Creep

This psychological horror film from 2014 is essentially a two-hander, starring Patrick Brice (who also directed) and Mark Duplass (who co-scripted together with his friend Patrick). Don’t be fooled by the fact that here, we only have two characters…because one of them is quite literally a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

When videographer Aaron (Patrick Brice) receives a commission from a man called Josef (Mark Duplass) to travel to a remote cabin in Crestline in the Californian San Bernardino Mountains district, he’s over the moon: he hasn’t had an assignment for some time and thus struggles to pay his bills. Over the phone, his new client explains that his days are numbered due to a brain tumour which doctors can’t operate on and he wants Aaron to drive to his cabin to record a video diary which is meant to be a present for the couples’ unborn child… something that his wife Angela can give their child once old enough to understand why there is no daddy. Delighted about the fact that he finally has a job coming up (if only for one day), Aaron doesn’t even bother asking Josef about his second name or conduct any background checks. Clearly, the eager videographer is no fan of horror films, otherwise he would know that trekking up to a remote cabin could well spell danger…

At first, everything goes smoothly and the two appear to hit it off, with Josef talking about all sorts of things while Aaron follows him around with his video camera. For viewers, the penny should drop when Josef utters the sentence “I would like to record this day of my life so my child can one day find out about me and the man I once was.” Once WAS? Hmmm… Anyway, as the day progresses, Josef displays increasingly odd behaviour and a sense of humour not shared by Aaron – for example, at some point he frightens the unassuming guest by wearing a silly wolf mask, which looks like some Halloween prop and which Josef has named ‘Peachfuzz’. He then explains to the startled Aaron that the mask belonged to his late father and now Josef keeps it (and occasionally wears it) as a memory of his dad. Later that day, the two men embark deep into the woods because, according to Josef, somewhere hidden is a heart-shaped well with its water rumoured to have magical qualities. Sure enough, they find the well (though something tells us that Josef knew the well’s location all along) and afterwards, they have a bite to eat in a roadside restaurant, during which Josef plays ever more mind games with the seemingly oblivious Aaron. During one point he even turns the tables and films Aaron with his own camera.

Back in the cabin, Josef’s odd behaviour continues and with Aaron now disturbed by his client, he decides to call it a day and explains that he has enough filmed footage and he’d better be on his way. Master manipulator Josef invites Aaron to stay for one last drink before they part, which happens to be a very large tumbler of whisky indeed. Now Josef has the perfect excuse to ask Aaron to stay overnight because firstly, he’s now over his limit and secondly, the long road back to the city in which he lives is regularly patrolled by Highway-police and if they stop him due to drunk driving… Aaron gives in and stays, although with unease. When Josef seems to be flat-out sleeping in the living room, Aaron attempts to sneak out of the house and drive off, alas, his car keys are missing! Convinced that Josef took them (and they could be anywhere), Aaron sneaks up to the sleeping Josef and manages to pull his mobile phone out of his shirt pocket. Silently walking into the adjoining room, he is about to ring the police for help when suddenly, the mobile phone rings though he manages to intercept the call before Josef wakes up. On the other end is Angela (voiced by Mark Duplass’ real-life wife Katie Aselton) and now Aaron is in for a shock: Angela isn’t Josef’s wife but his sister and she informs Aaron that her brother isn’t married at all and neither does he have cancer, before warning the shocked videographer to get out of the house now, even if it means walking… It’s from that moment on that things get very creepy indeed, not least because Josef is no longer asleep. We’ll leave this review here, as it really would put a dampener on what is about to unfold…

This is cleverly written and Mark Duplass is simply terrifying as an apparently terminally ill man who turns out to be something else entirely. CREEP is now available as a Standard Edition Blu-ray and as a Limited Edition Blu-ray box set, with Bonus Material consisting of audio commentary, interviews, Live Q&A, Deleted scene and alternative endings. The Limited Edition box set furthermore contains a 70-page booklet, six collector’s art cards and is presented in a rigid slipcase.