For a minimalist found footage horror film, Creep ends up with more of the feel of a full-bodied cinema and less of an indie quickie then similar fare. That’s mainly thanks to the performance by Mark Duplass, who’s usually solid but has never been given a character so unusual and never been more interesting to watch. Duplass has to run through a wider range than I guessed him capable of, and he maintains an everyman likability while even the title tips its hand that this is a guy not to be trusted. It’s his best performance, and by quite a lot.
Jump scares are plentiful and a few of them I could see coming, but I would tense up anyways because I still didn’t know exactly when those moments would strike. Snooty critical opinion is that I should count it against the film for this type of horror, especially when the sound mix is amped up with the scares, but they’re effective because the character work is so strong. This isn’t just some scare machine, but an interesting back-and-forth between the leads, one of whom owns an especially creepy mask. During the quieter scenes, off-screen sounds keep the unease flowing.
Leave A Comment