Aeron Reviews Films
  • All
  • Alphabetically
  • By Genre
  • Lists
  • Contact
  • Details
    • Ratings
    • Warnings

Creep

27/10/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture

Genre: Horror
Rating: 15
​Warnings: Camera Shaking, Sexual Assault Description, Suicide References

Slowly building suspense for over an hour, this psychological horror might be as far from a slasher flick as it's possible to be. Technically in the found footage subgenre, we see the aparently unedited footage of a freelance filmmaker hired by an odd man in a cabin in the mountains.

With minimal action, jumpscares or even any real confirmation, the tension and unease just continue to ramp up. The man, Josef, gets stranger and more suspect as time goes on, but what exactly is going on is as mysterious as it is creepy.

The handheld camera and motion does lead to the occasional shaking, and there is one discussion of a rape scenario and one of suicidal feelings.
With literally just two cast members, Patrick Brice as Aaron and Mark Duplass as Josef, the film itself is very pared back. With no gore, monsters or high action sequences, Creep instead relies entirely on the acting and interplay between the two characters. The result is brilliant. Josef is both a scary and pitiful man, seeming entirely genuine or completely deceptive from second to second. Aaron is a competant everyman, making mostly sensible decisions and reacting in a normal way to strange and scary things. 

The found footage genre is not for everyone, putting severe limitations on the way the plot is presented and what can be included. The filmmaker premise works very well, and Aaron's rising fear gives good reasoning for the expanding scope of what he records. Josef's desperate attempts to befriend him and erratic stalking work well. There are some suprises, red herrings and minor jump scares along the way, all adding to the atmospheric horror more than any special effects could. 

The pace and real-world setting plant Creep firmly in the psychological horror camp. While my heart raced and my hair stood on end, it was not anyone in-film I was afraid for. Dangerous people who may or may not want to kill you are real, and the possibility that you are in danger with zero evidence to take to the police is the kind of logical adult fear that worries you in the early hours of a sleepless night.

When all the character driven tension is eventually resolved, the fact that things are actually resolved is more shocking than the jump scare. There's a little wrap up that confirms your suspicions and makes space for the sequels. Watch in the afternoon, and follow it up with some kitten videos, or watch it late at night with the window open to keep you from sleeping.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.