10 Horror Movies That Prove Less Is More
2. Creep
Given the involvement of indie film wunderkind Mark Duplass, you'd be forgiven for assuming that Creep was some sort of mumblecore comedy, but this collaboration with director-co-star Patrick Brice is instead one of the most evocative horrors of the decade.
Brice plays Aaron, a videographer who accepts a job to record an eccentric client, Josef (Duplass), whose increasingly uneasy behaviours may or may not indicate a darker motivation.
The brilliance of this low-fi found footage film is that, until the very end, it holds audiences in gut-wrenching suspense over the true nature of Duplass' character.
Without any supernatural hooey in sight, the horror comes entirely from Duplass' extremely offputting performance as Josef, a man who could easily be a weirdo prankster or a legitimate psychopath. No spoilers here.
The bulk of the film doesn't amount to much more than two actors hanging out in a house, but because Brice and Duplass invest us so thoroughly in the setup, it remains stomach-knottingly suspenseful throughout.
Despite the clear limitations of the premise, Creep 2 was also a fantastic follow-up, and Creep 3 is currently in the works.