The Atmosphere of Creep

The Atmosphere of Creep

Horror films really only need to do one thing in order to succeed (on top of having a quality story and characters, of course): Scare people. If a horror film can’t be frightening or invoke feelings of terror when being viewed, then there is little credence to refer to it as “horror.” “Thriller” or “supernatural mystery” would be more appropriate terms. Real, true horror is the kind that sticks in your mind even after you’ve put down the book or turned off the screen. Horror is something that has to be earned by a piece of media, a feeling that is invoked in the person participating on the other end of the story. And one film that manages to capture those feelings of terror and kept with me well after I was done watching it was Patrick Brice’s 2014 found footage film Creep.

Creep follows a freelance videographer, Aaron, who has been hired by a new client, Josef, who is in the last days of his life due to a brain tumor. Josef hires Aaron in order to document his day-to-day life, wishing to leave something to his child who has yet to be born. Aaron complies—after all, what struggling creator wouldn’t take up a seemingly easy task? —and meets Josef at a cabin sequestered in the hills and forests, far from society. Josef appears eccentric at first, often pulling childish jump scare tactics on Aaron for amusement. Aaron takes this in stride, the payment at the end of the day acting as his influencer, as well as a strange sort of endearment toward Josef because of his aforementioned affliction. As the day passes on, however, Aaron begins to take notice of little errors in Josef’s reasoning for bringing him to the cabin and starts to wonder if his client is being truthful with him. To say any more about the plot of the film would be to spoil the entire thing, but you’ve probably already figured out that not everything in this film is as it appears.

And to some degree this presentation is what makes Creep a little difficult to get into. A videographer helping someone out in their cabin in the woods only to feel like not everything is right; the whole movie being on a handheld camera that shakes around every five seconds, jostling you into a world we’ve seen countless times before. The found footage genre is nothing new and quite often its presentation smells of amateur filmmakers working around a tight budget. Which is pretty obvious, even in this film. But what makes Creep stand out despite seeming generic on paper is the tactful, spot-on presentation with everything that unfolds. While I mentioned prior that Josef has an affinity for jump-scares, those moments are mostly appetizers to everything that follows. Because many of the horrific moments in this film are both new aspects introduced to the plot and the human side of everything going on.

That is to say: Aaron and Josef feel like real people, more so than I’ve seen in any recent found footage film to date. Patrick Brice does a good job at playing the everyman in the form of Aaron, giving the audience someone to root for while also leaving room for interpretation as to what his motivations are for doing what he does. But Mark Duplass steals the show as Josef, sometimes mysterious, sometimes terrifying, and always feeling human. This only added to the atmospheric nature of the movie, as much of it relies on interactions between the two cast members. Often these are presented in long conversations between the two in different locations, each new talk helping to further the story and build tension in a realistic, creepy way. Little hints in the plot come back in major ways as the movie progresses, tying everything together in such a way that makes sense while also being scary.

The film does slow-cooked horror in a way few films nowadays do, as the buildup feels believable and the revelations feel all the more satisfying. The scariest scene in the film isn’t even saved for the end, nor is it even a typical moment for the found footage genre. At this point, Aaron and Josef are in the cabin talking, Aaron keeping the camera on Josef for the sake of the film. Josef asks Aaron if he can tell him a secret. Aaron, a bit unsettled, agrees. Josef, however, does not want the camera on while he tells him. At first, he is reluctant, given his current suspicions that not everything is as it seems, but he eventually agrees to turn the camera off. Only instead of doing so, he shutters the lens, leading Josef to believe it is off. But we, the audience, are still there, watching a black screen as Josef confides his secret to Aaron. We are left in the dark, only able to sit there and imagine the details of what he says against the screen.

There are plenty of other unique sequences throughout the film, but to say any more would be a disservice to going into this film knowing as little as possible. Yes, what you can suspect from the film on the outset is probably true. But Creep thrives because it can capture this anxiety-riddled atmosphere of terror so well. The isolated area, the convincing nature of the actors, and even the choice to make the film found footage all work in its favor. Even though the plot is not as creative on the surface as one may expect, the film is presented in such a way that you will hardly take notice of anything generic involved. This is a great, terrifying film to watch, especially around this time of year. It’s currently streaming on Netflix and can act as a perfect, slow-burn horror film for an October night. Short as it is, rest assured its runtime is enough for what it sets out to do, and it is bound to leave a lasting impression no matter what you think of it. Creep is a film able to utilize tired genre cliches and recycled settings in new, exciting ways to do something not every horror film can do: Scare people.