Creep - Il chirurgo

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.

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.

Brit horror successfully marries suspense and gore to create a more than decent movie.

Franka Potente is Kate, a socialite on her way to a party in London where George Clooney (Yes really) is believed to be hanging at and where she will attempt to seduce him (Yup, I'm not kidding).

However, she falls asleep at the subway station and misses the last train, leaving her trapped inside. Jeremy Sheffield's Guy is pursuing her though, and when a train finally arrives (Yes, the logic's already disintegrating), he appears out of nowhere and tries to rape her. Unfortunately for him, there is a real killer in the underground who drags him off her and wounds him fatally.

The rest of the movie is killer-pursues-Kate.

Quite frankly the logic in this one was never meant to be particularly strong. It's not even obvious that she fell asleep while waiting for the train, and instead it could have been mindgames. And indeed, mindgames seem to be the only explanation for some of the slightly ludicrous events which occur in the first half.

Nonetheless, this movie is about running away from the bad guy, whose appearance and identity imply he's 'not normal' (Are they ever), and to this end the film does a decent enough job. Once the bizarre first half hour of silliness is past, it is simple enough fare, with more than a hint of severe gore.

There's little more that can be said, such is the basic nature of this, but if you accept the intrinsic daftness of some of it, you'll get a reasonable kick out it if you like the genre.

Seen worse.

"Creep" is a new horror film that, without a doubt, will please many genre fans simply because it's so down to the point and unscrupulous! It has many genuine shock-moments, a whole lot of repulsive gore-sequences and a rare claustrophobic tension. What it hasn't got is logic and a solid plot but, to tell you the truth, that didn't bother me for one second. When the end-credits start to roll, there are still many unanswered questions to ponder on but director/writer Christopher Smith (in his debut) seemly preferred to fully focus on tension and adrenalin-rushing action instead of long, soporific speeches and theories that could explain the existence of the "creep" in the London subway. The story revolves on the young and haughty Kate, who leaves her own party in order to go and meet the famous actor George Clooney who's in town to present his new film. She falls asleep in the subway, misses the last train and she finds herself trapped in the underground subway network. Things really get terrifying when she encounters a mad-raving lunatic who lives in the old tunnels and kills/kidnaps people to experiment upon. Even experienced homeless people, security guards or sewer-workers can't rescue her from this ravenous monster! I really dug the creep-character! He's nauseating, hideous and primitive but in a strange way fascinating. Christopher Smith only leaves us clues and hints, and it's merely up to the viewer to guess this vile creature's origin and background. I reckon this isn't very original, and I'm sure many people won't appreciate the lack of content, but I forgive Smith and I think it's better this way than going over the top completely, "Jeepers Creepers"-style (that particular film started out great as well, but as soon as the Creeper's identity was clear it turned into a very mediocre horror effort). The obvious aspect-to-love is the outrageous gore! There's some severe butchering going on in this film and the make-up, as well as the sound effects, are very convincing. The ominous setting of the abandoned London subway during night is effectively used. There also is some acting-talent present in this film, with Franka Potenta (Run Lola Run) returning to graphic horror nearly five years after the cool German film "Anatomie". Creep is terrific entertainment when you're in an undemanding mood and Christopher Smith definitely is a director I'll keep an eye on. Make sure you don't have to take the subway right after watching this film...

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.