I watched “Creep” shortly after it came out and revisited it recently. Full disclosure, I’ve not yet seen “Creep 2,” and so I can’t speak to it and will only be focusing on the first movie in the series. For all I know, the second movie will actually address some of what I’m going to say; I look forward to watching it soon and will release my thoughts afterwards, as I really enjoy the “Creep” franchise.
To get right into it, though: “Creep” was a well-written and unsettling psychological thriller of the found-footage variety, but it possibly best exemplifies the capabilities of a film when it is created with the bare minimum.
Before we can really get into the mind of Josef, we need to establish a few things, so, warning: SPOILERS AHEAD.
What Happens in “Creep”?
“Creep” is a movie compiled of several clips of film that were shot on a camera belonging to the main character, Aaron. Aaron, who we later learn experiences general money troubles, has taken on a freelance film assignment to record footage of a man named Josef. Josef explains that he has terminal cancer and that his wife is pregnant with their son, and so the footage is intended to be something of a filmed message to Josef’s future son who he will never get to actually meet.
The day is off to a frustrating start when Josef is late to meet with Aaron, and while Josef seems kind and sympathetic, things immediately get weird when the first clip Josef wants Aaron to film is of Josef taking a bath and miming the action of bathing his infant son (the action is something Josef calls a “tubby,” a term which is also somewhat disturbing). As the day goes on, Josef gets more and more personal with Aaron; there is a scene in which the two of them swim in a small outdoor pool in which Josef baptizes Aaron.
Josef coaxes Aaron into sharing personal information before revealing as a way for the two to get closer. When it is his turn to share, he confesses that he had been at the meeting point the entire time Aaron was there, and had been taking pictures of Aaron. Josef also repeatedly jumps out of hiding places to scare Aaron (and the audience).
Eventually, Josef explains the origin of a creepy werewolf mask, which he calls “Peachfuzz.” Originally, he had explained that the mask came from his father, who would do a song and dance about how the scary-looking wolf was actually very gentle and friendly. However, he later explains that he bought the mask so as to hide his identity, break into his own house, and rape his wife, Angela.
Shortly afterwards, Josef’s reliability is called into question; up to this point, he’s been open about his dishonesty, so we have been guarded, but when Aaron learns that Angela is the name of Josef’s sister, everything is called into question. Aaron assumes that Josef was lying about being married to Angela (though it is certainly possible to have a sister and a wife that have the same name). From here, the movie ramps up from unsettling to horrifying as Josef begins to stalk, and eventually kill Aaron, repeating what we learn is a pattern that he has done over and over again for dozens of victims.
How Does “Creep” Accomplish its Horror?
As previously mentioned, “Creep” is filmed in a found-footage style, which puts the viewer into the perspective of Aaron, the videographer. This makes the movie feel very personal for the viewer. It also helps that Josef speaks directly to the camera; in those moments, he is speaking to his future son, but it feels as though he is speaking directly to the viewer. There are admittedly times where he is speaking to Aaron, when he looks past the camera, but these serve very well to keep the movie feeling real; this is the kind of thing that would happen in the bits of footage that would probably end up on the cutting room floor before Aaron splices together the final version of the film Josef intends to make for his future child.
The thing about “Creep” that makes it a great found-footage horror movie is its simplicity. It’s written to be about two guys, one of whom is mostly off-camera. The locations are limited to a car driving down a public road, a rental cabin, an apartment and the surrounding street, and a park bench. There is no CGI to speak of, and the only special effect is the dummy used for the final kill. Everything else is just unsettling imagery (particularly where Peachfuzz is concerned) and well-written deceit that keeps Aaron and the audience on edge.
Josef is the real horror here, and that is something that is suggested early on with a bit of obvious foreshadowing (which is then made even more obvious). As we learn about him, we’re pulled in with sympathy, but as the story unfolds, Josef’s lies unravel. His character takes “killing with kindness” rather literally, and Aaron is along for the ride, continuously allowing himself to be swayed by Josef’s emotional appeals.
The atmosphere of the movie is best described as eerie or creepy. It doesn’t have the in-your-face gore of many horror films out there, and what we’re really seeing is a profile of Josef. Admittedly, we don’t get to understand how much of what we’re shown is real, but that’s part of the terror of the character. Because he’s an unreliable narrator, there is very little that can be confirmed about him. He lies about everything, even the pancakes he claims to have had at a restaurant. He offers Aaron a large sum of money- but again, is there any truth to this offer? We need to wonder.
It’s this dishonesty that creates a lack of concrete information, which Josef uses to his advantage and Aaron’s misfortune. Because Aaron knows nothing about him, the police cannot get involved. Aaron grows increasingly paranoid as he continues to receive creepy videos from Josef, who is stalking him, and the found-footage angles allow for sudden reveals of Josef in the background of the shot, proving that Aaron has every right to be paranoid.
The horror is in the power of suggestion and in knowing that Aaron is being lied to, but also not knowing which parts of his story are true. He admits to stalking Aaron, but is he being honest about why? We know that he owns a creepy mask, but do we really know why? We know he knows someone named Angela, but who is she, really?
The only true violence happens at the end during the death of Aaron; he sits on a bench, unmoving and waiting for Josef to show up, not hearing Josef behind him and never turning to see Josef before he kills Aaron with an axe (this is the bit that is foreshadowed earlier on). Josef, watching footage of the kill, explains Aaron’s lack of movement as Aaron being too trusting and believing of the good in Josef; filmmakers would likely explain this as needing to have Josef hit Aaron with an axe, and the director wanting to use a dummy for the shot instead of the actor playing Aaron (note: in this case, the director was also the actor playing Aaron, so it seems he may have chosen to use a dummy out of self-preservation).
What is the Real Story of Peachfuzz?
Because Josef is an unreliable narrator, there is not much we can really confirm about him. We can look at what he tells us and determine what aspects of it might be true, but this is the best we can do.
Josef tells us that the Peachfuzz mask came from his father, who also had a song and dance to go along with the mask. He even performs the song and dance- it’s a creepy image that is echoed later in the movie with a much creepier, more menacing, and semi-erotic hip swaying dance before Josef lunges at Aaron. That said, Josef also later reveals that he was lying about the mask’s origins, and that he actually got the mask from a corner store before he raped his own wife while wearing it.
We later find out that Josef’s sister is named Angela. She seemingly confirms that Josef’s name is actually Josef, and that he is not mentally well. Now, it is possible that Josef’s wife and sister are both named Angela (and that Josef is possibly telling the truth about the rape story, about having a future son, etc), but based on the number of lies Josef has told us, this seems unlikely to be the case.
The second possibility is that he is not married, at least not to anyone named Angela. There is nothing in the movie to confirm concretely that Josef is married; he wears a wedding ring, but that doesn’t mean he’s really (or currently) married. In this scenario, the rape story is called into question: is it all a lie? Is it true, and the only lie is Josef’s wife’s name? Or did Josef rape his sister, Angela? Josef does have a proven history of being paranoid of Aaron, so it is not unbelievable to think that he could simply be hiding his wife’s name, but if that is the case, why not also hide his own?
There is also the possibility that “Angela” is somehow an accomplice of Josef’s, but if this is the case, it would have to be revealed in the sequel, so at least as of right now, I can’t really consider this as a potential truth because this movie on it’s own doesn’t really suggest that this would be the situation. If this is what is happening, then Josef and Angela would potentially both be lying, so Josef wouldn’t be his real name necessarily, we couldn’t trust if Angela was his sister as she claims or his wife as he claims. It would overly complicate an already convoluted web of deceit.
Ultimately, we’re left to draw our own conclusions, but the two options are: we don’t know the real origin of the mask, or the mask was bought so that Josef could rape either his wife or his sister. The mask is a connection for Josef to his more violent, sexual, animal side.
Creep, Animal Instincts, Connection, and Legacy
The Peachfuzz mask is a connection for Josef to his more violent, sexual, animal side, but the desires to kill and have sex aren’t Josef’s only desires. He also has desires to connect and to leave behind a lasting legacy of some kind.
He repeatedly demonstrates his desire to connect with Aaron, but it’s implied that this connection is an immature one coming from a place of Josef misunderstanding normal social conventions: one shouldn’t lie to their new friends, one shouldn’t stalk their new friends, one shouldn’t bathe naked in front of their new friends, one shouldn’t steal keys to trap their friends, one shouldn’t send their friends menacing videos, one shouldn’t kill their friends…
But what if these weren’t Josef lashing out at a perfect stranger and behaving inappropriately, and were instead Josef trying to find and connect with a kindred spirit? Viewed in this way, these escalating actions are actually all tests to see what Aaron is made of and what it will take for Aaron to reveal his own animal side.
This is mentioned several times when Josef scares Aaron. Josef mentions that Aaron has a “little animal” in him and that Aaron looks like he wants to kill Josef sometimes. He expresses a desire to see Aaron embrace that animal side.
But why is this? Because Josef is searching for a son, apprentice, or prodigy. He calls his future son “buddy” repeatedly when addressing the camera, and he calls Aaron “buddy” as well. He baptizes Aaron in the heart-shaped pool, an act often associated with infants, but also with bringing someone into a new religion or way of thinking/behaving. Aaron even begins to feel this connection: he begins to dream that Josef is giving him a tubby just like Josef mimed doing to his pretend son.
Josef’s desires to unlock Aaron’s animal side ultimately explain his behavior from this point on: he’s trying to antagonize Aaron into taking action against him, and to express his desires to Aaron in the only way he knows how. He recognizes that positive actions have a tendency to pull people in, so he offers a drink, which keeps Aaron around. Later on, he offers a locket, not understanding that to a person that doesn’t think the way he does, such a gift is undesired and unwelcome.
Even the final moment that Josef has with Aaron, he’s hoping that Aaron will turn around, will fight him, will prove that he can embrace a darker side of himself as Josef has, but Aaron proves to Josef that he is too good of a person to embrace the animal.
So, Josef’s hunt for connection continues, but, because Josef is obsessed with legacy, he keeps the dvd disc chronicling his kill of Aaron. Whether through prodigy or history, Josef’s legacy will continue.
Will this idea of prodigy/legacy continue in the sequel? I sure hope so; I’ll let you know.
Stay Shocked,
Z
For a better understanding of the genre, check out What is Horror?
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