A couple on their third date is back at his place going through the motions before heading to the bedroom. Once there, things take an odd turn as she notices a padlock on his closet door. What might this be for…?
Written and directed by Justyn Buske, the film takes a simple premise and mixes it with a classic scary story (which cannot be discussed so as to not spoil the film and its ending in particular) to a fun result. The story is fairly simple but mixing the dating angle with the scary story works well to bring freshness to it all. The way Buske takes this and makes a short film that is both well done and effective. The horror angle doesn’t come in fully until a bit later into the film and this gives it time to build up an element of surprise even as some crumbs were dropped early on.
The cast for this film is composed of two people, Philip Kreyche as Reed and Rachel Speth as Lilith. The two of them do good work, dealing with the awkwardness of that third date and its expectation while also dealing with heavier contact before the film kicks up the horror element which even if mild to most horror fans needed to be handled properly by the cast. Their work here is strong and keeps the viewer involved.
The film is makes good use of black and white images as its cinematography by Frederick Duarte takes this look and makes it his while making it perfect for the story. The film looks good and the way its shot works well as well as gives it a bit of an old school vibe, a look that reminds of Twilight Zone and of horror film and serials of yore. The film also boast interesting music which straddles the fence of maybe a bit too hipster, but it works with the characters so it’s not annoyingly so.
The Creep has decent atmosphere, some interesting ideas, and good acting. Its story is a mix of two simple situations which become more complex by their being connected here. The way the film develops this is fun to watch and has some nice creepiness that grows as the film moves along. The visuals are old school and the vibe works toward placing this short along with stuff from the 50’s or 60’s.