Reviewed by Síofra McAllister
In Creep, Patrick Brice’s ingenuous filmmaker takes a mysterious job at a cabin-in-the-woods, and proceeds to develop a reluctant friendship with his unfathomable and overly familiar subject. It’s a simple, intriguing narrative – nothing much on paper – but the profound discomfiture Creep provokes is nearly impossible to relay here.
The aptly named Creep steals up on you when you’re least expecting it. The standard jump scares are second to none – expertly executed without a soundtrack, relying on nothing more than a camera and two flawless lead actors – but it’s the overarching and sinister plot development that gifts us those authentic and enduring spine chills. Despite a skulking sense of wrongness that hovers at the corners of our awareness warning us otherwise, the audience can’t help but giggle nervously and even laugh uproariously at some of Creep‘s dark humour – right up until the heinous finale.
Creep is comical, but it’s not a comedy. It’s tense, but it’s largely cringeworthy rather than nail-biting. Most of all it’s horrific, and the twisted hero / villain relationship therein could almost be labelled meta in that it hazardously parallels the horror fan / horror movie relationship: Prepare to leave this movie feeling a little bit sullied and a lot terrified.
It’s hard to believe that Creep is Brice’s first foray into feature length directing and writing. While some may accuse this young director of playing it safe with the found footage format, the subtly sublime storytelling employed in Creep speaks of a much more experienced filmmaker and one with a true passion and respect for the horror genre. While Patrick Brice’s supremely capable direction makes Creep one of the most insidious, sticky horror movies you’ve seen this side of 1960, Mark Duplass (Safety Not Guaranteed) may be the only actor who could misdirect us so well, and it’s this latter talent that seals Creep‘s success. Duplass’ expertly rendered and truly sinister Creep is one of horror’s least gruesome but most dreadful villains.
