Creep
(2014)
IMDb genre: Comedy/Horror
Director:
Patrick Brice
Writer:
Patrick Brice, Mark Duplass
Starring:
Patrick Brice, Mark Duplass
I’d
seen many mixed opinions about this film but without finding out much about the
plot so I was able to go into it with an open mind and I recommend you do too.
Initially, I was disappointed to find it was yet another found footage film,
which I’m rapidly growing bored with. However, this duo made it work for them.
The reason for this is that the style never feels exploited; you don’t have the
preposterous scenes of characters running into danger still holding the camera,
it’s still left stationary when necessary. This means you only get a little of
the shaky camera work as characters run with the camera but you still the
action unfold.
Another
aspect of this film that goes in its favour is that there are only two people
on the screen for the film, one of whom is behind the camera lot, but they are
both talented actors so they hold your attention throughout. I think Mark
Duplass’ Josef is the standout of the two but also the reason that I don’t
think the film should be classed as a comedy horror. From the very beginning it’s
clear that something is not quite right with Josef so I felt immensely guilty
laughing at his actions; seriously, watch the ‘tubby time’ scene and tell me
your skin’s not crawling.
This
film definitely does a service to indie horror films as it’s becoming popular
and talked about which is impressive for a film with such a low budget. The low
budget is obvious if you think about it (limited shooting locations, camera
placed far away so special effects makeup is not necessary, etc) but it doesn’t
spoil the film. I also like the fact that the film stars the writer-directors
as I think that means that as an audience we are seeing the closest thing to
the film that they wanted to make.
Plot-wise
the film’s simple enough to not be confusing but unique enough to not be tired
and although I ruined the ending for myself with a spoiler on the IMDb page I
still enjoyed it! I do think the film is a little too slow in places though so
this could use work.
Mark
Duplass is the more experienced actor of the two but I can definitely see Patrick
Brice having a full career in the genre. I would want to see other films where
the two collaborate and if this is what they can do on a low budget I’d look
forward to seeing the more polished film they could create with a higher
budget, one of the places I would like to see more work particularly is the
soundtrack. That being said, Creep 2 & 3 are listed on Brice’s IMDb page
and I’m not sure on these as I feel it would just be a re-hash of the original
film and I think it would be hard to make the scares unique.
General
Opinion:
Scare
Factor:
This movie is not scary throughout but it will get
under your skin towards the end.
Gore:
Not a movie for gore hounds (I’m assuming this is due to the low budget) but
you don’t miss it.
Clowns:
This is not funny enough to class as comedy horror in my opinion.
