Once again, I've discovered a pretty cool, unknown (at least here in the U.S.) horror film thanks to the DVD bargain bin! A British/German co-production, "Creep" was a fast moving, claustrophobic little thriller that reminded me at times of "Midnight Meat Train" and "The Descent," maybe with a pinch of "Mimic" for good measure.
"Creep" is set in the dark world of London's Underground system. Our heroine is Kate (Franka Potente of "Run Lola Run"), an attractive socialite/party girl whose mission on this particular evening is to hit a celebrity soiree in the hopes of meeting actor George Clooney, who is rumored to be in town. Unfortunately she has a bit too much to drink at a prior engagement and falls asleep on a bench on the subway platform while waiting for her train. When she wakes up hours later, she's alone in the deserted station as the Underground has closed up for the night. While trying to find her way out of the locked station, she encounters a drunken co-worker who'd followed her from the party, who tries to put some moves on her. When the guy is suddenly dragged off and mauled by an unseen attacker, she understandably freaks out and runs off into the maze of tunnels. Eventually she meets a homeless couple living in an unused maintenance alcove and she offers them money to help her reach the surface. Naturally, wherever they go, the unseen attacker is waiting for them, and bloody mayhem ensues. For a while "Creep" is your basic chase film, with Kate and her new homeless friends running through seemingly endless dark tunnels before she's finally captured and caged by the "Creep," a horribly deformed humanoid creature of some sort. Allying herself with George, a London sewer worker who's trapped in the next cage, Kate breaks out and again tries to head for the surface, leading to a final showdown in the creature's hidden lair, deep underground.
I won't reveal much more because I don't want to violate the Spoiler Warning rules, but I will say that the scene where Kate and George discover the lair of the "Creep" (which appears to be a disused hospital/laboratory) is a bit muddled and therefore the supposed revelations found there aren't very well defined, so the big "moment" turns out to be a bit anti-climactic. Up until then, the film was a top notch suspense/thriller. Gorehounds will have a field day with this one, as the kill scenes are all quite nasty throughout (even though I understand the U.S. version I saw supposedly has a few of the more extreme bits cut out), the cinematography is excellent, and the performances are great. "Creep" was a nice surprise, considering that I honestly wasn't expecting much from it when I first pressed "play." Here in the U.S. the film can be found on a budget priced DVD with three other low-budget horror flicks ("Tamara," "Drive Thru" and "Boy Eats Girl"), and "Creep" is definitely worth picking up. "Creep" does what it sets out to do: give you the creeps.
"Creep" is set in the dark world of London's Underground system. Our heroine is Kate (Franka Potente of "Run Lola Run"), an attractive socialite/party girl whose mission on this particular evening is to hit a celebrity soiree in the hopes of meeting actor George Clooney, who is rumored to be in town. Unfortunately she has a bit too much to drink at a prior engagement and falls asleep on a bench on the subway platform while waiting for her train. When she wakes up hours later, she's alone in the deserted station as the Underground has closed up for the night. While trying to find her way out of the locked station, she encounters a drunken co-worker who'd followed her from the party, who tries to put some moves on her. When the guy is suddenly dragged off and mauled by an unseen attacker, she understandably freaks out and runs off into the maze of tunnels. Eventually she meets a homeless couple living in an unused maintenance alcove and she offers them money to help her reach the surface. Naturally, wherever they go, the unseen attacker is waiting for them, and bloody mayhem ensues. For a while "Creep" is your basic chase film, with Kate and her new homeless friends running through seemingly endless dark tunnels before she's finally captured and caged by the "Creep," a horribly deformed humanoid creature of some sort. Allying herself with George, a London sewer worker who's trapped in the next cage, Kate breaks out and again tries to head for the surface, leading to a final showdown in the creature's hidden lair, deep underground.
I won't reveal much more because I don't want to violate the Spoiler Warning rules, but I will say that the scene where Kate and George discover the lair of the "Creep" (which appears to be a disused hospital/laboratory) is a bit muddled and therefore the supposed revelations found there aren't very well defined, so the big "moment" turns out to be a bit anti-climactic. Up until then, the film was a top notch suspense/thriller. Gorehounds will have a field day with this one, as the kill scenes are all quite nasty throughout (even though I understand the U.S. version I saw supposedly has a few of the more extreme bits cut out), the cinematography is excellent, and the performances are great. "Creep" was a nice surprise, considering that I honestly wasn't expecting much from it when I first pressed "play." Here in the U.S. the film can be found on a budget priced DVD with three other low-budget horror flicks ("Tamara," "Drive Thru" and "Boy Eats Girl"), and "Creep" is definitely worth picking up. "Creep" does what it sets out to do: give you the creeps.