Creep
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   153 of 308 readers found this review helpful.

I have taken the subway only once in my life. You see, here in Ohio, we have little use for a subway. Instead we have large amounts of traffic, and the city of Columbus, consisting of 75% one way streets, is very reminiscent of an experiment suited for a lab rat. That one time was in New York, off to see the great Times Square (before it was cleaned up.) My whole experience with this claustrophobic’s nightmare could be summed up in one word; WEIRDOS. For every well dressed business man, there were fourty-five toothless, legless and deodorentless freaks. On top of all that, the underground dungeon, where one is to wait for the train, can get damn creepy. Who knows what lurks down there? Well, director Christopher Smith’s film gives us a glimpse of what COULD be down there.

Kate (Franka Potente) leaves a party to hit the town. She is a woman with a goal, and that goal is to sleep with George Clooney. That last sentence is entirely true. (Gotta love goal oriented women.) While waiting for the subway train to arrive, she falls asleep. When she awakens she is alone, and the station is gated up. Her question is exactly what went through my head, “Doesn’t anyone check the place before locking up?”

She tries to get out, but with no luck. Soon a train arrives and she boards alone. After some time the train stops in the middle of the tunnel. The lights go out! What is going on, she thinks? Why, it is Guy (Jeremy Sheffield), the ass from the party that she was at, and he brought along cocaine, and the want for rape. Yea! She tries to fight him off, but to no avail. Good thing something tears him from an open door down to the tracks. He appears bloodied only enough to warn Kate to run. This begins Kate’s long night trying to get out of the subway. Something is down there, hunting and eating its prey. In case you didn’t get where I am going with this, its prey is Kate, and whoever else is unfortunate to be in the subway that night.

When this movie landed on my desk, it looked like your ordinary slasher, with a picture of a subway car, and a bloody hand print on the window. I did not think anything special really. What I ended up with was a gritty, moody, atmospheric and well directed film. The subway, with it’s dark corridors and grimy walls, works perfect for this type of film. Like an old prison, you can’t go wrong with moldy, old concrete for visuals. The setting gives you a claustrophobic, isolated feel.

Another great thing about the film was the realism. Not so much the realism of the situation, which I’ll touch base on later, but the characters. Kate is a socialite bitch that only cares about herself. Seriously, she is off to try and do George Clooney. Being put into this situation, she only cares about herself. She is not the strong, independent woman that all horror movies want to give us nowadays, but just a shallow, good looking woman, wanting to get the hell out of there to get a piece of star ass. It was kind of refreshing that she was unlikable at first. Another character that I felt was spot-on in the situation was the homeless man who is hired to take Kate to the on duty guard, on the other side of the station. When his doped up girlfriend becomes missing, and a trail of blood leads him to a dark tunnel, he obviously is upset. When they think that whoever, or whatever, is on a now stopped train, he grabs a crow bar and is out to kill it. I see that happening. Hell, I think everyone’s been in that situation before.

We do not have to wait long to actually see the killer. He is shown early in the movie, and becomes a character shown in full view like everyone else. This helps the movie, but also hurts it. What started as a movie full of jump scares, and shadows, becomes more of a psychological movie. The killer is in plain view, and he is chasing Kate. Seeing him in light actually makes the feel of the movie change for the better. I do have to say that I was a little disappointed in the killer though. There is really nothing special about it. Give it a bath, and an extreme makeover and he could work at McDonald’s. Instead of explaining why this thing is killing and eating people we get answers that lead to more questions. When the movie is over, you get a nugget of explanation, but little else, to try to figure it out on your own. This was quite nice. If something is ripping people apart, and is chasing me around in a dark subway, the last thing that I am going to do is try to get to know him better. We would not be on a first name basis. I would just be trying to get the hell out of there.

This movie does have your normal horror movie flaws though. If you have seen a horror movie, then you know the type. Person A is hiding, trips and makes a noise. How bout’ the classic, the killer is laying still. Instead of stabbing, or beating it, over and over again, I’ll just walk away and assume it is dead. Other than those annoyances (which are very small) I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. It is creepy, subtle, but also has some intense scenes scattered in just the right amounts. I definately recommend this one. 4 Cans!

Added:  Monday, October 24, 2005

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