Review of Creep (2014) by Matthew S — 22 Jun 2015

Patrick Brice's horror film applies a pathological approach to make its audience jump. Even though you know some form of "boo!" is about to jump out at any minute, like a kid hanging out with a cruel older cousin -- he always manages to scare the hell out of you.

"You" is the key word here due to the fact that most of the entire film is shot from the audience POV. As Brice and Duplass are applying the now all-too-familer "found footage" aesthetic, they have come up with a couple of highly clever twists I've never seen.

The brilliance of CREEP is largely fueled the naturalistic performances from both Brice and Duplass. Mark Duplass is blessed with having a truly endearing sort of charisma. He almost seems like a scruffy little puppy. Patrick Brice is not charismatic as an actor. He comes across as kind of bland. But Brice is a smart director and he uses his own performance to full advantage in capturing an uncomfortable ambiguity within his character's fear. This odd perspective is explored just far enough to divert the audience.

In 80 minutes Brice/Duplass manage to deliver a movie that elevates the horror genre higher than I've seen in a while. On the surface, CREEP is fun adult horror movie. It is long after the credits roll that the underlying power really "creeps" up. Sure, it's only a horror movie. Now, keep telling yourself that as you realize that what you've just seen could not only happen -- it most likely does. Exceptional film.