Creep (film)
Encyclopedia
Creep is a 2004 British
horror film
about a woman locked in overnight on the London Underground
who finds herself being stalked by a hideously deformed killer living in the sewers below. The film, directed by Christopher Smith
, was first shown at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival
and was also featured at the London FrightFest Film Festival
.
The film has been compared to the 1972 film Death Line
, also set on the London Underground
and featuring a cannibalistic
killer. The director himself, who had not seen that film, attributes his inspiration to a scene in An American Werewolf in London
set in the London Underground.
, Arthur (Ken Campbell
) and George (Vas Blackwood
), who discover a tunnel in one of the walls that neither of them is familiar with. Arthur enters and when he does not emerge or respond to George afterwards, George follows. He soon discovers Arthur, injured and in a state of shock. Moments later, a similarly injured young woman jumps out in front of them, crying for help, only to be pulled back into the darkness.
The focus then shifts to a young German woman, Kate (Franka Potente
), at a party. After hearing of another party that George Clooney
is supposedly attending, she decides to travel there. After unsuccessfully trying to get a taxi, she heads to Charing Cross tube station
, but soon falls asleep on the platform while waiting for the train. When she awakens, she is alone and finds the entire station locked up for the night. Another empty train arrives and she boards it, but it stops abruptly. Confused, Kate makes her way to the conductor's compartment but cannot find the reason for the stoppage: unbeknownst to her, the driver has been killed. Kate soon encounters Guy (Jeremy Sheffield), an obsessive acquaintance from the previous party. Guy, intoxicated by cocaine
, crudely attempts to seduce her, but Kate is not interested and tries to leave the train. Guy then sexually assaults her, but is dragged off her and out of the train by an unseen attacker.
Kate flees from the train and runs into a homeless couple, Jimmy (Paul Rattray) and Mandy (Kelly Scott), and their dog, a Jack Russell terrier
called Ray. Kate explains what has happened and Jimmy reluctantly agrees to help her after she pays him. Meanwhile, Mandy is also attacked while alone. Kate and Jimmy find Guy lying on the railway track with his back mutilated. After they pull him onto the platform, Ray appears with blood smeared on his fur. Jimmy, immediately thinking of Mandy, goes with Ray back to their shelter where she is nowhere to be found. Kate attempts to contact a watchman via speakers to get help. Suspicious of her, the watchman demands Guy to be dragged in front of the security cameras to prove that she is not lying. When she does so, Guy dies and the watchman is also killed in his office by having his throat slit by the stalker. Kate runs back to a despondent Jimmy who has shot himself full of drugs. She eventually persuades him to help her find Mandy and a way out of the station. After exploring a tunnel together, another train pulls up in front of them. Jimmy enters and is killed by the stalker, who was lurking on the roof. Kate flees into the sewer system below the station, but is soon captured by the killer; a hideously deformed, mentally ill hermit
named "Craig" AKA The Creep (Sean Harris
).
Kate finds herself in a water-filled cage deeper underground, presumably being stored as food
for Craig. She also meets George, who is still alive and also trapped. However, before Craig can harm either of them, Kate manages to escape, to temporarily incapacitate Craig, and to release George. Together, they run through several dark corridors and end up in a secret, deserted abortion clinic
, where they find an unconscious Mandy strapped on an operating chair and mistakenly presume her to be dead. However, before they can investigate further, Craig appears and they are forced to flee and leave Mandy alone with him, who kills her in a twisted imitation of an abortion.
George and Kate eventually find themselves in an abandoned platform and Craig soon catches up to them once again. George attacks Craig, but is impaled through the head with a serrated blade protruding out of a wall. Kate attempts to escape, but is soon cornered by Craig. She breaks down until she spots a large hook on a long chain, with which she stabs Craig's throat. She then hears the distant sounds of an approaching train and she throws the other end of the chain over the tunnel, in an attempt to electrocute him. Her plan fails, and although severely wounded, Craig rises and attempts to crush Kate with a barrel. Then the train passes through the tunnel and smashes into the chain, which tears out his throat. Craig finally dies, and Kate makes her way through the tunnel and finds herself back in Charing Cross Station. Tattered and filthy, she collapses on a platform and Ray appears, curling onto her lap. The film ends when a man waiting for a train puts a coin next to her, thinking she is a beggar, and she breaks into hysterical giggles and tears.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
about a woman locked in overnight on the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
who finds herself being stalked by a hideously deformed killer living in the sewers below. The film, directed by Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith (director)
Christopher Smith, is a British film director and screenwriter.- Career :His four most prominent pieces of work are Creep, Severance, Triangle and Black Death. Smith was last working on a movie based about the UK children's book series CHERUB...
, was first shown at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival
2005 Toronto International Film Festival
The 2005 Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 8–17 and screened 335 films from 52 countries - 109 of these films were world premieres, and 78 were North American premieres.- Awards:Awards presented during the film festival included:...
and was also featured at the London FrightFest Film Festival
London FrightFest Film Festival
FrightFest is an annual film festival held in central London over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The first event was held in the year 2000....
.
The film has been compared to the 1972 film Death Line
Death Line
Death Line is a 1972 British horror film, distributed as Raw Meat in the United States. The film stars Donald Pleasence as Inspector Calhoun, and was directed by the American filmmaker Gary Sherman.-Plot:...
, also set on the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and featuring a cannibalistic
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
killer. The director himself, who had not seen that film, attributes his inspiration to a scene in An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 British-American horror film, written and directed by John Landis. It stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne....
set in the London Underground.
Plot
The film opens with two sewer workers in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Arthur (Ken Campbell
Ken Campbell (actor)
Kenneth Victor Campbell was an English writer, actor, director and comedian known for his work in experimental theatre...
) and George (Vas Blackwood
Vas Blackwood
Vasta Blackwood is a British television and film actor.Blackwood played Lenny Henry's sidekick Winston Churchill in The Lenny Henry Show and David Sinclair in Casualty...
), who discover a tunnel in one of the walls that neither of them is familiar with. Arthur enters and when he does not emerge or respond to George afterwards, George follows. He soon discovers Arthur, injured and in a state of shock. Moments later, a similarly injured young woman jumps out in front of them, crying for help, only to be pulled back into the darkness.
The focus then shifts to a young German woman, Kate (Franka Potente
Franka Potente
Franka Potente is a German film actress and singer. She first appeared in the comedy After Five in the Forest Primeval and gained critical recognition in the action thriller Lola rennt . Potente received Germany's highest film and television awards for her performances in Run Lola Run and...
), at a party. After hearing of another party that George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
is supposedly attending, she decides to travel there. After unsuccessfully trying to get a taxi, she heads to Charing Cross tube station
Charing Cross tube station
Charing Cross tube station is a London Underground station at Charing Cross in the City of Westminster with entrances located in Trafalgar Square and The Strand. The station is served by the Northern and Bakerloo lines and provides an interchange with the National Rail network at station...
, but soon falls asleep on the platform while waiting for the train. When she awakens, she is alone and finds the entire station locked up for the night. Another empty train arrives and she boards it, but it stops abruptly. Confused, Kate makes her way to the conductor's compartment but cannot find the reason for the stoppage: unbeknownst to her, the driver has been killed. Kate soon encounters Guy (Jeremy Sheffield), an obsessive acquaintance from the previous party. Guy, intoxicated by cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, crudely attempts to seduce her, but Kate is not interested and tries to leave the train. Guy then sexually assaults her, but is dragged off her and out of the train by an unseen attacker.
Kate flees from the train and runs into a homeless couple, Jimmy (Paul Rattray) and Mandy (Kelly Scott), and their dog, a Jack Russell terrier
Jack Russell Terrier
The Jack Russell terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. It is principally white-bodied smooth, rough or broken-coated which is commonly confused with the Parson Russell terrier and the Russell terrier with the term "Jack Russell" commonly misapplied to other small white...
called Ray. Kate explains what has happened and Jimmy reluctantly agrees to help her after she pays him. Meanwhile, Mandy is also attacked while alone. Kate and Jimmy find Guy lying on the railway track with his back mutilated. After they pull him onto the platform, Ray appears with blood smeared on his fur. Jimmy, immediately thinking of Mandy, goes with Ray back to their shelter where she is nowhere to be found. Kate attempts to contact a watchman via speakers to get help. Suspicious of her, the watchman demands Guy to be dragged in front of the security cameras to prove that she is not lying. When she does so, Guy dies and the watchman is also killed in his office by having his throat slit by the stalker. Kate runs back to a despondent Jimmy who has shot himself full of drugs. She eventually persuades him to help her find Mandy and a way out of the station. After exploring a tunnel together, another train pulls up in front of them. Jimmy enters and is killed by the stalker, who was lurking on the roof. Kate flees into the sewer system below the station, but is soon captured by the killer; a hideously deformed, mentally ill hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
named "Craig" AKA The Creep (Sean Harris
Sean Harris
Sean Harris is a British actor, who is best known for his performance as Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in the film 24 Hour Party People. He grew up in Norwich, Norfolk, where he lived until he was 23....
).
Kate finds herself in a water-filled cage deeper underground, presumably being stored as food
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
for Craig. She also meets George, who is still alive and also trapped. However, before Craig can harm either of them, Kate manages to escape, to temporarily incapacitate Craig, and to release George. Together, they run through several dark corridors and end up in a secret, deserted abortion clinic
Abortion clinic
An abortion clinic is a medical facility that primarily performs or specializes in abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices.-Canada:*There were 197 abortion providers in Canada in 2001....
, where they find an unconscious Mandy strapped on an operating chair and mistakenly presume her to be dead. However, before they can investigate further, Craig appears and they are forced to flee and leave Mandy alone with him, who kills her in a twisted imitation of an abortion.
George and Kate eventually find themselves in an abandoned platform and Craig soon catches up to them once again. George attacks Craig, but is impaled through the head with a serrated blade protruding out of a wall. Kate attempts to escape, but is soon cornered by Craig. She breaks down until she spots a large hook on a long chain, with which she stabs Craig's throat. She then hears the distant sounds of an approaching train and she throws the other end of the chain over the tunnel, in an attempt to electrocute him. Her plan fails, and although severely wounded, Craig rises and attempts to crush Kate with a barrel. Then the train passes through the tunnel and smashes into the chain, which tears out his throat. Craig finally dies, and Kate makes her way through the tunnel and finds herself back in Charing Cross Station. Tattered and filthy, she collapses on a platform and Ray appears, curling onto her lap. The film ends when a man waiting for a train puts a coin next to her, thinking she is a beggar, and she breaks into hysterical giggles and tears.
Characters
- Franka PotenteFranka PotenteFranka Potente is a German film actress and singer. She first appeared in the comedy After Five in the Forest Primeval and gained critical recognition in the action thriller Lola rennt . Potente received Germany's highest film and television awards for her performances in Run Lola Run and...
as Kate - Vas BlackwoodVas BlackwoodVasta Blackwood is a British television and film actor.Blackwood played Lenny Henry's sidekick Winston Churchill in The Lenny Henry Show and David Sinclair in Casualty...
as George - Ken CampbellKen CampbellKen Campbell was an English writer, actor, director and comedian.Ken Campbell may also refer to:* Ken Campbell , Canadian evangelist* Ken Campbell , former Scotland international goalkeeper...
as Arthur - Jeremy Sheffield as Guy
- Paul Rattray as Jimmy
- Kelly ScottKelly ScottKelly Scott is a Canadian curler from Kelowna, British Columbia.-1995-2005:...
as Mandy - Joe Anderson as Male Model
- Sean HarrisSean HarrisSean Harris is a British actor, who is best known for his performance as Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in the film 24 Hour Party People. He grew up in Norwich, Norfolk, where he lived until he was 23....
as Craig, the "Creep"