Creep 2

Creep 2

Starring Mark Duplass, Desiree Akhavan, Karan Soni

Directed by Patrick Brice

The Story:
Sara (Desiree Akhavan) is a struggling YouTube star who makes a show where she finds ads off Craigslist and meets the most interesting people, but no one tunes in.  Then she answers an ad for a videographer from Aaron (Mark Duplass), who offers her $1,000 for one night of filming.  The film: he tells her he's a serial killer and has hit a midlife crisis, and wants her to film a documentary on his life.  To his surprise, Sara fully agrees and doesn't seem at all frightened by the aspect.

He takes her on location to do some filming, and Sara begins seeing the different sides of Aaron, yet she continues on in order to make the perfect episode for her series, mostly because she doesn't believe Aaron really is who he says he is.  As the day progresses, she gives as much as he takes, and Aaron has a change of heart: he's falling for Sara, and genuinely wants the best for her - or does he?

The Synopsis:
Back in 2014, actor Mark Duplass and his friend Patrick Brice put together a small horror film called "Creep," which was co-written by the duo and directed by Brice.  The film centered around a sociopathic serial killer named Josef (Duplass), who lures innocent videographer Aaron (Brice) to his home under the premise to film his dying confession, but in reality it was his way of drawing Aaron to his own demise.  What followed was a perfect cat-and-mouse game filled with tension, excitement, and the mystery of the unknown - was Josef who he really claimed to be, or was it all a maniacal game?

Now for the sequel, Duplass again returns as Josef - only now he's taken the name of Aaron - and he's hit an existential crisis: he's no longer amused with killing.  Turning forty has changed him, and he wants someone to document his glory days, and that's where Sara comes in.  However, unlike the first Aaron, Sara is no innocent person.  She wants a successful web series, and is not afraid of Aaron's demeanor and tendencies, but rather she prods him and pushes him in ways that makes them both equals in a brilliant mind game.

In Sara, Aaron finds almost his equal, while in Aaron, Sara finds the most unique subject.  Throughout the film, we see a mutual attraction between the two - or it could all just be a ruse.  We don't fully know either of their intentions, even though they clearly state it several times.  With both, there's a deeper sense of every word they say that could prove more than meets the eye.  Are they lying to one another?  Lying to themselves?  Lying to us?  We never know because these two characters are so deeply intertwined that we don't know who's being played and who's the player.

Magic has hit again with the casting, and this is the main thrust of the film: if there was no chemistry or talent, the film would fall flat on its head.  We've already seen Duplass exhibit perfect acting abilities in the first, so we know his story - sort of.  Still, he manages to go to another place entirely with the sequel that makes his character fresh and new, even though he's already established.  He's thrown off his guard with Sara, and because of that we're thrown off as well - which makes for a perfect psychological thriller.

Newcomer Desiree Akhavan is the perfect fodder for Duplass's Aaron, because she's tough-as-nails and committed to bringing out the worst in Aaron for the sake of her show.  While she doesn't fully believe his story of being a serial killer, she insists on pushing his buttons and disobeying the long-held law of "don't wake a sleeping giant."  As we see her insisting herself on Aaron, we feel the real sense of dread rising up in us, because we know Aaron's personality - he can snap at the click of a finger, and we fear for Sara's safety.  Still, we also know Sara is more than capable of holding her own, which results in a very odd tete-a-tete between the two while the tension grows viably between them.

In essence, the "Creep" series is a simple character study between two people, an emotional pas de deux of two opposing factions that generate different outcomes.  In the first, it's the equivalent of a lion (Duplass) stalking the gazelle (Brice).  Here, the lion (Duplass) is trying to stalk a gazelle, but this time discovers the gazelle is every past a lion (Akhavan) as he is.

The Summary:
Serving as a striking character study of two dominating personalities, "Creep 2" maintains its constant sense of dread and terror as we witness the dueling of wills and wits between two actors at the top of their games.

The Score: A