So I Creep...
I say Creep, and many of you think Radiohead. You say Creep, and I think Duplass Brothers—two fellas with a flair for the unconventional. Don’t get me wrong, the song’s cool and all, but both Creep 1 and 2 are supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Radiohead’s Creep never gave me the giggles, nor did it introduce Peachfuzz or Tubby Time. Sorry, Radiohead. But we can’t all be Mark & Jay.
For those who aren’t familiar with the film, and (sadly) many of you won’t be, Creep, released in 2014, is a found footage psychological horror film written by brothers Mark and Jay Duplass. I watched this film back in 2015, by happenstance. I was perusing the horror section of whatever cable provider we had at the time and stumbled upon this relatively unknown little movie. It was a dreary, rainy afternoon, and with nothing else on the agenda, I figured it would likely be another low-budget, low-talent POS, but I’ve learned to judge books and films by their content and not their covers. A valuable lesson indeed, because within twenty minutes of playing the movie, I was rewinding so other members of my family could get caught up. No way was I keeping a gem like that to myself. Creep turned out to be a lot of things, but it certainly wasn't low on talent.
For a number of reasons, Creep is one of those movies that’s a bit difficult to discuss. It’s not your run-of-the-mill Hollywood release that’s been duplicated ad nauseam. I have no comps, but I also can’t do the film proper justice by dissecting each scene for you. Not only would I never dream of ruining this hilarious film for future viewers, but certain sub-genres need to be experienced rather than summarized. The comedic aspects of the film would get lost in translation, and the true creep factor (no pun intended) would become muddied in the semi-bizarre explanation of the film. Still, there’s enough to unfold here, and since I want to see more of the films I love get made, I’ve got to keep showing love, and encouraging you fine people to do the same.
If you’ve been following the blog, you know I don’t review films in a traditional format. For starters, I don’t begin with a lengthy synopsis. It’s a tactic many reviewers still utilize, but modern technology has made this somewhat archaic practice rather pointless. Why waste both my time and yours yammering on about a film’s plot? Trailers are available everywhere nowadays, and nearly everyone is armed with a computer in their pocket. Back in the day, reviewers had to provide readers with a summary. We had no access to trailers, unless one of the few channels you got happened to play it, and even then, you were likely to miss it entirely, unless you happened to be plopped in front of the boob-tube at the right moment. As for older films (those no longer playing in theaters), you’d have to wait for commercial release (which wasn’t always a given), hope your local Mom & Pop video store carried it, and that it was in. Then you could read the back cover. Information wasn’t readily available, so it was the job of the reviewer to describe in detail the film’s plot. Now, reading a synopsis or watching a trailer can be accomplished immediately and with zero difficulty. Suffice it to say, when Aaron (played by Patrick Brice), a struggling videographer, agrees to meet his new client, Josef (played by Mark Duplass), at a remote cabin in the mountains, things unravel in an original, terrifyingly comedic way never before seen. That’s all the description the plot needs. In fact, it’s best to go into this film a bit blind. Had I been prepared for what was to come, I might not have been as overjoyed by the film’s many oddities.
However, there are a few things that can safely be discussed without blowing the plot entirely. The Duplass brothers were utterly fearless in their pursuit for originality and honesty. The film’s most entertaining and admirable quality is its unbridled telling of characters both wildly outlandish and yet somehow believable. I don’t know about you, but I’ve met some strange folks and have seen some peculiar things in my day. Josef is a delightfully terrifying and somewhat more realistic representation of the boogeyman. Ask anyone to conjure an image of your stereotypical villain, and they’re going to show you Myers or Voorhees. But all too often, the real monsters in life are multifaceted individuals with a collection of, dare I say, endearing qualities used to ensnare their victims, leaving traces of doubt.
The relationship between Aaron and Josef begins in murky territory. But Josef’s just funny enough, endearing enough, caring enough, relatable enough, and convincing enough to leave the many red flags left in his wake a muted shade of pink. It’s the discovery of Josef’s unnerving vulnerability and true lunacy that proves so captivating, with just enough comedic relief to allow the viewer’s guard to come down. Just the right dose of comedy can diffuse a situation and lull a semi-suspecting victim into more complacency than is deserved. With additions like Peachfuzz (a werewolf mask that proves to be an almost alter ego for our villain), Tubby-Time (an incredibly uncomfortable, vulnerable act that convinces us of both Josef’s insanity and his innocence), and a collection of ultra-bizarre admissions on Josef’s behalf, every villainous trope is thrown out the window, leaving no room for gimmicks, flimsy characters, or certainty about his moral content. This is one of those rare films that manages to maintain itself throughout, delivering an expectedly unexpected conclusion we knew had to be coming despite not knowing if it would, or even how.
Creep is a true horror treat. While it’s not terrifying, nor is it an intellectual masterpiece, it is a perfectly peculiar little nugget of a movie. Original and deliriously different, it dances to the beat of its own drum, and it proves that originality and great acting can be accomplished on an ultra tight budget, with a miniscule cast, and a small idea made large by the dynamic range of the villain. What’s even more impressive is that the follow up, Creep 2 (released in 2017), hit many of the same marks, leaving me satisfied when I questioned if the Duplass brothers could pull it off twice.
I can’t recommend this one enough. It might not fulfill your grandma’s wishes—hell, it might not even suit the needs of your average horror consumer, but if you’ve got an appreciation for horror, or any film that plays outside the confines, give this one your time. The characters alone are worth the price of admission.
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