Creep (2014 film)

This article is about the 2014 horror film. For the 2004 horror film of the same name, see Creep (2004 film).
Creep

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Patrick Brice
Produced by
Story by
  • Patrick Brice
  • Mark Duplass
Starring
  • Mark Duplass
  • Patrick Brice
Music by
  • Kyle Field
  • Eric Andrew Kuhn
Edited by Christopher Donlon
Production
company
Distributed by The Orchard
Release dates
  • March 8, 2014 (2014-03-08) (SXSW)
  • June 23, 2015 (2015-06-23) (United States)
Running time
 78 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English

Creep is a 2014 American independent found footage horror film directed by Patrick Brice, based on a story written by Brice and Mark Duplass. The film, which is Brice's directorial debut, had its world premiere on March 8, 2014, at South by Southwest and stars Brice as a man that answers a cryptic Craigslist ad.[2] The film was released on video on demand on June 23, 2015, by The Orchard prior to a global release on Netflix on July 14, 2015.[3]

Plot

Aaron (Patrick Brice) is an optimistic videographer who decides to come work for Josef (Mark Duplass) after answering his ad on Craigslist. All Aaron has to do is record Josef throughout the day and remain discreet about the entire setup. Josef tells Aaron that he will be recording a series of videos for his unborn son, as he is dying from a terminal illness and will never be able to see him grow up. Aaron first records Josef in a bath tub pretending to give his son a bath, and is then asked to come hiking with Josef. While getting a jacket, Aaron is startled by a wolf mask in the closet; Josef tells him that his father used to wear the mask and pretend to be a friendly wolf named Peachfuzz. Aaron accompanies him with the video camera. Throughout their time together, Josef repeatedly scares Aaron, excusing his behaviour by claiming he has a "weird sense of humor".

At a restaurant after their hiking trip, Josef admits to Aaron that he had taken photos of him before they met, as he wanted to get to know Aaron before meeting him; he apologizes profusely. He also says that Aaron has an "animal in [him]", as he looks ready to kill Josef when Josef scares him. As Aaron gets ready to leave that night, Josef asks him to stay for a drink of whiskey. He asks Aaron to turn off the camera; Aaron shuts off the video but leaves the sound on. Josef tells him he lied about Peachfuzz, and he wore the wolf mask in order to rape his wife and confirm his suspicions about her animal pornography habit. A now-unsettled Aaron drugs Josef's whiskey, lays him to sleep and takes his phone, which suddenly starts ringing. Aaron hides and answers it; it is Josef's "wife", who tells Aaron that she is really just his sister, and that he needs to get out of the house as soon as he can. Returning to where he left Josef, Aaron finds him gone; he searches for Josef, who scares him once again and tells him that he doesn't want to die before running off. Aaron attempts to leave through the front door, but Josef blocks it with the Peachfuzz mask on. Aaron charges at him, and the camera shuts off.

When the video resumes, Aaron reveals that he escaped the house and made it home, but he soon received a DVD in the mail from Josef of him burying some bags in the yard; Aaron thinks it is meant as a threat. He has also been having terrible nightmares about Josef. Josef sends him a large box with a knife and a stuffed wolf in it, as well as another DVD with a video of Josef apologizing for the last video and saying that he really cares about Aaron. Aaron rips open the stuffed wolf, finding a locket with Josef's and Aaron's pictures in it, which he throws away. After getting no help from the police, Aaron hears a trash can fall one night, and as he investigates his home, Josef appears at the front door. Days later, Josef takes the camera and films Aaron while he sleeps. Aaron finds another DVD labeled "My Last Video" in his house. Josef, in the video, apologizes again, reveals that he found the locket in Aaron's trash, and asks Aaron to come to the public lake by his house to "give them closure". Aaron films himself from his car as he goes to the lake. As he sits on a bench, Josef approaches him from behind, puts on the Peachfuzz mask, and axes Aaron in the skull, killing him.

As a goodbye bid of sorts to Aaron, Josef films himself watching the murder tape, which he has already done several times before. He expresses admiration and even puzzlement at Aaron's naivety and kindness, and claims he loves him and considers him to be his favorite "of them all" as a result. He shuts off the camera after jump-scaring himself by bursting into the camera's angle of vision seconds after murdering Aaron. Josef puts a DVD labeled "Aaron <3" in a cabinet full of videos and DVDs with different people's names on them, as he identifies himself as Bill over the phone while speaking to yet another person about hiring them for the same job for which he had hired Aaron.

Cast

Production

Brice and Duplass originally began working on Creep under the working title Peachfuzz, but chose to rename the film as the title's relevance came later in the movie's plot and they did not want viewers to "spend the first half hour trying to figure out why the movie is called Peachfuzz and [not] pay attention to the very intricate details".[4] The two built the movie from a series of conversations they had with one another and decided to refine Creep while they were filming, which enabled them to film and screen portions of the film to see what would or wouldn't work on camera.[4] As a result the film had multiple alternate end scenarios and Duplass stated that there were "10 to 12 permutations of each scene".[4]

Of the creative process for his character, Josef, Duplass explained "We were interested in the psychological profile of this very, very strange person. We were very interested in how you meet people and don’t quite understand what’s up, but you start to get signs. For us that was intense eye contact, lack of personal space, oversharing, maybe a little bit too much love here and there. But, for me, there’s something wrong with both of these guys. Deeply. This concept of, 'who is the creep in this scenario?'"[5]

Release

Creep received a world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 8, 2014 and film rights were purchased by RADiUS-TWC shortly thereafter.[6][7] Plans for an October 2014, video on demand release fell through, when RADiUS didn't release the film.[8] In June 2015, The Orchard acquired distribution rights to the film.[9] The film was released on June 23, 2015, on video on demand, prior to a global release on Netflix on July 14, 2015.[10]

Home media

Creep was released on DVD on April 5, 2016 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.[11]

Reception

Creep received critical acclaim.[12][13] The film has 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 reviews, and 74% on Metacritic based on 6 reviews.[14] The Hollywood Reporter and Indiewire both gave the film positive reviews,[15] and Indiewire noted that although the film had its flaws, that they mostly worked in Creep's favor.[16] Variety remarked that Creep "could have been more effective if Duplass’ performance were a shade more ambiguous, and the audience had a chance to at least fleetingly believe Josef might be telling the truth" but that "Despite the blatancy of his character’s ulterior motives, Duplass scores a considerable impact by making the most of the aforementioned plot twists."[17] In contrast, Shock Till You Drop panned the movie overall, stating that "Creep might work for those don't regularly digest horror films, but for the hardened fan, this is a film that spins its wheels all too often and feels like an exercise in self-indulgence."[18]

Sequel

Shortly after Creep's premiere at South by Southwest, Duplass announced that he intended to film a sequel and after the film distribution rights were purchased by RADiUS-TWC,[19] he further announced that he was planning on creating a trilogy.[20][21] In August 2014, Duplass further stated that he and Brice planned on filming the second Creep film at the end of the year, that the film's cast would be announced during that time, and that the trilogy would be completed in 2015.[22] However, in February 2015, Duplass commented that neither he nor Brice had been able to start filming on Creep 2 due to scheduling issues, as the careers of both men had greatly expanded since Creep's release, but that the both of them were still actively developing the project.[23]

References

  1. ↑ ASIN B011KK862C, Creep (2014)
  2. ↑ Gayne, Zach. "SXSW 2014 Interview: Talking to CREEP's Mark Duplass And Patrick Brice". Twitch Film. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Netflix Finds ‘Creep’ Footage For July Premiere". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Turek, Ryan. "SXSW Interview: Mark Duplass, Patrick Brice on Bringing Creep to Life". STYD. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Mark Duplass And Patrick Brice On Mixing Comedy And Terror In 'Creep'!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Creep". SXSW. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ Smith, Nigel. "RADiUS Acquires Mark Duplass Thriller 'Creep' and Its Planned Two Sequels". Indiewire. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  8. ↑ Miska, Brad (May 13, 2015). "Netflix Finds ‘Creep’ Footage For July Premiere". BloodyDisgusting.com. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  9. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (June 22, 2015). "Duplass Brothers Ink Seven-Film Slate Deal With The Orchard". Deadline.com. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  10. ↑ Zakarin, Jordan. "Inside the Duplass Brothers' Growing Digital Indie Empire". Yahoo. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  11. ↑ DiVencizo, Alex (February 22, 2016). brokehorrorfan.com http://brokehorrorfan.com/post/139792005678/although-it-has-been-available-on-vod-and-netflix. Retrieved February 28, 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ Moreno, Ashley. "SXSW Film Review: 'Creep'". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  13. ↑ "'Creep' Will Scare the Sh*t Out of You!". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/movie/creep
  15. ↑ Defore, John. "Creep: SXSW Review". THR. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  16. ↑ Taylor, Drew. "SXSW Review: Scary Good Mark Duplass Midnight Movie 'Creep'". Indiewire. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  17. ↑ Leydon, Joe. "SXSW Film Review: ‘Creep’". Variety. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  18. ↑ Turek, Ryan. "SXSW Capsule Reviews: That Guy Dick Miller, Creep & Open Windows". STYD. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  19. ↑ Sneider, Jeff. "Radius-TWC Partners With Blumhouse, Duplass Brothers on 'Creep' Trilogy". The Wrap. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice Discuss Their Craigslist Nightmare 'Creep'". ScreenRant. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  21. ↑ Yamato, Jen. "Radius-TWC Springs For Blumhouse-Duplass SXSW Thriller 'Creep'; Trilogy In The Works". Deadline. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Mark Duplass Says CREEP 2 Will Shoot at the End of the Year; Aiming to Release the Entire CREEP Trilogy Next Year". Collider. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  23. ↑ Taylor, Drew. "Mark Duplass on 'Lazarus Effect' and Turning Down 'Huge Movies' (EXCLUSIVE)". Moviefone. Retrieved June 7, 2015.

External links

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