Creep is about a guy, a videographer, who answers an ad on Craigslist to record a customer in a remote location, but the job keeps taking increasingly odd turns. I chose to watch Creep for two reasons. First, Mark Duplass wrote and stars in Creep. Either you like his brand of mumble core meets Hollywood films or you don’t. I do. Creep is a departure from his usual schtick, relationship dramedies, because it is a horror film. Second, Creep belongs to the found footage genre, and I have a disproportionate fondness for the genre.
Even though Creep is only 77 minutes long, it could have been shorter. Creep’s unfolding narrative relies on whether or not the viewer relates to the videographer. I think most women would not have even been in Creep because they would not have answered an ad posted on Craigslist. For those who would have answered the ad, that person may not have gone alone or left at the first moment that he or she met the customer. Even though the point of Creep may be how wonderfully sweet and understanding the videographer is and how this experience either changes him or forces him to tap into instincts that would bring him closer to his customer’s personality, the videographer’s response would be a rare one. Creep felt contrived as opposed to organic.
If you can turn off your analytical mind and just enjoy where Creep will take you, then you will enjoy the movie more. Unfortunately Creep is not a memorable movie even though it struggles mightily to make allusions to fairy tales and surprise its audience. Creep is the first of a trilogy movies, which I will watch as they are released, but unless you love the genre or Duplass, don’t waste your time starting the trilogy by watching Creep.