Creep 2, the follow up to Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass’s micro-budgeted thriller, is a wild and unpredictable sequel that captures the essence of the original. It also suffers from a few sequel-related missteps, none of which are enough to ruin a film that’s impossible to turn away from.
Fans of the original know the score here: Mark Duplass is Aaron, a genial and almost childlike loner who also happens to be a prolific serial killer. Like in the first film, he finds another videographer to join him on a journey into his bizarro world, full of sophomoric philosophical musings, manic behavior, and occasional madness.
Aaron’s subject this time is Sara (Desiree Akhavan). Sara is a bohemian, purple-haired videographer whose YouTube show, Encounters, about people she meets on craigslist with weird fetishes and hangups, isn’t necessarily setting the internet ablaze. She decides this tenth entry into her series will be her last, and she responds to Aaron’s request for a documentarian who is a fan of Interview With the Vampire.
There are no vampires here, only Aaron in his lodge in the middle of the woods. Without spilling any of the beans, let’s just stop at this setup: Aaron confesses right away that he is a serial killer, claiming 39 victims, and he wants Sara to film his last days before he decides the 40th life he takes will be his own. This interaction would be plenty to send most people out the front door and on their way, but Sara is more than up for the increasingly insane challenge.
The ability to suspend disbelief here is a plot point Creep 2 has to embrace, albeit one that is distracting. How in the world could anyone assume Aaron is lying about these murders and elect to stick around? Especially when he shows Sara the one at the end of the original film. It’s a major leap of faith for the audience to take on, but once we buy into this preposterous turn the story that unfolds is nothing short of compelling. Akhavan sells this as best she can, hinting from time to time that she might very well have more up her own sleeves.
Duplass, one of the more underrated indie stars of our time, is fascinating as this character, simultaneously likable and frightening in every scene. The dynamic between these two actors is weird for sure, but it works for the most part. It allows the film to take on a different tone than the original, where his victim Aaron (yes, Aaron. Duplass’s name was Josef in the original, an interesting twist for fans of the first film), played by director Brice, is frightened from pretty much the opening frame. There are some genuinely funny moments in Creep 2, and as the plot unfolds there are ample moments of unnerving terror.
Who would have ever thought Creep would be a franchise after the first one? It felt like a one-off experiment; but this sequel feels like a natural step in the progression of this fascinating, frightening psychopath. It may have to take some logical liberties in order for the story to even exist, but if you don’t let that sort of narrative freedom distract you too often, Creep 2 will sink its teeth into you.
