Creep is about nine different horror film set-ups presented as one narrative. That's the problem. It's unfocused. You can't fault its ambition, but you can easily fault its execution.
Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice write and star in this two-hander; Brice also serves as director, an easier feat considering his character, Aaron, is hired to film Duplass' character, Josef, for a day. So it's a fake documentary about a twisted subject.
Aaron is asked to film Josef in a secluded cabin in the woods. They also go on a winding journey in the woods for a fabled heart-shaped fountain that can heal. Aaron also tries to stop Josef from leaving when the work day is done.
That last paragraph would be the perfect three act structure for this kind of found footage/first person horror; in Creep, it's the first 20 minutes of the film. That's a problem. Brice and Duplass fire through so many ideas so fast that none of them reach a satisfying conclusion. That opening sequence is actually really tense and effective. The next hour unravels at a very uneven pace, shooting out plots like sunflower seeds at a baseball game.
Duplass and Brice do give very good, natural performances in Creep. The characters feel real. There is a good bond between Aaron and Josef that only sours when Aaron starts to learn more about the real Josef. Brice, in particular, serves as a strong and likable protagonist. This kind of POV/found footage horror doesn't work at all if you don't like the lead character and Brice delivers.
The big problem comes down to a poor choice of device in the film. Josef is obsessed with wolves. He relates to them. He behaves like them. He believes everyone has a killer inside, just like a wolf. He also has a pretty creepy wolf mask hiding in the closet that starts to give Aaron nightmares.
This image is labored when it's first introduced in Creep and only grows worse as Brice and Duplass try to subvert it. I actually started to wonder at one point if this was going to turn into a horror film about the furry community or worse: another dull take on "Red Riding Hood." Frankly, either of those possibilities looks glorious compared to repeating the initial wolf concept over and over with no significant variation throughout. It's like they slotted this tired metaphor into a bunch of film ideas and hoped it magically connected them all.
Basically, Creep is a horror film that overthinks its concept. It's just a little too enamored with how smart and clever it is. No one in real life picks up a camera days later and continues their thoughts as if it was literally a few seconds later. Yet in this film, both Aaron and Josef continually pick up right where they left off, sometimes even in mid-sentence. It's the combination of too many ideas and too much control over them.
Creep is currently streaming on Netflix.