Creep (2014)


Director: Patrick Brice
Stars: Patrick Brice, Mark Duplass
Runtime: 77 minutes

Synopsis: A young videographer answers an online ad for a one-day job in a remote town to record the last messages of a dying man. When he notices the man's odd behavior, he starts to question his intentions.

Performances: 7/10
Screenplay: 4/10
Editing: 6/10
Entertainment Factor: 7/10

Verdict: The equation is simple: A small budget leads to small risk exposure, which with the right marketing team, can generate high profits at the box office. That winning formula was perfected by Blumhouse, and despite the studio not always producing quality content, they very rarely fail to at least break even and most of the time make at least two or three times their budget back.
"Creep" is a prime example of what Blumhouse is all about. It's quite literally a two man show, with it being co-written (well, mostly improvised) by Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice, who also play the only characters present in this found footage psychological horror. Brice also served as the director of the film, and was the one who mostly held the camera that allowed us to watch the events unfold. These events see a young videographer being hired by a dying man to spend a day with him in order to shoot a film for his unborn son. Sounds sad? Well, it is until we start seeing the real side of Mark Duplass' character, who I've never seen have so much fun in a role.
Found footage horror movies are usually more miss than hit. And while "Creep" certainly falls into the trap of unnecessary jumpscares and questionable decisions made by the lead character, who during most of the movie I had a difficult time understanding why he was even recording everything when he clearly didn't need to, I can at least say that I had a blast with it. It's dumb at times, cheesy at others, but I never found myself bored by what was going on. It's creepy yet weirdly funny at the same time, emmiting B movie vibes that I couldn't get enough of.
If you manage to look past the clear issues that the movie has, and if you're a fan of straight to the point horror films made purely for entertainment purposes, then you'll most likely have a good time with "Creep". Clocking at only 77 minutes, it's a very short watch that goes by very quickly. I personally enjoyed it so much that I immediately made its sequel, also available on Netflix, a priority.

FINAL GRADE: 6/10

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