Creep
Now that's more like it. The lovely Franka Potente is locked in the deserted London Underground with a deformed, murderous mutant gentleman and a handful of other potential victims. The movie makes very effective use of the barren Underground and empty trains, there's some honest-to-god horror happening here and it's refreshing after the run of lazy garbage movies that I've been subjecting myself to lately.
Also refreshing is that the movie isn't afraid to allow Potente's character, Kate, to be kind of unlikable. She's not horrible or anything, but she's also not a clichéd heroine with a heart of gold, and she feels more real because of it. Even the final shot (lifted from The Graduate, of all places) feels earned, not phony. That's not to say there aren't any clichés, the story is nothing new and the Saw-like cinematography & lighting leaves a bit to be desired (everything is bathed in sickly greens, yellows, and blues which gets old pretty fast, just because something is unpleasant to look at doesn't necessarily make it scarier). Also, there's a sequence where a guy high on cocaine tries to rape Kate that is frankly unnecessary. The guy was already an asshole, to make him a potential rapist to get the viewer to hate him more is lazy and obnoxious. Be smarter, movie. Trust that we already see the guy as a potential threat without having him menacingly reach for his fly and push Kate into a corner.
Those faults are forgivable, though, because the movie has some terrifically creepy atmosphere and a brisk pace that helps the 85 minute running time breeze by. There are also some pretty nauseating moments, and I mean that in the best way possible. It's all very grim, but not oppressive, which can be a dealbreaker for movies like this. It's much more effective than the premise and generic title suggest, and generally the sort of movie that makes an undertaking like watching a new-to-me horror movie every day of October worthwhile.
Also, have I mentioned Franka Potente? Because DAMN. Franka Potente. Just sayin'.
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