If anyone thought Hollywood was done with found-footage films after the string of Chronicle, Project X, Project Almanac, and so on, think again. Co-writers Mark Duplass (Safety Not Guaranteed) and Patrick Brice – as his feature directorial debut – have teamed up to take on this film technique with Creep.
The dark comedy/horror film follows videographer Aaron (Brice) who, after answering a Craigslist ad, ventures up to a cabin in the woods for a one-day job involving Josef, a man dying of cancer (Duplass). As the title makes clear, events get “creep[y]” as Aaron gets to know the secluded Josef.
Fans of Duplass will notice that the indie Renaissance-man has yet to tackle horror let alone found-footage within his own films and television shows- he did, however, recently appear in the sci-fi horror film The Lazarus Effect. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he explains, “If you look at the, quote-unquote, ‘horror’ projects that I have approached, most of them are based on inter-personal dynamics. Creep is kind of like a foreign arthouse film about feelings that happens to just take a darker turn.”
The indie film, backed by Blumhouse Productions, premiered at this year’s SXSW film festival and was picked up by Netflix. The streaming site will also be Duplass’ home for four of his next films after recently signing a big development deal under his production company Duplass Brothers Productions. Brice will also soon be on the tip of indie moviegoers’ tongues soon after his Sundance hit The Overnight (also produced by Duplass) comes to theaters on June 19.
Creep will be released on iTunes June 23, and on Netflix July 14. Watch the trailer below.