My Favorite Horror Movie Duology Is One of the Best Things on Netflix

When a horror movie gets a sequel but not a trilogy, you might think the second movie was a critical or commercial failure. In fact, it’s not easy to find a two-part horror series that completes the entire narrative arc and reaches a satisfying conclusion.

Creep and Creep 2 double feature from Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice – streaming now netflix — But it succeeds wonderfully, with a funny and chilling first film followed by a sequel that takes the franchise in a completely different direction.

In the first Creep, Brice (in his directing and acting debut) plays Aaron, a struggling cameraman who takes a random job at a remote cabin in Crestline, California.

Business? She makes a video diary for a man named Josef (Duplass), who says he is dying of a brain tumor and wants to leave a message for his unborn child. From their first meeting, Aaron realizes that something is wrong with Josef, and this fear increases step by step until their last encounter.

Inspired by both My Dinner With Andre and Misery, Creep is a “two-track” film, meaning that the film consists almost entirely of two characters (Aaron and Josef) trying to navigate an incredibly strange (and sinister) relationship. (Duplass’s wife, Katie Aselton, gives a brief but memorable performance as Josef’s sister on the phone.)

As the tension between the two characters increases, Josef becomes more and more unstable; often by pulling funny jokes or antics, showing how far the other can go before finally breaking and saying “I’m out.” Caught in that awkward situation where you’re desperate for work and don’t want to offend or lose a paying client, Aaron is subjected to even more weirdness until the Peachfuzz character appears and all hell breaks loose.

Because the film is shot from Aaron’s camera, we see the action unfold from his perspective, allowing Duplass to run free as a flamboyant and unhinged comedian. I wasn’t a huge fan of Duplass before this movie, but the character suits him perfectly. I can’t think of anyone who could balance the banality and strangeness of evil better than he does.

Some critics complain that Creep does not leave viewers enough freedom to consider that Josef may not be a serial killer. I think the ending of the film is questionable until the final scenes, when we come to a satisfying and enlightening conclusion.

In the sequel Creep 2, the scenario is reversed; less “The Mind of the Monster,” more “Portrait of a Serial Killer in Midlife Crisis.”

Josef is back, but he is now called “Aaron” in honor of his favorite victim. And he hires another desperate freelance videographer: Sara (Desiree Akhavan, director-writer of The Miseducation of Cameron Post), struggling as a YouTuber who films random encounters with men on Craigslist.

Instead of repeating his usual attitude, Aaron is honest with Sara from the beginning. He tells her that he is a serial killer and that he will let her live if she makes a documentary about him. Twist? She doesn’t believe him, and every attempt Aaron makes to scare Sara goes ridiculously wrong.

Sara and Aaron grow closer day by day, developing the kind of awkward relationship Sara has been longing for since her failed Craigslist interviews. Aaron comes to a final decision for the day and Sara has no decision at all, leading to an exciting conclusion that is again in doubt until the last moment.

The ending leaves open the possibility of another movie as we imagine someone new behind the camera, but it also resolves the Creep series with an intriguing final scene that twists the cameraman-subject dynamic into even more knots. (Duplass announced a 30-minute TV special. Creep Tapes This will focus on Josef’s previous victims.)

If you’re looking for a pair of indie horror films that avoid the most common clichés and tropes of the found footage genre, Creep and Creep 2 certainly meets the criteria and delivers more bang than many horror films with much bigger budgets.

For more scary movie selections, check out: The best horror movies to watch on Max.