I first became aware of the work of Mark Duplass thanks to his sitcom series The League, a show that I was a little unsure of as it was relatively unknown in the UK and it was about American Fantasy Football, yet I soon fell in love with the series thanks to the witty writing and great central cast. As such, I'm always interested whenever I see any of the main cast appear in something else, so when I learned that I'd missed out on a found footage horror film written by and starring Duplass I knew that I had to check it out. And luckily, Second Sight have just released a new limited edition Blu-ray of the movie.
Creep follows Aaron (Patrick Brice), a videographer who's struggling with work and answers an online advert to craft a video diary for Josef (Mark Duplass), a man who's dying of an inoperable brain tumour but wants to leave a video record behind for his unborn son. Travelling to a remote cabin in the woods, Aaron meets the odd and often manic Josef, and the two of them spend the day together, hiking in the woods and hanging out at Josef's cabin. Josef is strange, but seems somewhat harmless, but as the day turns to night and Aaron tries to leave he begins to realise that Josef is not what he seems.
It's hard to talk about Creep too much without spoiling a lot of it. There's a lot of the movie that's best learned as you go, and going beyond the central premise feels like too much information. That being said, this is a horror film, so of course you know things are likely to go wrong for Aaron at some point.
In light of being unable to talk about the plot much I will instead switch to talking about the cast. Duplass is utterly mesmerising as Josef. Creep is a film about two people, and one of them is often holding the camera and is not on screen, leaving Duplass to be the main focus of the movie. Because of this, much of the film is carried by him, by his performance and energy that are keeping your attention and driving things forward. Much of this is thanks to the film being shot in a found footage perspective.
Found footage movies are often a cheap way for filmmakers to save money, to keep things largely off camera and rely on low budget limitations rather than being hampered by them. Whether or not it always works is up for debate, but it seems like Duplass and Brice really lean into the benefits of the format, especially in how they approach Josef. There are a lot of times when Josef feels like he's talking directly to the audience, looking straight down the camera at you in a way that makes you feel incredibly uncomfortable. It's done well, and it really does put you into Aaron's shoes in a way that I've found lacking in most found footage movies.
What's absolutely delightful about Creep is that much of the movie is improvisation, with Brice and Duplass developing the film as they went, filming a few scenes and showing them to friends, reworking them and reshooting with the feedback they're given. You can feel a little of this in the finished movie, and there are times when reactions end up being incredibly genuine because they likely are. It might not be to everyone's tastes, but it feels fresh and different, and showcases the comedic improvisational skills of the creators.
Alongside the movie the new release comes with a pair of audio commentaries, an archival one with Brice and Duplass, alongside a brand new commentary with Duplass, Brice, and editor Christopher Donlon. The three of them also provide new interviews, and a 10 years Q&A. There's also a couple of alternate scenes, including alternate endings, which came about thanks to the improv nature of the movie leading to multiple possible conclusions to the film. The commentaries, interviews, and alternate scenes add a lot to the viewing experience, and for those that enjoy the movie they feel like a great companion piece as we get a peek behind the curtain for how this strange and unique piece of cinema came about.
The special edition version also comes with six new art cards, as well as a 70 page booklet with a number of new essays about the movie from industry experts such as Kat Ellinger, David Kittredge, and Sarah Appleton.
For those tired of the same old found footage horror films Creep is a great twist on the format that offers viewers something very different. Often odd, sometimes funny, and mostly strangely disturbing, it's a brilliant example of what a couple of talent people can produce with a great idea and relatively little money. Just be careful of what adverts you end up answering.
No comments:
Post a Comment