What a Big Camera You Have

They made a sequel to Creep! It's a full one minute longer than the first film's brief 77 minute running time. It damn well better earn those 60 seconds. 

Quick Plot: Now calling himself Aaron (the name of his most recent victim), the man we met in Creep as Josef is continuing his odd hobby of befriending lonely people, getting under their skin, and murdering them without warning. The shame is that his heart just isn't in it anymore.

A few hours away, a struggling filmmaker named Sara is feeling down that her documentary web series "Encounters" is tanking in the youtube views. When she sees "Aaron's" Craig's List ad seeking a filmmaker ("fans of Interview With a Vampire a plus"), she decides it's just weird enough to make for the subject of her series finale. 

Of course, Sara has no idea that Aaron is a serial killer, and even after he confesses, she has no real reason to believe him. To Sara, this visit is the chance to finally explore something deep with her camera. Sure, Aaron is testing every boundary and clearly playing his own version of two lies and a truth with every statement that comes out of his mouth, but it's naturally just a tad too late before the reality really kicks in. 

Like Creep, Creep 2 is directed by Patrick Brice and written by Brice and star Mark Duplass. I enjoyed that film well enough, but found the unbalanced nature of pairing such a fascinating presence like Duplass with his bland target (played by Brice himself) a letdown. Creep 2 wisely improves upon this, using the same basic setup but putting Aaron/Josef's chronicler and possible victim on a much more even playing field. 

Played by Desiree Akhavan, Sara has a very specific confidence that allows her to challenge Aaron. With nearly two decades of post-Blair Witch film crews investigating subjects that will doom them in our public conscious, it's not easy to make a found footage horror film about an ambitious young director without leaving your audience sensing deja vu. Thankfully, Sara manages to feel fresh. Akhavan has a brave (if not always bright) energy totally fitting to a an experimental, fresh-out-of-film school documentarian, and her interaction with Aaron goes in a variety of directions you don't quite see coming.

It's a shame then, that Creep 2 has such a poorly executed ending. I won't spoil anything here, and the news that Creep 3 has been greenlit certainly takes some of the frustration out of my initial viewing. But dangit: Creep 2 goes so well for so long, then tosses in an incredibly rushed coda that just doesn't seem to line up with the story we've been watching.

High Points

By golly, is there a more engaging onscreen presence than Mark Duplass? It's also such a treat to see him get to play off such an interestingly drawn character as Akhavan's Sara (and as said earlier, such a gigantic step forward from the first film's costar)

Low Points

DAT ENDING

Lessons Learned

Death by blender should never be ruled out for execution

Perhaps documenting your fail-safe escape plan isn't the best way to keep a fail-safe escape plan secret

Wolf masks offer just enough peripheral vision clearance for safe country road driving

Rent/Bury/Buy

Creep 2 is a Blumhouse production that goes straight to Netflix, and like its predecessor, it makes perfect sense as a breezy streaming view. Mark Duplass continues to make incredibly weird (in the best of ways) choices, and watching him tap into whatever pleasantly unsettling darkness is within his Aaron is always a strange pleasure. Give it a go. 

Bromance Or Bust

I think it’s safe to say now that it’s 2016, we can finally stop arguing over the merits of found footage horror movies. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t. The same can be said about zombie flicks, slashers, and every other subgenre. 

So with that said, clear out a mere 77 minutes of your life for today’s found footage feature.

Quick Plot: Aaron is a young filmmaker who eagerly accepts a mysterious but financially savvy one-day job. His mission: drive to a secluded cabin and film a man named Josef's My Life-esque video message to his unborn child. Josef has a fatal brain tumor and doesn't expect to see his baby grow up, hence his fairly emotional state.

Still, isn't Josef just a little TOO friendly? The laid-back Aaron tries to take it in stride, but it doesn't take the full day to realize something just isn't quite right.

At just 77 minutes long, it's hard to say any more about Creep without giving a whole lot away. Directed by Patrick Brice (who also plays Aaron) and heavily improvised by indie king Mark Duplass, Creep is a minimalist two-man drama that doesn't wear out its brief welcome (at least for me). Duplass has such a strong confidence in talking directly to a camera that it's darn near impossible not to hang on his every word. To see him play so against type--or rather, like a long-lost and socially confused cousin of his quirky Mindy Project gynecologist character--is fascinating to behold.

That being said, Brice's Aaron isn't the most interesting of cameraholders, although in a subgenre that includes obnoxious messes like V/H/S and Crowsnest, he's certainly far from the worst. Still, for all its disciplined brevity, it's kind of frustrating to get so little out of our protagonist. For example, we gather that an independent filmmaker taking a mystery gig could probably use some cash, yet the brief glimpse of his home life seems to suggest he's living pretty decently. Similarly, we don't necessarily need to see him call his friends for advice, but considering how strange the situation gets, there's simply a missing link on our end to not see Aaron make any kind of effort for help (one quick police report aside). Would any sane adult agree to meet their stalker without dragging along at least one pal that owes a favor?

Creep doesn’t address these questions, probably because it’s just so much more interesting to put its energy into Duplass’s Josef. It makes perfect sense, but it also renders something about the film a little empty. Yes, I’d rather watch Josef over Aaron, but because we’re not ever fully put into Aaron’s shoes in a way that seems to fit, it’s hard to have the wollop hit as it should. 

That being said, Creep is...neat. Duplass is just too good for it not to work, even if it doesn’t quite connect the way I was hoping. Still, it's more than worth a watch, particularly if you've always dreamed of watching Mark Duplass dress like a werewolf and dance.

High Points

As much as I do have issues with how Aaron's character is handled, I will say that it's oddly refreshing to see this kind of tale focused on two male characters. The film doesn't hammer away at its gender flip, but it's definitely a clear and deliberate choice that puts a familiar story in just enough different context to make you look at things with fresh eyes

Low Points

Aforementioned frustrations with one half of the characters

Lessons Learned

As someone who lives on the 4th floor (plus an even bigger 1st floor stoop, so really, 5th floor) walkup, I can indeed back up Josef's claim that you just never get used to stairs

Turn around. Always, turn around

Every town has a diner known for its pancakes

Rent/Bury/Buy

Far from a masterpiece, Creep is still an enjoyable way to kill 80 minutes. The film plays with its familiar setup and style to deliver something much fresher than most of its brethren, and Duplass is just one of those artists who's always weirdly fascinating to watch. It’s something different grounded in the familiar.