Going Underground

Creep (Christopher Smith, 2004)

File Christopher Smith's directorial debut Creep (2004) as another overlooked Y2K era horror film constantly overlooked by wet-behind-the-ears film buffs on YouTube. Smith's subterranean themed chiller, located beneath the streets of London, was another important entry in the New Wave of British Horror as it was another quality entry in the movement; maintaining the momentum kickstarted by Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers (2002) and Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later (2002).

Horror films set in underground caves and tunnels are of particular interest for your host, as they represent the primal fear of the dark and unknown. An abundance of phobias, like bathophobia (fear of depths), cleithrophobia (fear of being trapped), taphobia (fear of being buried alive) and the more familiar claustrophobia are inextricably linked to the dark below. Hence, horror set underground has resulted in some delightfully atmospheric films, like C.H.U.D. (1984), The Descent (2005) and As Above, So Below (2014). It also might explain why this humble film blogger is one of the few people who likes the unfortunately titled The Midnight Meat Train (2008) given the piss poor CGI gore effects and Vinnie Jones being in it.

George Clooney, the smarmy-faced global ambassador of those dreadful Nespresso adverts, is in London. Determined party girl Kate (Franka Potente) confidently assumes she's in with a chance in hooking up with the Hollywood A-lister if she gets to him in time. This means, she's willing to ditch the office party she's at, where her only entertainment is ridiculing Guy's (Jerry Sheffield, AKA the boyfriend in Natalie Imbruglia's Torn music video) obnoxious come-ons. Kate is wasted from the booze and drugs she's already partaken in and falls asleep at a train platform. When she wakes up, she finds herself all alone and locked inside a London Underground station. Thus, the premise is set and introduces the viewer to the subterranean world of its titular antagonist.

Creep is essentially a gore tainted, morality tale for our heroine. Kate's an arrogant and unlikeable individual, initially. However, given the film's grand order of horrid individuals — which includes the stuck-up bint queuing at a ticket machine, a jobsworth security guard (who really should have spotted Kate asleep at the train platform; the film's most egregious plot hole, for many) and the aforementioned Guy attempting to rape our heroine — Kate is the least insufferable of the lot. This doesn't absolve her condescending treatment toward the junkie homeless couple, Jimmy (Paul Rattray) and Mandy (Kelly Scott), who are squatting in the station's store room. Their chances of survival would have been far greater if the party girl never chanced upon them. 

In an archived interview with the BBC, Christopher Smith intended for Kate to be written this way:

"The idea of the story is, here's someone that you see every day whom you might not like but you might recognise in yourself - in the way that you step over homeless people and don't give them the time of day. I wanted to ask, how do we take a character that's this full of herself and this full of self-importance, and shake her down to a level where she can be mistaken for a homeless person? For me, the first likeable person in the movie is Paul Rattray's character [Jimmy], the homeless guy. And by the time you get to him, you're like, 'At last! A character we can actually like!'"

In retrospect, that's a refreshing aspect which distances it from the virtuous white tank top and high waisted jeans final girls of the 2000s. Additionally, Kate's canary yellow dress is a notable feature in the film, as it gets increasingly grubby and dirty throughout the progress of the film; ultimately leading to her being mistaken for a vagrant by a faceless suit and tie man at the end of the film. Reinforcing Kate's moral lesson.

That very same BBC interview, also clears up the notion I had about the film being a quasi-remake of Garry Sherman's subterranean horror Death Line (AKA Raw Meat, 1972), which also features an underground denizen who eats people. Smith hadn't seen the film at the time, and goes on to reveal that Creep was inspired by the London Underground scene from John Landis's masterpiece (and quite frankly, the greatest film ever made) An American Werewolf in London (1981). Always a delight whenever a director appreciates a proper film and not some pretentious one they were taught at film school. 

While Potente does a commendable job in turning her unlikeable character into a sympathetic one, it's method actor Simon Harris's performance as the titular villain, hilariously named Craig, who happens to be the biggest highlight of the film. Severely deformed, our antagonist looks like a cross between Gollum and a chav roofer in baggy shorts and Dr. Martens boots. Along with the heavy prosthetics, he physically exudes the part as the creepy denizen. In one particular scene, he descends down from an overhead vent, casually swinging with one arm before landing to the ground; like a hideous gymnast. Craig also emits a piercing shriek when he enters an area, which is both chilling and fascinating. Another great detail is how the he seems to alert his presence with a mischief or rats, like a mutated Pied Piper. This all leads to the vital question on the origin of the character.

Much like Marshall's The Descent, Creep also manages to contain plenty of visual stimuli, despite being set underground. Locations are surprisingly various: from the brightly lit Charing Cross Station, to rat infested sewage tunnels, to unknown storerooms, to a long forgotten hospital basement, and to an abandoned underground station that serves as the Creep's lair, it's a striking looking film. This, and the constant surge of urgency for our protagonist, and a sewage worker ironically named George (Vas Blackwood) rescued by Kate, contribute to both a highly atmospheric and kinetic film, and why it's one of the more effective slashers from this era; especially given it's relative low budget.

Overall, Creep is an impressive debut from the writer and director who would helm Severance (2006), one of the few Danny Dyer movies worth watching, the psychological horror classic Triangle (2009) and the folk horror gem Black Death (2010), which would signal the end of his winning streak in genre cinema. Thus, it's a shame not many people know about Smith's debut, other than brainlets choosing Patrick Brice's 2014 found footage film with the same name over it; which ought to be made a criminal offence, in your host's opinion.

Praying for a domestic physical release of Creep, as the recent Aussie Blu-Ray will easily break the bank to buy and ship it.