Creep

I want to like CREEP; it's my kind of film. A, well, 'creepy' horror film set on and around the London Underground, with a pared-down story, sinister villain and a resourceful heroine fighting against the odds. And yet, by the end, it's turned out to be a disappointing experience, and the reason for that is that it's oh so painfully predictable.

Christopher Smith is definitely a better director than he is writer; case in point, I can't fault his direction, which is adequate by genre standards, but what I can fault is his staid waiting. After a mildly atmospheric set up, this turns into the usual dull cat-and-mouse game between heroine and killer, with extraneous characters being messily murdered (and worse) and even a bit of torture porn thrown in to sicken viewers. It's all very familiar and, unfortunately, not at all frightening.

It doesn't help that the bad guy is a bit lame, despite the sterling efforts of the ever-menacing Sean Harris. He looks exactly like Smeagol at the opening of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING, part-way towards becoming Gollum when he was still played by Andy Serkis in extensive makeup. He's a bit of a weirdo, a tragic figure more than anything else. Franka Potente's tough heroine is better, but the supporting actors are wasted (particularly the excellent Ken Campbell, whose skills would have enlivened this greatly).

It's worth remembering that this was done before – and much better – in the superior 1970s Brit chiller DEATH LINE, starring Donald Pleasence. What an engaging, atmospheric and, yes, terrifying movie that was! Sadly, despite its interesting setting, Creep is lacklustre by comparison.

This is good little shocker; not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but tight, competent and disturbing. An excellent example of a simple idea developed into a compelling 90 minute script.

The set up requires no bells and whistles, no lengthy exposition or wordy back story; Kate (Franka Pontente), a young German business woman living in London, drifts off whilst waiting for the last tube train. She awakens to find the place deserted, but quickly comes to realise that she is far from alone. Someone, or something, is down there with her and it's intentions are wholly malicious.

In fact she encounters several other characters in her quest to survive, including a lecherous work colleague, a homeless couple and a caged sewage worker, all of whom add pace and substance to the plot. There is a slightly awkward gear change somewhere in the middle of the film when tension thriller mutates into gore fest, but nothing so clumsy as to slow the hectic pace. For those of you with weak dispositions this is likely to be a harrowing ride; for those of you who relish a bit of well executed carnal mayhem this should press all the right buttons.

The climax of the film is perhaps less successful than the main body of the film, but it is punctuated with a nice moment of unexpected social commentary which provides a satisfying conclusion.

Some may find themselves feeling somewhat cheated of a clear explanation as to the exact nature and history of the threat encountered by Kate and her confederates, however, for me this was not the case. A horror film writer should not need feel compelled to dot every i and cross every t, in the same way a writer of political thrillers might be expected to. There are enough clues here to give you a very pretty clear idea of what brought this evil into existence, making a detailed and conclusive solution superfluous. The retention of a certain sense of mystery is to be welcomed and reminds us that in this film the ride was always going to be more important than the exact destination.

My understanding is that the budget for this film was, to say the least, minimal, in which case our applause for this British horror should be all the louder, for at no point does one have the impression of corners being cut or effects failing to deliver.

If this sounds like your kind of film then it probably is. Buy a ticket and climb aboard.

After leaving a party one night, Kate heads to a London subway. But being a bit drunk, she nods off and when she finally awakes, she realises she's alone and has been locked in. Now she's panicking, but a train pulls up and to her surprise no one else is on board. After a few seconds the train comes to sudden halt and Kate comes to the realisation that someone or something is lurking down there, which has some nasty surprises waiting for Kate.

When watching "Creep", what entered my mind was that I was seeing the backwoods horror slasher "Wrong Turn (2003)" basically set in a subway, but only more bloodier and incredibly cruel. I get the train to work and back, but I'm just glad that there are no subway systems on my journeys. But there's no doubting public transport can be the pits.

Christopher Smith the writer and director of this slick British Indie subterranean horror flick presents one very tight and atmospherically Gothic feature that benefits highly from its relentless surge of twisted and ragged jolts. It's gruesome, mean-spirited and unflinching terror is mostly delivered in a serious manner, despite the script being sprinkled with quick-witted remarks. The damp, isolated and claustrophobic setting of the poorly lit tunnels makes a huge imprint on the disorientating cloud the audience and main protagonist face. Smith integrates some flashy and rapid techniques. The versatile hand held photography adds a real moody and intimate vibe amongst the very effective sound effects and creaky understated music score. Hitting the mark was the graphic and always on the ball makeup effects. The appearance of the hideously unusual subway dweller just lingers in your mind and when it came to the kills it didn't disappoint.

However, there are things that really do bring the film down. By the third act it starts to wear a bit thin with predictable jumps and wearisome clichés. The story is terribly vague from the get-go. Illogical patterns and stupid circumstances unravel throughout the string-like plot. Originality comes in minor doses, but in all, there's a nice sense of realism and a speeding train-like pace created to keep you mostly involved. Franka Potente gives a strong, flexible and quite capable performance as Kate and the amusing Vas Blackwood gets caught up in the gruel too.

A very nasty and dour slasher that won't blow you away, but it provides the nightmarish thrills and intensity one would hope for.

Decent little British horror. Basic plot, Woman gets trapped in a subway overnight. Unfortunately for her, shes not alone. Characters are a bit stereotypical, however Sean Harris' portrayal of the antagonist will make your skin crawl. Pretty fast paced, action packed with a satisfying resolution. Give it ago if you like "The Descent" or "Wrong Turn".

This is a could-have-been that starts out on an attractive premise, but fails to deliver and ends up looking like the makers were too ambitious and wanted to make a horror movie that would work on different levels, with more than just one basic plot line, but ended up with a messy movie that really goes nowhere, just like the tube that the protagonist gets into at the beginning.

The movie begins with a sequence in the sewage system of London, where two employees are doing their maintenance work. Suddenly, something goes wrong and they're attacked by someone or something that we don't get to see. Then it switches over to a party, where we meet Kate (Franka Potente), a young woman who needs to leave to meet her friend. She goes to take the underground, but falls asleep while waiting for her ride. When she wakes up, the train has arrived, but there's nobody at the station. She gets on the underground, only to find out she's all alone there too...

The introduction is certainly appealing to the horror buff, and we're led to believe that we're in for a movie that will explore our fear of being trapped, the "underworld" (both in a real and metaphorical way), the dark, claustrophobia... Instead, the movie soon chooses to follow a different plot line, which, in my opinion, is much less interesting and much more conventional, more oriented to commercial success and to please those viewers who look for easy scares and blood-packed, gory scenes. The ending isn't fulfilling in the least, and seems sudden and not very well written or connected to what we've already seen.