Let's talk about CREEP for a moment shall we? It's about as nonsensical as a film can come, and if you'd ask it, wouldn't feel the need to offer any kind of explanations, logical progression or development. Now don't get me wrong, I think there are a lot of films that don't need to offer these types of explanations, however, CREEP is a film that could have benefited from telling us...SOMETHING. It's not all a loss though as CREEP offers up a few chills and some great atmosphere. Unfortunately, that's about all is has to give. So it really does depend on what kind of entertainment thrill you're looking for and how deep of an experience you are after. If you've got your clam diggers on and don't intend to go any further than the ankle, CREEP could very well be the late night/lazy day thrill that you're looking for.

What is CREEP? Even after seeing the film myself I'm not all too sure. But this is what I can tell you. Franka Potente (Run Lola Run, Bourne Identity) stars as Kate, a socialite butterfly of the highest order. About as full of herself as she can be, this evening Kate just wants to get to the party that George Clooney is s'posed to be making an appearance at. Only problem is Kate's friend has ditched her, so she has to make up for lost time by heading to the London Underground in order to catch the last train of the evening.

Uh oh.

Once below, Kate drifts off only to awaken to the realization that she's missed the train, and she's locked in The Underground. Oddly enough at this very moment, another train comes barreling down the tracks for Kate to pick up. Once aboard the train Kate realizes she's alone. Alone, except for her sleazy co-worker Guy (Jeremy Sheffield) - who's weak come on lines are almost as lame as his fake smile. He pushes himself on Kate and one attempted rape later, Guy is dragged off of the train kicking and screaming...by something. I say 'by something' because we aren't even officially introduced to 'this thing' until about 40-minutes into the film and by the time the end credits roll...we still don't know exactly WHAT it was.

Once Guy is plucked Kate's mission is to get the hell out of The Underground, which proves to be a tremendous task. Along the way she meets a few homeless people, a security guard and a city sewer worker to name a few. Some of the folks are willing to help while some are not, and some are being held captive themselves. What exactly is it that's been chasing everyone around The Underground? And will Kate make it out alive? Most importantly, do we care? The answers unfortunately are; I don't know, yes, and probably not.

As an atmospheric 'cool to look at' fright flick, CREEP has a lot going for it. It was shot scope, so the widescreen framing really adds to this especially in a theatre or on a 16X9 widescreen set. The tunnels and sets used are very frightening and claustrophobic, which is also a plus. And at just about 80-minutes, the film moves along pretty quickly with some fairly solid set pieces. However, holding the film back (quite a bit mind you) is a serious lack in any type of story or characterization. Who are these people and why should we care about who they are? Who is the Creep, and once again, why should we care about who he is? This is the one area (and it's a pretty big area to fill) where CREEP is lacking.

There are moments in CREEP in which I just 'didn't buy it.' For starters, it's a 'small world' down there in which CREEP operates and I didn't buy the fact that these 4 or 5 characters managed to constantly bump into one another until things came conveniently full circle in the end. For example, when Kate first enters the subway she's in such a hurry to buy a ticket (she must REALLY want to see George Clooney) she purchases her ticket from a homeless woman for 20 Pounds, instead of heading to the ticket counter. And yet, she has almost 10-minutes until the last train arrives? Then she falls deep enough asleep to actually miss her train? I mean, those suckers are louder than any alarm I've ever heard!

Once Guy is dragged away, Kate bumps into the very same homeless woman who sold her her ticket earlier, this time in her little makeshift house in The Underground no less (along with her homeless husband and dog!)? And I certainly didn't buy the fact that towards the tail end of the film, Kate winds up in a cage next to a sewer worker that we're briefly introduced to in the opening moments of the film. And guess what? His name is George! Oh the humanity! Wrong George! Get it? Huh? Huh???

Let's see, what else. I didn't buy that she wasn't 'alarmed' by the fact that even though she knew that she had missed the LAST train, that a mysterious 'empty' train followed. OR, the fact that the rape machine named Guy was the only other person on this 'mysterious' train! All of the other passangers at the station were gone! It was empty, desolate I tells ya! I should probably stop there because I can just go on forever with this!

OK, one more thing. The Creep. We have to talk a bit about The Creep. There is no back story, we never learn who or what he really is. He's just a deformed man, who runs around The Underground shrieking and killing people. I don't know where he gets his food or nourishment from (maybe he eats people, but we really aren't told), somehow he's still full of energy and able to overpower a strong, healthy, well-fed man (or woman for that matter) like you wouldn't believe!

Phrase of the day kiddies is 'suspension of disbelief.' Learn it, know it, live it. Especially while watching this film.

So what worked? Great use of sets and space for starters. The film 'looked' cool and despite the fact that I knew nothing about 'The Creep' he was a pretty scary mutha. I mean hell, my girlfriend walks in after the films been on for 40-minutes and winds up watching the entire final 40-minutes while holding the DVD box cover up in front of her face! Only to occasionally peer around the sides of it! Amateur! Her one and only question - "Was there any back story about this guy?" - unfortunately not. In the end, I don't even think that she thought it was a 'great' film, but she was still 'interested enough' and if nothing else, temporarily frightened.

Picture quality is outstanding with an exceptionally clear anamorphic image especially in the dark or low-lit tunnels. The 5.1 surround is OK, with clear dialogue; however, I found that quite often the surround sounds did NOT match the action onscreen. Water splashing when no one is splashing etc. There are a wealth of extras available here including a feature length commentary with Director Christopher Smith, 30-minute making of, Production Design Featurette, Makeup Featurette, excerpts from a Q&A at a Frightfest screening, a few alternative titles for the film, trailers and an alternate beginning and ending as told by director Christopher Smith through storyboards. Does a film like this warrant so many extras? Probably not. Were they interesting? Sure, at times, particularly the pieces on sets/locations and make-up .

It all boils down to what type of entertainment you're looking for this evening. If it's got to be deep and thoughtful or even just something that has some socially redeeming value, this isn't the film for you. However, if you're looking for a sharp looking (but poorly edited - don't even get me started on this one) scare flick, then this is a level that CREEP may satisfy on. Still, there are much better choices out there.

Buy it at Xploited Cinema!