distaste for the film,” Andrews jokes. “But seriously, of course I anticipated a lot of negative reviews just given the very nature of the film. It’s not a film for critics; I mean, come on, it’s called CREATURE, for God’s sake!”
First, he sarcastically jokes about people slamming the film, and then retracts his light comments by saying, “but seriously.” He then goes on to state he anticipated a lot of negative reviews, which to me implies that he knows how bad his movie is. Furthermore, he continues by stating that it’s not a film for critics, which implies it’s for people of a lesser nature, as if critics are on some sort of f*cking pedestal of power.
“But on the other hand, I was happily surprised when the LA Times gave us a good, honest review; they got it. As have a number of other reputable critics and publications like FANGORIA, Nuke the Fridge, Killer Films and Unwinnable.” Andrews continues implying that because these publications “liked the film” it’s an “honest” review, and that they are “reputable”. By the very nature of his comments, anyone who did not like it is a liar and a joke. Therefore, he’s calling me the same.
He goes on with the baby insults, “Those lowbrow sites that have trashed it and bloggers who harshed on the film were no surprise to me, man. Come on, what kind of critic are you if you use the word “titties” in your review, or you’re still talking about my film when you’re reviewing another one. You can’t take those guys seriously, man; they’re bottom feeders.”
I don’t know what sites he’s referring to but an opinion is an opinion, man. In fact, the “bottom feeders” were the ONLY sites giving his little film attention, man. They were the ones supporting it, giving it press and even acknowledging that they had high hopes for it, man. No horror fan wants to see a bad movie nor do they want to be disappointed, man. Nobody was even rooting for Andrews to fail, man, man.
If anything, he failed the horror community by releasing an *incomplete film that disappointed the majority of people who saw it.
Again, we respect all opinions, which is why we have user reviews for for the flick (there aren’t many, because nobody saw it). But Andrews takes it too far, takes it too personal and insults anyone who has distaste for Creature. Don’t ever forget that if you disliked Creature you’re an idiot and a bottom feeder who doesn’t “get it”.
*Spoiler warning: I’d also like to note that the film does NOT have a third act. The protagonist has the final battle with the Creature OFF camera.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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