creep

creep is most definitely a found footage horror film and yet it's completely different to anything i've seen to date and i'm guessing to everything else on my list. it's about this guy, josef (marc duplass), and because of a brain tumor he only has three months to live so he hires another guy, aaron (patick brice), to film him for a day so he has some footage to pass on to his unborn child. as the day progresses and josef begins to exhibit strange behaviour, aarons starts to suspect that perhaps there is more going on here than josef initially explained.

for something so simple, i mean it's just the two guys for 80 minutes, this film is incredibly ambitious and complex. it's often funny and yet can move from comedy to horror in an instant without sacrificing its tone. the story is full of twists and turns and you never quite know what to expect because it's so unlike anything else. it even threw me enough to suspect that perhaps aaron knew more than he was letting on, which isn't the case but the film is unexpected enough to make you question everything that's happening.

the two actors, duplass and brice (who also directed the film) do an amazing job, particularly duplass who manages to always remain believable despite the things he's saying and doing. there's something familiar about his portrayal of josef; i've definitely known people like him in real life. sometimes people seem too eager to please and too desperate to be your friend and usually you do find out that they're compensating for something, only here it's taken to extremes.

this is a film that relies solely on the performances and the script. despite the found footage format, there are no gimmicks here, it's two men in a situation and we're with them as it unfolds. in a way it reminded me of the first 'saw' movie, not in terms of the content but because it's two men trapped in a scenario and we're trapped with them. it's more compelling and more disturbing than anything i've seen in a while, and it's so ridiculously small-scale.

honestly, i can't recommend this film enough. i think it's a work of genius, i think whether you care about found footage horror films or not you should watch it and i'm really glad i saw it. it's also worth noting that it wasn't on my original list, so thanks very much to everyone who recommended it to me. if you're not sure where to find it i rented it from youtube but i'm sure it's available on other v.o.d. platforms.

the found footage blogathon will run from 27th january to 3rd february, in which time i plan to review as many films as possible and maybe throw in a few extras as well. if you'd like to be involved and post your own content, send me a link via twitter with the tag #foundfootageblogathon. i'll retweet your link and will include it in a summary post next week. you can find a full list of the films i'll be reviewing here.