Director: Patrick Brice (2017)
Starring: Mark Duplass, Desiree Akhavan, Karan Soni
Find it: IMDb
"I think I might be deeply untalented," YouTube documentary maker Sara (Akhavan) sobs into the camera as this found footage comedy horror sequel begins. Moments earlier, serial killer 'Aaron' laments the onset of a midlife crisis, no longer taking the same pleasure in his work. The story of two depressed, disillusioned creative types meeting each other and finding themselves in the process, Creep 2 would be quite sweet, if it wasn't for all of the serial killing.
Mark Duplass's beautiful weirdo returns, this time calling himself Aaron (taking the name of the guy he axed to death at the end of the previous movie) and rocking a patchy hipster beard and ponytail. As with the previous movie, he is joined by an aspiring filmmaker, replying to his dodgy-as-fuck Craigslist ad. That's where most of the similarities end though - Aaron comes clean as a serial killer from the start, and the pair's chemistry is very much impacted by Sara's cool, no-nonsense attitude to to his weirdo behaviour.
While Sara doesn't believe that Aaron could be a murderer (his preferred nomenclature), and we know that he is, she's not a complete idiot either. Indeed, there are times when she is revealed to be almost duplicitous as her subject, seeing through his tantrums and manipulating him to her own ends. That lends Creep 2 a sense of unpredictability that could have been lacking in a more passive hero or heroine. In spite of being the one left holding the camera for 80% of the time, Sara actually feels like a real character. Too often, found footage characters are there just to scream and react: here, Sara is just as important to the story as Aaron.
But this is still Mark Duplass's show, and his Aaron is as beautifully creepy as he was last time we met. Duplass literally bares all, both emotionally and, in the case of his todger, physically. It's another raw, unsettling performance, all calculated bullshit and temper tantrums. And, of course, Peachfuzz is back too. While the ending struggles for a decent payoff - I could quite happily never see another found footage movie in the woods at night ever again - this sequel is more than worthy, continuing the story in a fresh and exciting manner.
Like its predecessor, to say much more would be to spoil the various lovely shocks Creep 2 has up its sleeve. Now that the cat is out of the bag, it's not quite as effective as Creep, but now the tension and surprise comes from a different place anyway.
