Creep 2 (2017) Movie Review - 31 Days of Halloween 2024
Welcome to Knockout Horror. It’s day 25 of our 31 Days of Halloween 2024 feature. I am trying to focus, predominantly, on movies that I really enjoy or movies that are well regarded for the last few days of October. One of those movies is the follow up to the fantastic low budget horror hit Creep – Creep 2.
We reviewed Creep as part of our 31 Days of Halloween 2023 feature. A fact which I completely forgot about before writing a brand new review for it as if it wasn’t just a complete exercise in repetition and futility. Noticing my mistake after launching said review, I decided to go back and rectify it and the way I have chosen to do that is by reviewing the equally great sequel.
More of the Same
I say equally great but I feel like this movie divides fans quite a bit. My fiancee, for instance, likes Creep but isn’t a big fan of the second movie. I’m not sure whether she just found it to be a bit too much of a good thing or what. But that is something that is a distinct possibility, here. This is, after all, more of the same. It’s the same sociopathic serial killer only in a different house, with a different name and with a brand new victim. This time it is a woman called Sara played by Desiree Akhavan.
Sara is a video artist who specialises in documenting the lives and experiences of lonely men. Man, would she ever be spoiled for choice when it comes to her chosen subject, nowadays? After replying to an intriguing ad online, Sara heads out to a secluded house in the middle of a forest to meet Aaron (Mark Duplass, Josef from the original). Aaron claims to be a serial killer and Sara believes this is the perfect opportunity to film something completely unique. Little does she realise that she might be there for more than simply documenting Aaron’s life.
Directed, once again, by Patrick Brice. Creep 2 is, really, a simple rehash of the first movie. A videographer arrives and meets the rather eccentric, and slightly strange, Aaron. Aaron comes across as very awkward and, seemingly, has a penchant for creating bizarre and tense situations. Sara is equally strange, however, and the dynamic between the two quickly makes for an extremely unsettling environment. If you enjoyed Creep and had a yearning for more then this sequel is for you.
Limited Lore Building
There is limited development of the Creep world, here, and we don’t really learn a significant amount about our bizarre antagonist. This is another squeeze of the lemon to see if there is any juice left inside and, to be fair, there is.
The idea behind the Creep movie series is interesting, and self contained, enough that you can sort of get away with simply repeating things over and over. Sure, there are a few changes here and there and Duplass gets to stretch the strangeness of the character a little bit more. But we don’t need to reinvent the wheel for this to be enjoyable and Creep 2 doesn’t bother even trying.
The character dynamics are slightly different due to this being a male and a female and that fact alone is used to create some extra tension. A prolonged scene featuring Josef stripping off to break down boundaries and Sara joining him by removing her top stands as a good example. But it is in the difference between Sara and the original movie’s protagonist that we see the biggest leap in story telling.
A Fascinating Dynamic
Sara is a tough chick. She isn’t rattled by Josef’s mind games and is more than willing to go toe to toe with him in the weird department. She is a cooky character, herself, and she has, obviously, been around some strange people in the past so Josef’s attempts to scare her fall somewhat flat. Hell, Sara even manages to turn the tables on him on a number of occasions. It’s an interesting approach to the formula because it keeps things familiar while also keep you off base at the same time. Things you might be expecting to see from the first movie play out a little differently and nothing is quite as it seems.
What makes the story really interesting is the place, in life, in which Sara and Josef are meeting up. Sara is disenchanted with her work. Her vlogging channel hasn’t been growing and she feels like she is missing the opportunity to experience something truly different and weird. Josef is also feeling disenchanted with his work. He’s tired of the same old murdering and the same old victims and wants to mix things up himself. The combination of these two characters, and their very specific desires to liven up their lives a bit, makes for a continuous game of “Will they? Won’t they?” that keeps you guessing throughout.
Just as Good as the First Movie
Both Sara and Aaron keep pushing beyond the limits of what they are comfortable with. The dynamic between the two characters at similar points in life but for very different reasons is utterly fascinating. Sara isn’t a shrinking violet ready to play victim. Just like she did when she removed her top to match Josef’s nudity. She is going to go punch for punch with him. It is going to take Josef using some creativity to crack her. And that’s what makes this movie different enough to justify squeezing that lemon one more time.
It works just as well as it did the first time. There is enough creativity to keep things fresh and this is an interesting enough character to keep you coming back for more. Sure, it’s not quite as scary as the first. But Brice and Duplass don’t attempt to go back to the well too many times to shock the viewer. There are new ideas here and the brilliant addition of Sara offers opportunities to keep things feeling interesting and different. It would be remiss of me to not point out the somewhat disappointing ending but, it’s a small issue, all things considered.
Duplass is fantastic, as Josef, once again. Charistmatic, believably unhinged and often extremely funny. He has created a truly iconic horror villain that deserves tons of praise. Akhavan is a worthy foil to him and feels completely organic throughout. The two play off of each other extremely well. The fact that Duplass and Akhavan kept each other guessing with regards to their character’s reactions only helps in keeping the events feeling spontaneous and new.
Should You Watch Creep 2?
As far as low budget DIY horror goes, Creep 2 is one of the best and definitely worth watching. It’s more of the same from the first movie but it still just works so damn well. Duplass is creepy and unhinged, Akhavan is wonderfully convincing and the dynamic between the two keeps things fresh. The found footage style has been maintained from the first one so that might put a few off but this is just a really damn good film. Scary, creepy, hilarious and unsettling. Creep 2 is a great option for some October viewing.
