review by Josh Keown Pro
Creep 2004
Rewatched Jul 25, 2012
Josh Keown’s review:
“Hello? Did you kill the driver?”
-Kate (Franka Potente)
Creep is the feature debut from British director Christopher Smith (Now probably best known for several excellent entries into the genre that followed this, namely Severance (2006), Triangle (2009) and Black Death (2010)). It’s very much a mixed bag, succeeding rather well in certain areas, whilst also falling short in others.
The premise is very simple, with protagonist Kate (Franka Potente) getting trapped in the London Underground after dark and falling prey to a deformed creature. It requires the audience to suspend their disbelief (a lot), as anyone with any knowledge of the Underground would know such a scenario is virtually impossible. In fact, if you know nothing about the Tube, you’d probably enjoy it more.
The acting from all the cast is fairly good, particularly Potente, whom is already a great actress. Having said that, the characters are mostly a dislikeable bunch, even the snobby Kate, but I’m unsure whether this was intentionally done to invoke sympathy for the creature.
The script is very much of the run of the mill, mediocre kind, but is made up for by some delightful cinematography and a fitting soundtrack. The director also shows a steady hand in extracting the most from a limited budget, creating a suspenseful atmosphere and a number of scary moments. Sean Harris is wonderfully unsettling as the eponymous Creep creature.
VERDICT; It’s likely to only appeal to aficionados of the genre, but is an enjoyable film nonetheless. Although it’s not one that requires the audience to think much, Creep’s well-paced and actually quite…creepy.
3/5 or 6/10
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