"Evil Dwells Underground."

After missing the last subway train of the night, a woman finds she's been locked inside a London subway station. Soon she finds herself pursued by an unknown assailant who calls the dark subway tunnels home. Creep is the first full-length feature from writer-director Christopher Smith. Essentially a slasher film, Creep tries to be something more, yet can't keep its stride throughout the films entire running time. There are certainly good things about the film, even great things, yet the film as a whole fails to rise above the quality of similar films we've seen lately.

I really wanted to enjoy Creep, and for a while I did. The first half of the film is very well done, with Smith managing to create an incredibly isolated atmosphere, lifting the films level of suspense. The subway station is genuinely unsettling, thanks both the uneasy silence of the terminal, and its uncomfortable lighting. These scenes rely so much on atmosphere and suspense; it's disappointing when these scenes disappear about halfway through the film.

The villain is scarcely seen during the first half of the film, and the film is all the more effective because of it. Our minds run, thinking of the most horrible creature we can imagine, until the halfway point of the film, when the villain is revealed. From this point the film declines into mediocrity. It still manages to be better than most other films of its type, however. The monster is visible in nearly every scene, and the effectiveness which worked so well in the first half becomes trite, and nearly to the point of being boring. While our heroine tries to escape this horrific creature that lurks in the subway tunnels, little is done to explain its motives or origins. It is touched upon, yet never developed, leaving significant plot holes which are impossible to decipher. Unintentional obscurity, only serves to strain the audiences involvement, by asking questions which should be developed upon, end explained a little more clearly. Additionally, it can be looked at from the other perspective, which is by intentionally hiding these very same aspects, the audience is reliant more on their own imagination to decipher what's occurring. It's one or the other, but underdevelopment of characters, serves the film only as a distraction.

The other significant problem the film faces, is established immediately in the film, Kate (Franka Potente, Run Lola Run) is introduced as a particularly unlikable character, who shrugs off the homeless, without so much as a second thought, this serves only to develop her character in a particularly contrived way, as her interaction with people is very limited, yet by the end of the film her attitude toward her peers, and those she would have considered under her, has completely changed.

Sadly, there is not enough here for me to give a solid recommendation, yet those who enjoy a suspenseful horror tale, will certainly find something to enjoy here, even if it doesn't last the entire films running time. Fans of classic slasher films should also be advised to check it out. We don't see a lot of films like this anymore, as traditional monsters and disfigured slashers have been replaced by a more human killer. A 'la Wolf Creek, and High Tension. While you'll probably forget about it shortly after viewing, Creep's subject matter certainly has provided it with a built-in fan base, and if what you've heard about Creep intrigues you, your part of it.