PLOT: A video artist looking for work drives to a remote house in the forest to meet a man claiming to be a serial killer. But after agreeing to spend the day with him, she soon realizes she made a deadly mistake.
REVIEW: I'm thinking it's important to note right off the bat that I am a big fan of the original Patrick Brice found footage flick CREEP starring Mark Duplass. I've seen it a few times now and it is one of my go-to flicks to share with people when they want a quality scary movie streaming on Netflix that they haven't seen. But as these things go, more and more people I know have seen CREEP and so I have to move onto lesser films. But thank God there is now CREEP 2, a film which I can now fully recommend just as much if not more than the original.
Let's start off with a quick rundown on the previous film's plot to check up to speed. In the original film, a videographer played by director Patrick Brice answers a Craigslist ad for a day of filming for $1,000, and after a series of creep-tacular encounters, eventually falls victim to not only our lead psycho's charms, but his axe as well.
It's not surprising that CREEP 2 begins the same way. Well, kinda. Actually, the film begins with a cold open that will have you on the edge of your seat, but the less said about that nail-biting sequence, the better. Moving on to our main character this time around, we meet Sara. A videographer just like Patrick Brice's Aaron in the first film. And our Sara answers a Craigslist ad for $1,000 for one day/night of shooting from our resident creep, Mark Duplass – now going by the name Aaron. Which makes way too much sociopathic sense. Brr.
Sara then drives three hours into the deep mountains of some gorgeous environment to Aaron's equally gorgeous cabin in the woods. For the most part, just like Patrick Brice's Aaron from the first film. But that's about the time the film stops being a carbon copy of the first film with a female lead in place of a scruffy filmmaker. In fact, to say that CREEP 2 is a rehash of the first film couldn't be further from the truth.
Sure, on the surface the entirety of the second and third acts are comprised of two people pointing shaking cameras at each other in a cabin in the woods and in the dark forests beyond, but past that this is a whole new monster. And speaking of monsters, no worries, Mr. Peachfuzz shows up again, albeit in more of a comic role this time around.
What struck me so much about this new entry in the CREEP series – there is already a CREEP 3 in the works – is that the filmmakers understood how important it was to flip the script this time. I'm not going to go into spoilers here, but I will say that the vast majority of the film seems to be a clever subversion of the first film. Taking even Duplass' "Aaron" by surprise over and over.
And speaking of Mark Duplass, like the first film CREEP 2 is mostly a one-man show and just like the original, Duplass is more than up to the task of carrying a film on his newly bearded shoulders. The man goes all out in this sequel too by the way. I hope it's more of a warning (or a selling point to some of you cats) than a spoiler to tell you that Duplass goes the full monty this time around. And for a sustained period of time. If you're unfamiliar with the term full monty, then I'll spell it out (kinda): Mr. Peachfuzz in Duplass' pants makes an extended cameo. Get it?
But enough with the d*ck jokes. CREEP 2 is just a suspenseful (if not more so) than the original, and CREEP 2 is just as awkwardly disturbing (if not more so) as the original as well, with a monologue via Duplass inside a hot tub being the highlight of the film in my eyes. Not only can the man knock it out of the park creeper-style, but he also finds such a magnetic charm in his performance that you cannot help but be drawn into even his most disturbing yarns. If for no other reason than you're afraid that if you do take your eyes off him and the screen, he will vanish into thin air and proceed to hide deep within one of the nearest shadows, ready to pounce along with Mr. Peachfuzz. Brrr.
In the end, CREEP 2 is just as unsettling and entertaining as the original, you guessed, if not more so. The added element of a female protagonist this time around is used in ways you will not expect and Duplass goes a bang-up job, yet again, in bringing an unpredictably to his character that might have just met his match with Desiree Akhavan's Sara. If the rumors of a CREEP 3 are true, awesome. I cannot wait. Now, please, someone tell me where I can snag one of those Peachfuzz masks! I'm going to scare my roommate to instant death as soon as possible.