When a horror movie hits big in theaters or on streaming, I always expect to see at least a trilogy. (And if the sequels are popular, we’ll see nine or 10.) If a film only gets one sequel, you might assume that the second movie wasn’t so great.
The double feature of Creep and Creep 2 from Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice — streaming now on Netflix — might be the strongest argument against that. The duology kicks off with a hilarious, chilling first-person account of human prey being playfully stalked, then follows with an incisive sequel that takes the franchise in a completely different direction.
In the first Creep, Brice (in his directorial and acting debut) plays Aaron, a struggling videographer who’s taken a random gig at a remote cabin in Crestline, California.
Aaron, played by director Patrick Brice, repeatedly and unforunately gives Josef the benefit of his doubt.
The job? It’s filming a video diary for a man named Josef (Duplass), who says that he’s dying of a brain tumor and wants to leave a message for his unborn child. Right from their initial meeting, Aaron realizes something is wrong with Josef, and that creeping dread ramps up inch by inch until their final encounter.
Right from the start, it’s clear that something is amiss with Josef.
Reminiscent of classic films like My Dinner With Andre and Misery, Creep is a “two-hander,” meaning the movie consists almost entirely of two characters — Aaron and Josef — working their way through an incredibly awkward (and sinister) relationship. (Duplass’ wife Katie Aselton puts in a brief but memorable performance as Josef’s sister on the phone.)
As tensions rise between the two characters, Josef becomes more and more unhinged, often in hilarious asides or antics that show just how far someone can go before the other person finally breaks and says “I’m out.”
Aaron, desperate for work and caught in that awkward situation where you don’t want to offend or lose a paying client, takes more and more of the weirdness until the character Peachfuzz shows up and all hell breaks loose.
The movie is shot from Aaron’s camera, so we see the action unfold from his perspective, letting Duplass cut loose as a polished and off-kilter comedian. I wasn’t a big fan of Duplass before this movie, but the character fits him perfectly. I can’t think of anyone else who could balance the banality and weirdness of evil as well as he does.
Aaron is behind the camera for most of Creep, but some scenes involve a fixed shot as the camera gets set down.
Some critics complain that Creep doesn’t leave enough freedom for audiences to think that Josef might not be a serial killer. I’d argue that the end of the movie is in doubt until the final scenes, when we get a satisfying and illuminating conclusion.
In the sequel, Creep 2, the script gets flipped — less “Mind of a Monster,” more “Portrait of a Serial Killer in Mid-Life Crisis.”
Josef, now Aaron, faces a mid-life crisis in Creep 2.
Josef is back, but now he’s named “Aaron,” after his favorite victim. And he’s hiring another desperate freelance videographer — Sara (Desiree Akhavan, director-writer of The Miseducation of Cameron Post), who’s struggling as a YouTuber filming random encounters with men on Craigslist.
Instead of rehashing his usual m.o., Aaron is straight with Sara from the start. He tells her that he’s a serial killer and that he’ll let her live if she makes a documentary about him. The twist? She doesn’t believe him, and every attempt that Aaron makes to scare Sara goes laughably wrong.
Aaron pulls out all his old tricks in Creep 2, but nothing seems to convince Sara that he’s a serial killer.
Sara and Aaron grow closer as the day goes along, developing the sort of oddball relationship that Sara has been craving from her unsuccessful Craigslist interviews. Aaron settles on a final resolution for their day, and Sara is having none of it, leading to a thrilling conclusion that’s again in doubt until the very last moment.
The ending leaves open the possibility of another movie, as we imagine someone new behind the camera, but it also resolves the Creep franchise with a compelling final scene that twists the videographer-subject dynamic into further knots.
Since Creep 2, Duplass has released a 30-minute TV show prequel series called Creep Tapes that focuses on Josef’s diverse experiences with his previous murder victims. Hosted on the horror streaming service Shudder, the first season was popular enough to get picked up for a second.
If you’re looking for a pair of indie horror films that avoid the most common cliches and tropes of the found-footage genre, Creep and Creep 2 certainly meet the criteria and provide more of a bang than many horror movies with much larger budgets.
For more scary movie picks, check out the best horror movies to watch on Prime Video or Hulu.
