Creep (2014) - The Art Of Manipulation

Sociopaths tend to avoid uncontrolled environments. There's a deep pleasure in working a room where they can time their interactions with each subject. And although it can be a tedious endeavour, the greatest feeling is to know the audience more than the audience knows them.

Desperate for work, videographer Aaron (Patrick Brice) accepts a job he finds through an online classifieds advertisement. Unaware of the purpose for the requested single day shoot, he heads to a remote town where he meets his subject Josef (Mark Duplass), who has a simple request. 

Aside from a basic outline, Brice and Duplass improvised most of what we witness to create an authentic dynamic between the two men. This decision ultimately leads to what I consider the most magnetic performance on film. Duplass is what sucks you in, but Brice's vulnerability lends to the allure of this eccentric personality.

It's because of this disproportionately balanced attention that we're more drawn to Duplass's character Josef, and allow ourselves to develop empathetic emotions for his confessions. As the stories evolve and change direction, it's a shorter journey to band-aid our misunderstanding than it is to stitch over our indiscretions. Calling ourselves out for judging poorly rarely happens on the fly, and more often requires a quiet moment of reflection.

That's the upper hand Josef has and that's the brilliance of following the act. He's 10 steps ahead of Aaron, 20 steps ahead of the viewer, and when a plot is seemingly non-existent we look for it within the motivations of the most dominant personality. Where are they headed? And why are the headed there? The narrative shifts because Josef's stories do, and that's the way we're manipulated during and after the picture has ended.

The most fascinating aspect of Creep is meeting and learning about Josef. But you'll have to do more than just read between the lines to form an opinion about him. Because even the clues can be misdirection, and the only way to see a fraction of the bigger picture is to spend more time with him. Luckily there's a sequel.

The worst thing you can do before seeing this is know anymore than I've told you. Trailers never make a film better and reviews which map out entire plots destroy any chance of awe. Expect an outstanding performance and enjoy the beastly production the way it was supposed to be enjoyed.