October 16, 2018
Written by: Mark Duplass, Patrick Brice
Starring: Karan Soni, Mark Duplass, Desiree Akhavan
Quote: "Well, this is my destiny. Sara loves her juicy fruit. And Aaron loves to kill."
Trivia: Because the script was only an outline, oftentimes Mark Duplass and Desiree Akhavan would surprise each other with their choices. This created the desired natural and spontaneous tone of the film.
I wasn't quite sure how they were going to do a sequel to Creep. Wouldn't it just be the same thing again with a new person? Surprisingly, the filmmakers were able to come up with a really original concept as a sequel. In this film, the creep confesses he is a serial killer the entire time and we watch as he fails to creep out what seems to be un-creep-able person. Like the original, the film benefits from the Mark Duplass' acting, the found footage concept, and a couple twists. But, what is great about this one is that it is also a darkly funny movie with genuinely laugh out loud parts. The Creep's character is also further explored, I think. It is really hard to tell what is real, what are lies, and what is his imagination when it comes to the Creep. Either way, this movie is nothing like what I was expected when I began watching it, but there is something mesmerizing about watching Duplass' character.
The film begins with another of the Creep's murder. This time, Dave (Karan Soni) receives a package with a video taken of his home that he rightly takes as both a threat and an invasion of his property. The Creep comes over to console him, all the while smiling into the hidden camera he has set up. The Creep finally confesses it was him that sent the package and slits Dave's throat. Unlike the joy he showed after killing Aaron in the first movie, the Creep seems bored and as he holds the dying man, we can see that the killing is no longer fulfilling to him. Fast forward a bit, and he's hired a new videographer, Sara (Desiree Akhavan) who secretly runs a website that does exposés on odd characters. When Sara arrives, the Creep immediately confesses that he is a prolific serial killer, shows her the video footage of him killing Aaron (from the original movie), but she doubts that he is telling the truth and takes the job. Almost immediately the Creep gets naked to tear down their barriers. To his surprise and dismay, Sara then also gets naked. The next bit of the movie has him trying to scare her in a bunch of ways and him failing to make an impact on her. Also, the river where he wanted to film his monologue has now shrunk to the size of a small stream. Nothing is going right for the Creep causing him lay on the ground pouting like a child. It is really funny to see how emotionally fragile the Creep is and how pathetic he can be when he doesn't get his way. He is so pathetic that I almost forgot that he's terrorized and murdered 39 people.
Afterwards, the Creep locks himself in a Jacuzzi where he listens to his favorite song on repeat (like a teenager when their mom says they cannot spend the night at a friend's house). Sara invades his sanctuary and he confesses (Is he ever telling the truth?) about his first murder, when he was picked up as a teenager and made to dig his own grave. However he turned the table on his aggressor and killed him, threw him in the grave that was made for himself, and laid with the dead body all night. Later, Sara is able to scare him as he tries to kill her and then scare him a couple more times as they play hide-and-go-seek in the woods. Realizing that he has been defeated at his own game, he asks Sara to help him commit suicide and during one attempt he hangs himself and Sara is finally scared by him. After apologizing and revealing embarrassing information about himself (Once again, is any of this true?), Sara gives him his first kiss (he grew up in a mental institution and worked with the elderly). This causes him to immediately fall in love with her and he tries to convince her to be part of a suicide pact stabbing himself in the gut a few times. Sara, of course, flees forcing the Creep to chase her. I won't spoil the last ten minutes of the film but it is pretty great with a few twists and turns.
Before watching the sequel, I thought the filmmakers were going to just do the same movie again with a new victim and a couple of new scares. Ya know, the typical sequel stuff. Then as the film began I thought the Creep was going to be the hunted, a reverse roles kind of movie. But what I got was something completely new and unique. A look at a serial killer and stalker on an off day, when nothing goes according to plan. Hannibal Elector met his match with Clarice Sterling, but Elector was much more prepared and by anyone's account was an absolute monster. The Creep is just a sick and sad man who was wholly unprepared for Sara which makes a lot of the movie a dark comedy. There are some genuinely funny moments in this film.
The Creep is a really fascinating character. I feel like this movie gives us a lot more information about what makes him tick. For him, it seems, there is a psycho-sexual power element to his stalkings and killings. There is some kind of sexual gratification that he gets from scaring his victim and knowing the power this fear gives him over them. This is his prime motivator for doing what he does. In his ritual, the murders themselves are an afterthought or a culmination of his work. In the first film he could have killed Aaron in the first minutes, but that is not what he does it for. That is why he strings them along for so long. That is what makes this film so interesting, he meets a women who almost cannot be scared which would make her killing pointless. His failed attempts at scaring her make him frustrated at his own impotency. It is not until his failed suicide and the very ending that he finally succeeds in scaring her, giving him back his power. It had been too easy for him for too long, but the challenge that Sara presented awoke something in him that I'm sure we'll see in the third movie. And I cannot wait!
What is going to happen in the third movie? And Duplass has even hinted at a prequel backstory for the Creep! The Creep is an unforgettable character in movies that demonstrate how to create a really great movie with almost no budget. What's next Mr. Duplass?
...what's your thoughts?
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