This 2014 film stars Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass, who also wrote the movie. They're the only two people you see on screen. Brice directed it. The whole movie is pretty much a two-man operation.
I call it an unlikely pick, because, for starters, that title couldn't be more generic. Secondly, it's a found footage movie, which is a style I thought I'd long grown tired of, with a few standout exceptions (Blair Witch Project, Troll Hunter, V/H/S). It's also short on special F/X, and because it has only two people, that puts the bulk of the scary on Duplass's shoulders in his characterization of Josef. More on that in a bit.
Creep opens like a lot of horror films, with the main character driving to the butt end of nowhere. Aaron (Brice) explains to his camera that he's going into the mountains because he took a videographer gig that pays $1,000 and requires he be discreet.
When he reaches his destination at the top, he meets Josef, who promptly welcomes him with a hug, pays him, and fleshed out the details of the assignment.
Josef tells Aaron he has cancer and wants to make a film about who he is, in case he dies before his child is born, like in My Life starring Michael Keaton. Once the goal is explained Josef gives Aaron another hug, and goes straight to the bathroom and takes off his clothes to shoot the tubby time sequence.
See, when Josef was a baby, his dad would take baths with him, and they called it tubby time, so Josef's just trying to recreate a bonding moment for his yet unborn son, during which he sits in the tub and mimes giving the baby a bath.
Shortly after that, Aaron discovers Josef's werewolf mask. It's okay, though, that's just Peachfuzz. Josef's dad used to wear it to make kids laugh. He even had a little song and dance he did while wearing the mask, which Josef demonstrates. Josef has a lot of fond memories of his dad.
Once Josef has had Aaron film him naked in the bath and dancing around in a werewolf mask, he starts acting a little weird. Aaron slowly discovers that Josef is a manipulative psychotic with a penchant for stalking as the layers of deceit peel back and fall away.
As a performer, Duplass walks a tight rope as Josef is often sympathetic and scary. One minute, you feel sorry for the guy, the next you want to get as far away from him as possible, and yet you keep watching, wondering what he's going to do next.
My only complaint with the movie is it begs of Aaron's empathy one time too many, and in the third act, he makes a decision far removed from any realism or common sense, so I didn't care for the ending. Still, I enjoyed Creep overall and I hope it whetstone your appetite for live, in-the-flesh scares at the Devil's Attic this weekend.
See you soon.
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