The Creep Behind the Camera

I saw the Creeping Terror years ago... who knew all this crazy stuff went on behind the scenes?! Josh Phillips as Vic Savage makes on of the all time great despicable characters of all time. It's quite a roller-coaster ride! I got to see it in Montreal as part of Fantasia Fest and the audience loved it. I'm pretty sure it went on to LA too. Great music score and photography. The story, which kind of goes all over the place, follows this scumbag AJ Nelson from some goofy bingo hall all the way to Hollywood. When there he abuses his sweet wife (wonderfully played by Jodi Lynn Thomas) in all manner imaginable. Then he makes the Creeping Terror. The whole thing is a great look at how the Hollywood system attracts the worst sort, and how they can convince people they know what they are doing even though the writing is clearly on the wall. I really, really recommend this film!

I wanted to like this, I really did. But I feel a bit like a chump for having shelled out for the Blu-ray only to be thwarted not even halfway through it when it introduces perhaps cinema's least convincing Charles Manson to date. But beyond poor casting, it's bulls-t. Once you start introducing stuff like that into a so-called true story it casts everything in doubt, so I abandoned it. A little creative leeway is fine for something like this (like the Orson Welles encounter in Ed Wood), but some fabrications are a bridge too far. Manson was not at Spahn Ranch in 1963/64, so what am I to believe? It's a shame. This would have been an interesting story had they kept to the real story, whatever that might be.

I caught this movie at a local screening in Colorado Springs when out with the wife. It was a spur of the moment decision that we were very happy to have made. The Creep Behind the Camera details the story of a low-life film director that essentially conned a small town into making one of the worst horror films ever made, "The Creeping Terror". What caught us by surprise was the way the narrative was told. It wasn't a typical documentary as it was filmed almost entirely as a re- telling/remake/reenacting/documentary hybrid that was extremely effective in absorbing us into the story. The character arc for Mr. Nelson was extremely captivating and very intense. The actors' performances were also spectacular. All around, The Creep Behind The Camera was a fantastic dark comedy, high in production quality, thoroughly captivating, and left us with a huge impression on Colorado Springs' local filmmaking scene.

The Creep Behind the Camera (2014)

*** (out of 4)

THE CREEPING TERROR is considered by many to be one of the very worst films ever made. THE CREEP BEHIND THE CAMERA tells the story of its making. We meet Art Nelson (Josh Phillips) who is your typical con man who decides that he wants to break into show business. He finds someone willing to put up the money and he sets out to make the greatest monster movie ever made but falls well short.

THE CREEP BEHIND THE CAMERA apparently started off as a regular documentary on the making of THE CREEPING TERROR but somewhere along the way they decided to do much more than that. This film is pretty uneven and a bit all over the place but there's no question that it's very well-made and features some great performances. Part of it is a documentary on THE CREEPING TERROR as we get interviews with many of the cast and crew. The other part of this is a re-enactment or actual film about its director who is best known as Vic Savage.

To be honest, I wish this thing had been two separate movies because when you mix an actual documentary with an actual film it just doesn't quite work as well as it could have. I really loved the B&W interviews with the original cast and crew but sadly there's not too much of this. I would have really enjoyed seeing these interviews put together in the form of a featurette to where we could have gotten to hear more of their stories about what it was like on the set of THE CREEPING TERROR. I'm sure there were many more crazy stories that could have been told but instead we get the re-enactment stuff.

As far as that goes, it seems the main goal of this movie was to show you what an evil person Vic Savage was. Throughout the re-enactment footage we get clips of him physically, mentally and sexually abusing his wife. We learn that he liked nine-year-old girls and we learn that he was a druggie, a loser and just not a very good person. Whenever that isn't happening we get behind-the-scenes footage of them making THE CREEPING TERROR. Again, this re-enactment footage makes for a great film but then you've got the previously mentioned B&W clips from the real people commenting. I just don't think the two went well together but separately they work.

I will add that I thought Phillips was extremely good in the lead role and that Jodi Lynn Thomas was also excellent in her part of the wife. Bill LeVasseur and Brian McCulley are also very good as are the rest of the supporting cast. THE CREEP BEHIND THE CAMERA is certainly flawed and somewhat uneven but at the same time I give the filmmakers credit for trying to do something different.

Stylistically dynamic. Unique narrative combining true doc (1/3) and re-enactment (2/3). A very compelling storyline. Solid acting, sometimes breakaway good. Fantastic set design and costuming. Self- aware and darkly comedic. Better effects than the original Creeping Terror, which is ironic. A brave overall effort that entertains throughout. All the while, the theme shines through so wonderfully. And visually, the DP and Director create a seamless creation. Intriguing and forward moving, it is rare to see a movie that does all this. For those who love classic sci-fi, this will be a wonderful experience. For those who don't, this is still a fun movie. You will walk out with a smile, a smirk and head-shaking disbelief all at the same time.