By Geno McGahee
There are two kinds of found footage films. We usually see meaningless dialogue leading to a shocking ending with the hopes that you will forget that you sat through 90 minutes of pure shit to get there. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY is a good example. Then, you have found footage films that treat the movie like a movie and craft a story and approach it with care. CREEP is one of those films that was created with care and proved a very fun and intense watch.
Written, Directed and Starring Patrick Brice, CREEP involves a videographer taking an assignment and meeting up with an eccentric man on the verge of death. Aaron (Brice) travels to a cabin and meets Josef (Mark Duplass), a man dying from brain cancer. He wants to chronicle his last days so his unborn child can see what he was like. Josef survived cancer once, but it came back with a vengeance. Death being eminent, he becomes more open and immediately shows affection for Aaron, hugging him multiple times and calling him a true friend.
They go for a hike and Aaron begins to realize how strange his new friend is. Josef intentionally jumps out and scares him over and over and cannot keep his stories straight. At one point, he puts on a wolf mask and states that it was his father’s. He then does a dance number with it, but he would later state that his wife was into bestiality porn and that he bought the mask to have sex with her. Slowly, the mood is changing and Aaron wants out, but he cannot find his car keys.
After a call from Josef’s sister, Aaron leaves quickly, but it was not easy. Josef, sporting the mask, is dancing suggestively for him and blocking the door. Aaron gets away, but now begins to get deliveries in the mail from his secret admirer. He begins showing up at the door and insists on one final meeting, leading to a great conclusion to this unique horror movie.
CREEP is a showcase for the talent of Mark Duplass. When he is on the screen, the film is incredibly interesting and the character is likable. Despite his intentions, there is the inclination to support him. When the film shifted to focus on Brice, the film loses it a little. Brice was a good counterweight to Duplass, but he couldn’t carry the film alone. Duplass could.
I highly recommend CREEP. It mixes humor, horror and mystery very well. It was very entertaining.
Rating: 8/10