Creep is a found-footage horror film from writer/actor/producer, Mark Duplass, and director/writer/actor, Patrick Brice. It’s an early Blumhouse Production that made its premiere on March 8th, 2014, during South by Southwest of that year. It had made the rounds on the festival circuit before landing on Netflix and eventually the Shudder Network. That’s where I found it. I was intrigued to see Mark Duplass in a horror movie. I had been watching The League at the time and thought it would be interesting. Holy shit. He’s tremendous here.

A videographer, Aaron (Patrick Brice) answers an ad from Josef (Mark Duplass), a man looking to document his life for his yet-to-be-born child. The job seems easy enough. Aaron needs the money and he is a pretty decent cameraman. But things go pretty far off the rails almost instantly. To say that Josef is a little-off would be an understatement. Aaron quickly regrets taking the job as Josef starts to unwind right in front of him.

When asked about the motivations, filmmaker Mark Duplass had said that Creep drew inspiration from films like My Dinner with Andre, Misery and Fatal Attraction. It’s a character study. You get a deep look into the bizarre development of the relationship between Aaron and Josef. It’s very interesting to watch. Mark Duplass is terrifying! His work as Joseph is so bizarre and weird. You find yourself really wanting Patrick Brice to make it out of the situation.

Creep is a fantastic effort from two very talented filmmakers. Movie buffs will really appreciate what these two were able to accomplish. I was on edge through the entire film. The intensity is turned up to a million. This is definitely one of the better found-footage films. Streets ahead of shite like Chernobyl Diaries or Paranormal Activity 4. I think it does the genre justice. Everything about the setting and story felt natural. That’s really what makes it so effective.