My favorite horror movie duology is one of the best things on Netflix
When a horror movie gets a sequel but not a trilogy, you might think the second film was a critical or commercial failure. In fact, it’s not easy to find a two-part horror franchise that completes an entire storyline and comes to a satisfying conclusion.
However, Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice’s double feature Creep and Creep 2 – now streaming on Netflix – succeeds brilliantly, with a hilarious and chilling first film and then a 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 has taken a random gig in a remote cabin in Crestline, California.
Aaron, played by director Patrick Brice, is desperate for work at the start of the first Creep film.
The job? A video diary is recorded for a man named Josef (Duplass), who says he is dying of a brain tumor and wants to leave a message for his unborn child. From their first meeting, Aaron realizes that something is wrong with Josef, and the creeping fear increases step by step until their final meeting.
From the first meeting between Josef and Aaron, it is clear that something is wrong.
Inspired by both My Dinner With Andre and Misery, Creep is a “two-hander,” meaning the film consists almost entirely of two characters – Aaron and Josef – navigating their way through an incredibly difficult (and sinister) relationship. (Duplass’ wife Katie Aselton gives a brief but memorable performance as Josef’s sister on the phone.)
As tensions rise between the two characters, Josef becomes increasingly unhinged, often engaging in hilarious asides or antics that show just how far one can go before the other person finally breaks and says, “I’m out.” Aaron, desperate for work and caught in that sticky situation where you don’t want to offend or lose a paying customer, takes on more and more of the strangeness, until the character Peachfuzz shows up and all hell breaks loose.
The film was shot with Aaron’s camera, so we see the action unfold from his perspective, with Duplass cutting loose as a polished and idiosyncratic 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 can balance the banality and strangeness of evil as well as he does.
Most of the action in Creep takes place with Aaron behind the camera, but some scenes require you to put your hand down for a steady shot.
Some critics complain that Creep doesn’t give the audience enough freedom to think that Josef might not be a serial killer. I would say that the film’s ending is questionable until the final scenes, when we get a satisfying and enlightening conclusion.
The sequel, Creep 2, flips the script: less “Mind of a Monster,” more “Portrait of a Serial Killer in Mid-Life Crisis.”
Josef, now Aaron, faces a midlife crisis in Creep 2.
Josef is back, but now he is called ‘Aaron’ after his favorite victim. And he hires another desperate freelance videographer: Sara (Desiree Akhavan, director-writer of The Miseducation of Cameron Post), who struggles as a YouTuber filming random encounters with men on Craigslist.
Rather than repeating his usual behavior, Aaron is honest with Sara from the start. He tells her that he is a serial killer and that he will let her live if she makes a documentary about him. The twist? She doesn’t believe him, and Aaron’s every attempt to scare Sara goes laughably wrong.
Aaron is up to all his old tricks in Creep 2, but nothing seems to convince Sara that he is a serial killer.
Sara and Aaron grow closer as each day passes, developing the kind of strange relationship Sara longed for after her botched Craigslist interviews. Aaron comes to a final decision for their day, and Sara won’t hear of it, leading to a tense conclusion that is once again in doubt until the very end.
The ending leaves open the possibility of a new film, imagining someone new behind the camera, but it also resolves the Creep franchise with a riveting final scene that further confuses the dynamic of videographer and subject. (Duplass has announced a 30-minute TV show called Crawler tires which will focus on Josef’s previous victims.)
If you’re looking for some indie horror films that avoid the most common clichés and tropes of the found-footage genre, Creep and Creep 2 certainly meet the criteria and pack more of a punch than many horror films with much bigger budgets.
For more scary movie picks, check out the best horror movies to watch on Max.
