Creep

Creep

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Todd & Craig discuss last year’s surprisingly novel found footage flick, Creep. Let’s just say it lives up to its name.

*Note: very sorry about the poor audio quality on this one.

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Creep (2014)

Episode 3, 2 Guys and a Chainsaw

Todd:  Hello, and welcome again to 2 Guys and a Chainsaw. I’m Todd. I’m Craig. And, today is October 1st. 

Craig:  October 1st, Halloween season. 

Todd:  Yeah. It is a very special day for me today, Craig. Yeah. Because, as you know, and if maybe some listeners of our podcast know, this is the 1st day of my 31 days of horror. Yes. My annual tradition of trying my best to watch 1 horror movie every single night at Halloween and then find something, clever and creative to say about it. Right? So I watch a horror movie, I write a review, I put it up on my website which is toddcoons.com in case anybody’s interested. I’ll put a link on there for you too.   And, normally when I select movies, I try to find some, some films that I have never seen before. Uh-huh. And today was was one of those days. 

Craig:  Yes. 

Todd:  And even more so, Craig challenged me. He said, alright. I know you haven’t seen this, but I tell you what, it’s better if you go into this not knowing anything about it. So don’t don’t even read about it. 

Craig:  Right. That’s right. You know, this is one of those, Netflix finds. It it popped up as a suggestion, and, I stuck it on, kind of in the background while I was doing something else. I don’t remember if I was working or or working out or what. But it, grabbed my attention pretty early on. And by the end, I had finished whatever it was that I was doing. And I found myself sitting like a little kid down right in front of the TV because I wanted to see what was gonna happen.   I thought it was, unique, interesting little film. I thought it would be a good way to kick off your 

Todd:  your month. Well, it was a good choice. I mean, honestly, this put me in that mood. I don’t know what it is but sometimes these sort of found footage type films which I get pretty tired of. Yeah. But there are times when I’m kind of in the mood for something that’s a little more creative, a little different. I mean, I was watching this. I was thinking a little bit of the VHS series.   Yeah. Uh-huh. Definitely. And I wholly expected because I kid you not, I did not read a thing about this. I believe you. I didn’t even read the Netflix description as I was going through there. And I when I got you know, after we were done watching this movie, I got on and I thought, oh, maybe this is a Ty West movie or, you know, produced by no, not at all. Right.   It’s really just 2 guys for the whole thing. 

Craig:  It is. You’ve got, and and the 2 guys developed this concept together, and then they went through a writing process where they kinda just let it develop organically through conversations that they had, you know, different scenarios that they imagined in this kind of, creepy circumstance. And the, director, Patrick Bryce, and and the other the co writer, Mark Duplass. They they star in the movie and really they are are quite literally the only actors throughout 

Todd:  the whole thing. Yes. 

Craig:  So you’ve got 80 minutes, that you are just with these 2 guys. And so it it it sets itself apart a little bit from some of the found footage stuff. I too, you know, get a little bit tired of, the the found footage conceit. But, you know, there’s something to be said for just kind of sitting a couple of guys sitting down and making a movie. It’s fun to watch. Yeah. 

Todd:  And there’s kind of an intensity about it. I think now, I’ll betray myself a little bit here, I haven’t seen paranormal activity yet. Wow. You know, but I’ve seen the previews, I kinda know what it’s all about, in fact, that’s probably on my list for this month. The intensity where you have a camera just set up in a corner and you know you’re watching a horror movie and you’re waiting for things to happen. Right. And it feels like this movie plays with you a lot in that regard. For comedy you know it builds attention it actually does a really good job I think of building attention through playing with your expectations of what should be happening in this kind of film.   Yeah. 

Craig:  I think you’re absolutely right. You know, with those found footage things, a lot of the time, you you said you haven’t seen Paranormal Activity. I’ve seen them all. And they, they vary in quality. But, you know, a lot of, the footage, in those films is from security cameras. So there’s constant, you know, it’s like a constant eye that can catch kind of anything that goes on. And there’s a lot of cutting and editing to kind of piece the story together. And that’s kind of the case, in a lot of these found footage movies.   This one, for some reason, feels different to me because it’s just the 2 characters and one of them is usually behind the camera while the other one is addressing the cam addressing the camera directly, it it kind of draws you in. I mean, it feels intimate. Like, it feels like you’re kind of privy to a private conversation. Yes. And I I think that does a lot to establish the tone and also, that suspense that that you were talking about. It kind of defies expectations in some way, and so that builds the suspense even more. 

Todd:  Yeah. This is definitely one of the better ones. And, I think, you know the way it starts off you you always have to suspend your disbelief a little bit with these films, you just have to understand that in real life people are not running around recording themselves all the time. Right. Even when they’re intense scary moments. They’re putting a camera down Yeah. And more concerned for their safety. But, you know, this starts off with, the main character well, one of the 2 main characters, His name is Aaron, and he’s videotaping himself driving down the road to this gig.   I think this was shot in Florida. 

Craig:  Yeah. Which I was that’s you told me that. It kinda surprised me because I had kind of a New England kind of feel to it to me. And, you know, the the characters are are in coats and and heavy hats and things throughout. So I was kinda surprised that that was the location. But it is. I mean, it’s a beautiful kind of outdoor setting and and not threatening. He drives up to, this cabin where he’s supposed to meet the guy who has contacted him for this work.   Aaron, our the 1st character who we encounter is, apparently a freelance videographer Yeah. If nothing else. And, he’s been contacted by, a man, Joseph. That’s that’s kind of all he knows about him. And he’s meeting him here for for a job, for work. And that’s kind of where we pick up. 

Todd:  Yeah, like he answered a Craigslist ad or something. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. And, he’s not there and he kind of rings the doorbell. He looks around. He goes back down. He waits for a little while, and then, 

Craig:  Joseph appears. Yeah. He, he pops up, quickly. And this, you know 

Todd:  It scares him. Yeah. 

Craig:  Scares him, as, as Aaron’s waiting in his car. 

Todd:  Hi. Oh, I’m sorry. I think he scared you. Oh, it’s okay. It’s okay. I’m assuming you’re Aaron. Yeah. Alright, Aaron.   Joseph. Oh my god. 

Craig:  And then profusely apologizes for having scared him, but the the the gag of of these jump scares, comes up over and over again. 

Todd:  Yeah. It’s the first of many jump scares that aren’t really jump yeah. It’s 

Craig:  It you know, jump scares, I think, in general in horror movies are typically kind of a cheap way, to engage your audience. But here, they worked for me because it was, I think, a use of dark humor. At some point, you know, Joseph keeps doing this over and over and over again to Aaron, popping out from, you know, hiding places. It’s something that I love to do, and that I’ve probably lost a lot of friendships over. Hiding around corners and waiting for somebody to walk by so you can just jump out at them. And you get that several times throughout, and he explains it. Joseph explains it and said, oh, I’ve got kind of a weird sense of humor. 

Todd:  Oh, and does he? He’s just weird all around. 

Craig:  Yeah. And and 

Todd:  and so it’s it’s you know he he’s also kind of that guy that all of us sort of kind of know this guy, he’s just a little off, but you know that it’s just their personality, at least that’s how it comes across at first. 

Craig:  Right. That’s exactly it. I mean, he does seem there’s something, I don’t know. Just something kind of innately creepy about him. But in in the beginning, you know, he comes off as just being really a genuinely nice guy. Like maybe a little overly friendly if if anything. But you kind of or or I did, you know, you you kind of question with a movie with the title Craig. You know something’s going to be going on.   But I’m asking myself, am I trying to read too much into this? And maybe he’s just a friendly guy, you know, who knows, what’s gonna happen. But throughout the progress of the movie, there’s something there’s something else going on. Yeah. 

Todd:  But the first half, you know, you’re really kind of wondering what’s going on. I mean, the first thing you’re wondering is what is this film project all about? Yeah. He takes him into the house and Joseph says, please keep foaming me. Alright. Just turn the camera on me. And he says, tells a story about how he had cancer and then he got over the cancer but then he started to feel ill and he found out he had a huge brain tumor. 

Craig:  Right. So And 

Todd:  he has a wife and a kid and they’re gone for some reason or they’re around not around. No no he has a pregnant wife. Yes. And his what was he calling? 

Craig:  His baby daddy? Buddy. Yeah. He he he talk what he wants to do is, at least this is, you know, what he tells, Aaron. He he tells him, you know, I want the doctor has given me 2 to 3 months to live. I’m hoping to beat it. But, you know, it’s it’s this brain tumor. It’s the size of a baseball. The chances aren’t good.   So what I want to do is kind of make a record or a documentation of me, of who I am, of my personality so that I can leave that then for my unborn son. So it’s kind of a, a passion project kind of thing. And it’s, you know, if you take it at face value, it’s it’s kind of a sweet notion for this guy to leave something behind for his unborn kid. And so, Aaron agrees. You know, there’s money exchange. It’s a job. He’s getting paid. But right off the bat, you 

Todd:  get yeah. It gets weird. Well, it’s funny because you do, as you said earlier, you kinda go back and forth here where you think, oh, this is weird. And then you go, oh, well, maybe there’s an excuse for it. Oh, maybe this guy’s, you know, it’s probably what’s the same thing that’s going on in Aaron’s head. Aaron doesn’t talk a lot for this first, you know, actually throughout the whole movie really. He just kinda takes it face value. Like I’m thinking when he greets him at the door, he gives him he says, you have a nice kind face.   Uh-huh. This is gonna be good and we’re gonna are you ready for this? And he gives him a hug, and he says, oh, yeah. Go ahead. Give me a hug. We’re gonna get a lot deeper, you know, than this as we go on. And and then he kinda says gives him the money and says I think he says, this is a partnership, and this is a journey into the heart. And, I’m real glad that you come with me. I think we’re gonna do great.   And just stares at him. And, Aaron, from behind the camera, you can’t see him, but you can just imagine, like, okay. Cool. Whatever you say. And he goes upstairs, and he says, I’m gonna I’m gonna we’re gonna I’m gonna get the tub. Yeah. Okay. Follows him upstairs.   And this is where it gets weird. He’s stripping down in front of the tub. 

Craig:  Right. Immediately. I mean, this is the very first scene that he wants to film. And he goes upstairs and, invites Aaron to follow him up there. And Aaron comes around the corner into the bathroom to find Joseph. He’s already stripped to the waist, and now he is in the process of taking his pants off. And, Aaron apologizes and starts to back away. And he says, oh, no.   No. This this is it. You know? This is what I want you to film. He says, we’re gonna get a lot more intimate than this. And out of the whole time, I’m thinking, that’s pretty intimate. 

Todd:  I was like, where is this movie? Right. If 

Craig:  if if if this guy were telling me, that it’s gonna get way more intimate than this, that would raise some red flags. That was another thing that I was thinking, you know, throughout. Again, I don’t know if I were in the circumstance. I guess you just don’t expect people to be crazy, like, literally insane crazy. So if if people are a little quirky or or whatever, I guess, you kinda just try to roll with it. But red flags, you know, immediately stripping naked and getting into the tub, you know, not even 5 minutes after they’ve met. He he talks about how he’s got all this limited time, and he wants to do this for his son, and he’s got this wife that he loves very much, he’s been married for 6 years, where are they? You know, I would think I would think if somebody if I were dying, I would wanna be near, you know, my loved ones. I wouldn’t wanna be off somewhere else preparing something for them. 

Todd:  With a stranger when you could have prepared this with your wife. Yeah. You know? It could have been a moment you guys could have shared with your limited time on earth. 

Craig:  Yeah. So, you know, just I I don’t know if you could even consider those little things. I mean, those seem like some kind of big red flags, but then again, it’s a job. As we were watching this, Todd, you wear lots of hats and, you know, you’ve done a lot of videography work. 

Todd:  I I 

Craig:  and I’m I’m saying a good thing, you know, is this is that just kinda part of the trade? Like, it’s gonna have to roll, you know, and, you know, the guy paid him. He just wants him to kinda document his day or whatever. Guess you just roll with 

Todd:  it? I’ve never gotten a gig like this. I’ll tell you that. Well, on something like this, it also doesn’t seem to require a lot of skill. Yeah. You know, he’s not asking him to set up really great shots and he’s not shooting if I mean this is clearly shot with a cheap camera. Yeah. The film’s really pretty grainy in the dark spots, you know, the whole movie again, it’s a found footage film so you don’t mind that production value. But, he clearly wanted a companion for the day.   Yes. And so that is sort of your 1st, you know, your 2nd or 3rd red flag there. Right. But then when he gets in the tub and this is the point where it switches back Todd, oh, maybe this is just a really sad man. He gets in the tub and he starts talking to his son, you know his future son on the camera and he says well you know my dad and I one of the one of the earliest memories I have of him was taking tubbies. Mhmm. And so this is gonna be, you know I don’t know if you’re gonna live, if I’m gonna be around when you’re here so I I wanna do a tubby with you right now. And he kinda goes through the motions with his invisible child who would ostensibly be watching this later.   Right. Of all these cute little things and his feed and his, washing him and pouring, and it’s, and you watch it and at least I was thinking, this is really sad or is it? Right. I mean, I mean, at 

Craig:  the same time, again, you kinda have to check your skepticism. Like, it it the whole time, it seems a little strange. It seems a little off and and bizarre. But, you know, maybe that’s just my cold dead heart. You know, may maybe this guy really sincerely wants to you know, he he regrets that he’s not gonna be able to share these moments with his child and and, maybe it is a sentimental thing. It just it keeps you questioning. I I think in the back of your mind, there’s always the notion that something just isn’t right. And you get the sense that, Aaron feels the same way.   You know? He’s he’s he’s kind of uncomfortable throughout the course of the day, but he just keeps kinda trying to roll with it. And, I think in a similar situation, I think that would be my instinct Todd, would be to try to roll with it as long as possible. I mean, he doesn’t seem, Joseph doesn’t seem really threatening or or dangerous initially. And it’s bright lights 

Todd:  Yeah. Except for the time when they’re in the you know, they’re kind of out in the middle of the day, in public places. 

Craig:  Right. 

Todd:  After the after the bath scene or whatever is done, they immediately he says, let’s go to this park. Yeah. There’s a there’s a Hispanic lady at the Todd cart down the way who told me about this river El Corazon de something or whatever, they hop in the car and they’re gonna drive to this location where there’s supposedly these healing waters and he’s gonna have kind of a moment I guess at the healing waters. So he says are you up for it? You know? Yeah. And he said and and he keeps asking creepy questions too. Anybody you need to make peace with in this world before you go? Can I ask you a question and you answer me honestly? Sure. When you saw that axe up front of the house, was there a small part of you that thought I might kill you with it? 

Craig:  It’s just weird. He’s such a weird guy. 

Todd:  There is an interesting animal element. Well, it’s pretty obvious. Animal element that’s throughout this. Yeah. That’s what we missed was we just before they left the house, he asked them to go down to the closet and get something. So Aaron with his camera goes down to the closet. You get yet another jump scare as he pulls away the curtain and suddenly there’s this like big demon dog like looking thing in your face. 

Craig:  Yeah. A very frightening, werewolf mask. I mean, we’re not talking some, you know, something for for little kids. I mean, this is a a pretty scary looking mask. 

Todd:  And it was not a dollar store. 

Craig:  No. Yeah. I wrote that down too. 

Todd:  In terms of imagination. 

Craig:  Yeah. Joseph says that, he late says later that he got it at the dollar store, which is clearly not true. But, the way that he explains this mask the first time is that it was, it was his father’s, and his father, you know, used it to play with him. And, that it was totally innocent and fun, you know, this this, character’s name is Peach Fuzz. And he even has a little song that he’d a little song and dance about how he looks scary, but he’s really friendly. And, it’s just bizarre. I mean, I I’m the another effect of of having it from the found footage or from, you know, Aaron behind the camera is you really feel like you’re in his shoes. Like, you feel like you’re behind the camera watching this.   And just like him, you know, Aaron standing there watching this guy in this very scary mask, you know, dancing around singing this cutesy little song, and he just stands there and films. Like, you know, what else are you gonna do? Like, what is happening in front of me? 

Todd:  It really is a nice device in this case Todd put you into Aaron’s shoes and, feel probably feel very similar emotions to what he’s feeling here. Constantly question, would I be leaving at this point? Would I be putting the camera down? But again there’s no music, it’s not produced, there’s sort of long shots of this stuff, it really lays bare sort of the reality of that situation. And it kind of looks pathetic, you know, this poor guy then you start coming back around again, this poor guy is dying of cancer and he’s quirky and not in very socially acceptable ways and how pathetic and here I’ve got to spend a day with him at least I need to be polite. And you kind of as the viewer go along with that. Even as you’re questioning, you imaginary question, you’re still gonna go along with it. 

Craig:  Yeah. I think that was really effective. The day, 

Todd:  while there are these little 

Craig:  kind of odd moments, I mean, it’s just kind of, you know, it’s it’s not really anything beyond what, Joseph said he wanted after they, you know, have their thing in the woods, then they go out for breakfast. And Pancakes. Pancakes. Yeah. And and pancake place. And and Joseph asks, Aaron, have you ever done anything that you’re really ashamed of? And Aaron says, yeah. Sure. I have.   And and Joseph asked if he will share, and Joseph takes the camera. And, we get a little bit of, you know, just Story from childhood. Yeah. It was simple, innocent story, wet your pants story. No big deal. And then Joseph says that he has something that he needs to share and confess to, and he pulls out his phone. And he shows Aaron that he had taken a bunch of pictures of him. When when Aaron arrived at the apartment and thought that Joseph wasn’t there, apparently, he was lurking, elsewhere and was taking photographs.   And he apologized. He said, you know, I just I wanted this day to go so well, but I didn’t know what to expect. And, I mean, if I had known you then, like, I know you now. Here we are, what, 3 or 4 hours later. If I’d known you then, like, I know you now, I I wouldn’t have done this and 

Todd:  I don’t know. It was it was a weird thing. And, of course, Aaron is silent. Yeah. And just like, are you mad? And he’s like, well, it’s a little weird. 

Craig:  But it it’s like you said, it’s you’ve I I feel like it’s not such an odd experience that I would never experience that. It doesn’t seem so out of the realm of normalcy that if I were in the position, I would think this guy is clearly insane. 

Todd:  Well You 

Craig:  know, it’s he’s he’s a little weird. He’s quirky. He’s eccentric, And things just keep kinda piling up. 

Todd:  But By that point, you have the context of the previous part of the movie ahead of you. So you’ve seen this guy is a quirky guy and he goes to pretty far extreme of quirky but you don’t feel like except for the fact, you know, you’re watching a horror movie. You don’t feel like he’s ultimately a threat. And so if he had whipped out I think if he had whipped out the photos at the beginning and kinda took us to that, it would have been a little weirder. But by then, he sort of built up this persona Yeah. With, Aaron that Aaron’s more willing, I think, to forgive it. 

Craig:  Right. And so, you know, that that’s pretty much the end of the day, at least as far as, Aaron is concerned, he’s ready to go. But, Joseph wants him to stick around, and have a drink to kinda cap off their day. And and plus he wants to film a kind of a final, good night. Scene. Yeah. For for his kid. And so he convinces Aaron, you know, Aaron’s not too thrilled about it, but he he sticks around and they have a drink. 

Todd:  You know, before that, I want I think that scene, to me was one of the more iconic scenes in the movie. When Aaron is following Joseph off the steps. Mhmm. Aaron stops at the bottom of the steps. Mhmm. They’re outside. These are the exterior steps. Right.   And Joseph stops at the top. Mhmm. And because there’s sort of an outdoor light, a porch light behind Joseph, you see him in shadow. Right. He’s at the top of the step. He’s kind of in a position of of, power or darkness. So, yeah, it was completely in shadow. And Aaron, as in us sort of looking up at him with the camera is we we kind of get this sense that this is this is the defining moment right here.   Aaron’s like, I just wanna go. And Joseph says, oh, no, man. You you don’t wanna go yet. I was gonna, you know, bring you in for another drink or, you know, shot of whiskey. And he’s like, no, it’s getting late. I really need to get home. Well, you know, the roads are are winding, you know, it’s it’s it’s dark. It’d take you about 20 minutes to get down.   He finally convinces Aaron to do it. And and that’s that Todd me was one of the most sinister parts of the movie. 

Craig:  It was. I’m glad you brought it up because I hadn’t really thought about it that much. I mean, that’s the image that’s used, for the the title card on on Netflix. Is that just, Joseph in, in silhouette. And it is creepy because you because of the way that he’s backlit, you can’t see his facial expression at all. You can’t see so you really can’t read him 

Todd:  at all. 

Craig:  And it it it, it kind of makes you realize, you know, could you ever? You know? He’s kind of an enigma, and this is just kind of a visual representation of that. You really don’t know what’s going on there. I guess, you know, you’re kind of take like Aaron does, you’re kind of taking things at face value. I mean, what are you going to do? He’s telling you all these things. You believe him or you don’t, but that’s, there’s not much more you can do with it. And then here with that visual, I think that you do start to get the sense that this is maybe something more sinister, something potentially threatening and dangerous. 

Todd:  Yeah. This man is truly a shadow through and through, you know, and, and and if you’ve been making excuses for him up until now, here’s one more point. Rhino? And that 

Craig:  at that point, that’s when things really start, to kind of unravel. They sit and and have their drink and then, Aaron’s ready to go. And, it seems like in an effort to get Aaron to say, Joseph says I lied to you. And Aaron says, oh, really? What about? And he says, peach fuzz. And then he, yeah, he he says, you know, I I I need to get something off my chest. I I need to relieve myself of something before I I die. Would and if if I tell you this, will you promise to never tell anybody else? And and Aaron kind of, you know, what do you say? 

Todd:  That would be me leaving the room. 

Craig:  I really gotta go. I’m pretty sure 

Todd:  in that circumstance, by that point, 

Craig:  I would have been gone. Yeah. I think so too. But then at the same I was thinking that, and at the same time, I was thinking, I would also really wanna know what he was gonna say. Oh, that’s cute. You know, like, I I felt like if if if I were Aaron and I had just left, I would always wonder, oh my god. What was this freaky guy gonna confess to me? As it turns out, he probably would have been happier if he had decided to leave. But he does he doesn’t.   He he stays, and, 

Todd:  They do they use a really interesting filmmaking trick. Yeah. He asked him to turn off the camera because he doesn’t want his son to hear. And and that was the first thing I was thinking, are we really gonna record this deep confession? Right. So the guy doesn’t turn off his camera, but he tucks it away in his bag. Right. So all we see is darkness and all we hear is 

Craig:  the story. Exactly. And and so Joseph doesn’t know that he’s being recorded. I think that Aaron is probably fully aware. You know, he’s he’s keeping it rolling for a reason. But Joseph tells this really uncomfortable story. And I I, looked at my watch when the lights went out, you know, when it went when the screen went to black because I was I’ve seen this before. But I was and I remembered this scene, but I was curious how long it was going to go on because the whole conversation is in blackness.   It’s just black screen. And you you get the audio and, you get subtitles of what’s going on. And it lasted for 4 minutes. I mean, this is only an 80 minute film and 4 minutes is is, you know, completely devoid of any image at all. But I think that that makes it even scarier when he’s telling this story. 

Todd:  It’s a pretty interesting 4 minutes. 

Craig:  Yeah. Do you do you want the honor? 

Todd:  Yeah. I mean, to wrap it up, but essentially, he says, he comes home. Joseph says, there was a day when he came home, from work and his Internet was was just getting slower and slower and slower. So he called a friend or he talked to a friend who said well you should maybe your history is getting full Mhmm. On your computer which is kind 

Craig:  of a BS thing. 

Todd:  Right. But anyway, okay. So he goes in and he checks the history on his computer. And what does he find? But really sick pornography. Yeah. Like, animal Mostly animal porn. I don’t know if I’ve ever even heard 

Craig:  somebody say that before. Mostly animal porn. 

Todd:  Probably the first time I’ve heard that. Movie. Yeah. It’s not a topic that comes up for me. Right. And he says the only other and I’m not looking at animal porn, so the only one who is looking at animal porn is my wife. Mhmm. So I planned this whole day with her. 

Craig:  What his story is they came out to this cabin where Aaron and Joseph are now where they’re having this conversation. They came out there for a weekend and he claims he he he tells his wife that, he got called back, into, you know, their home city or whatever for work. But the truth was he wasn’t called back. He just left and went to the 99¢ store where he found a mask that we, you know, figure out right away is the peach fuzz mask, which again, clearly did not come from a 

Todd:  dollar store. 

Craig:  But he he buys this mask and he goes back and his wife is sleeping and as she sleeps he ties her up and in the process she wakes up And he’s got this mask on, so presumably she doesn’t know it’s him. And at first, he says we had really ruckus animalistic sex. And he says, you know, she seemed to enjoy it, and I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it either. But when it’s over, he leaves her tied up. And he he never unmasks himself, and and he leaves. He comes back. Yeah. He comes back the next day and asks her, how was your night? And she just answers fine.   But he and he says they never spoke of it again, but that after they got back home, the, Internet sped back up. It’s a really bizarre story. It’s really weird. And, obviously, this is something that, is disturbing. And and once 

Todd:  he’s ready to go. He’s ready to get the hell out of 

Craig:  there, but he can’t find his car keys. All of a sudden, suddenly his car keys have gone missing. And it’s a this is one of my favorite, shots was the cameras kind of set back, where Joseph had been doing like his, confessional style interview. But now it’s just rolling. And you see Aaron bustling around frantically searching for his keys. And Joseph is just kind of lingering, you know, saying, I don’t know. We need to look in the kitchen or 

Todd:  or whatever. Well, the house is dark. 

Craig:  Yeah. And then, Aaron walks out of frame. He goes downstairs or something, and Joseph’s just standing there looking after him, and he says, did I freak you out with my rape story? Which I just thought was hilarious and 

Todd:  Aaron’s like no I I just gotta go. You know, this is one of those rape stories you hear, I get. Well, the the movie was full of these moments where I was chuckling and and I was more overt of them, but, there was a lot of dark humor in it. And and that was and I think it’s that same shot where he says, well, why don’t you just stay? 

Craig:  Clearly, Joseph has hidden the keys. He’s doing whatever he can to keep him there. Clearly, Aaron is on to him, knows that something’s going on. But, you know, what do you do? You’re in the house with a guy who just confessed to a a a heinous act. And then there’s a scuffle, and it goes to black. And the 1st time that I saw this movie, I thought, is that it? Is it over? Yeah. And, the the next time that, you know, we get an image on screen, it’s, a still shot of Joseph walk it’s in the woods. And Joseph is walking into frame dragging these trash bags behind him, and then he starts digging. 

Todd:  Yeah. This is where the movie gets very interesting, and starts to play with us even more. Yeah. He’s digging, in the in the dark. And suddenly the free the frame stops in mid dig. And I’m looking and I’m thinking, oh, is is is something wrong with my Netflix game? Like that? And then you hear a voice. It was it’s Aaron coming back in. And then he turns a camera around and it turns out he has been recording the screen.   Mhmm. And what we just saw of the digging is actually up a a DVD that Joseph sent him afterwards. 

Craig:  Right. 

Todd:  And Aaron says, you know, this basically after the scuffle, I went home. So everything was cool. Right. He went home. He was able to sort of escape. But now suddenly, Joseph knows his address and is sending him these tapes. 

Craig:  Sending him stuff. He sends him this tape, and and and Aaron says, you know, I don’t really know how to interpret it. I don’t know. Is he supposed to be bearing a body? Is that supposed to be me? I you know, I don’t 

Todd:  None of us know how to interpret it. Right. He’s speaking for us there. 

Craig:  Yeah. And and, he says, but it means he has my address, which is kind of disconcerting, and it it certainly is. And then it becomes more of your typical stalker, movie. I mean, it it’s it’s obvious that, that there Joseph, if that’s even his name, we don’t know. 

Todd:  He starts hearing noises in the house, and he walks around, flips on the lights and walks around and we see we we wonder is Aaron there and then sure enough I’m I’m sorry. Is Joseph there and sure enough he’s in the window behind him, but he doesn’t see him. Kinda one of those deals. 

Craig:  That’s another another problem that I have with these, movies, paranormal activities like this too. They’re all the time filming and especially, you know, they’re they’re kind of expecting, odd things have been happening anyway. But they never review the film. Like, I don’t understand, like, what is the point in having this film running all the time? Aaron could have clearly seen that while he was up looking around to see if anybody was in the house, Joseph is standing right there in the doorway very menacingly. But apparently, you know, he Yeah. Reviewing the tape wasn’t on his Todd do list. I guess. 

Todd:  I mean, the fact that you got freaking, you know so every time he wakes up, he turns his camera on. Mhmm. This is just whoever does this stuff, you know? But okay. You gotta just gotta roll with it. 1 night, I think it was after the last video. And it was before right before the last video he gets. Right. The camera turns on and it’s clear that, Aaron did not turn the 

Craig:  No. He’s sleeping. And, you 

Todd:  can see what is clearly Joseph’s hands reaching down in over and cutting a lock of his hair off of his head. Then in the morning, Aaron’s like, okay, this is messed up. The door I woke up, this window’s open. I see, somebody cut a slit in the screen and then stuffed in what says my last video. 

Craig:  Mhmm. And it’s right there by the head of his bed right where he sleeps me. He’s he’s clearly you know, he realizes it. He’s probably realized before that. You know, this guy is potentially dangerous. He’s coming to my home. He’s stalking around my home. So he pops in this last video.   And then all of a sudden we get sad, sincere Joseph back. He apologizes profusely for everything he’s done. But you start you kinda start you know, he he says, I’ve always been like this. You know? A sick person. Yeah. 

Todd:  I need help. But my big problem is I’m I’m lonely. Yeah. 

Craig:  And I have nobody to talk to. I burned every bridge. My family won’t talk to me. I don’t have any friends. You’re kind of my last shot. Will you please please just meet me One last time. One last time so I can explain myself. And if we never see each other again, that’s fine.   But at least I’ll have closure and, 

Todd:  we’ll do it here in this public place. And he’s swing you know, he’s sitting on a bench in, in front of a lake. I don’t know. You know, on the turns the camera around, sure enough. Well, man, I mean, who’s gonna, like, turn down? Well, I would. 

Craig:  Yeah. Sure. Oh, I know. Aaron turns the camera back on himself after he’s videotaped, you know, this this video and and he it’s a close pan on his face and it says, what am I supposed to do with this? And I’m thinking you throw it away just like you threw the other one. 

Todd:  I mean, that’s right. 

Craig:  Todd don’t want anything to do with this guy. But apparently, you know, he’s he’s a compassionate guy and he feels bad, for this guy. So, he decides to go and he does. And the next shot that we get is from the interior of his car. And he has positioned the camera so that it is, filming this park bench right along the lakeside. And he says, alright, Joseph. I’m here. But, I’m filming and I’ve got my phone on speed dial for 911.   So he gets out of the car and he goes and waits on the bench. And, I hadn’t noticed your sound system is better than mine. You hear a chainsaw roar, and Aaron kind of looks around and, to see what’s going on, but apparently sees nothing. And so he turns back towards the lake, and he just sits there very relaxed and casually. 

Todd:  Joseph walks up very quietly behind him. He’s got a big trench coat on. And he’s probably about, I don’t know, 15 feet behind him. And, Aaron doesn’t notice. He’s kinda checking his phone or whatever. Joseph pulls out his mask again and puts it on, and then he takes a step closer to him, and then he kinda reaches behind him and he pulls out. This is a very, very intense Todd good sequence. 

Craig:  Yeah. It it’s it’s virtually silent. I mean, it’s just total stillness. It’s it’s it’s slow in pace. It’s very suspenseful. Yeah. 

Todd:  He pulls out an 

Craig:  ax. Mhmm. 

Todd:  And at first, you’re thinking is he gonna scare him? What the what is going on here? Is he gonna frighten him? Because he’s in the middle of broad daylight. Right. And, he kinda gets the ax up in front of him and starts, like, inching towards him from behind. 

Craig:  Yeah. It’s almost comical. It’s it’s that, you know, that cartoon. Then you’re right. Exactly. Right. Slowly creeping up behind him, wielding an ax. And and what 

Todd:  does he do? He pulls that ax right up and thunk right in the top of his head. Right in his head. And you don’t see you know, it’s from far away. It’s not bloody. It’s not gross or anything. In fact, it’s probably pretty realistic, I guess. There’s just kind of a little thump. There’s a thud.   The guy falls right over. He pulls the axe out. Maybe takes another guac 

Craig:  at it. Right. 

Todd:  And then we’re done. Right. We we see, him, we see Joseph now recording. 

Craig:  Yeah. And still, talking to Aaron through the camera. And, you know, he he kinda says, I’m not surprised that you filmed it. You know? That was really smart to do, and I I’m not surprised you had your phone on a speed dial for 911. That was really smart of you, but I just don’t get why you didn’t turn around. And he says, but then I figured it out. It’s because you’re the best human being who’s ever lived. And he says, and that’s why I love you, and that’s why I always love you the best of all of them.   Yeah. So you you get the, it’s kinda confirmed that this is not the 1st time this has happened. 

Todd:  You know, all altogether, that this film really creeped me out. Yeah. 

Craig:  It it stuck with me too. You know, this is the 3rd time I’ve seen it because as soon as I saw I I watched it by myself, which which is pretty typical of me in horror movies. But I watched it by myself, and then I immediately wanted to watch it with other people. I wanted to see how other people would react because I thought that it was it stands out. It’s not typical. It’s not, you know, what you would expect from a low budget film that you would find on Netflix that you’ve never heard of before. You know? This is, the director, Patrick Reiss, who played Aaron. You know, this is his 1st feature film.   Apparently, he’s kind of an up and coming director now, and he’s doing pretty well. But this was his 1st feature. And I I don’t know. It’s it’s kind of like a little gem, a little diamond in the row. 

Todd:  It is. The whole the filmmaker in me, the whole time I was watching this was thinking this movie cost like $50. Yeah. You know? Uh-huh. A couple people’s homes, the the mask and that wolf doll were the biggest expenses in the whole thing, and yet it didn’t feel like it. It was captured my interest. The characters were very interesting. It was well acted, you know? And it had that creepy sense where again, it was a unique take on this because it toyed with you in ways that these that I’ve yet to find movies, the found footage movies toying with you.   Mhmm. You know, it’s not just about, oh, what’s around the corner? Oh, you know, what what are we gonna find? We’ll leave the camera running and then something creepy is gonna happen. It actually places you as maybe better than any of those films as a participant. Yeah. In this, as the victim in this in this thing. And then at the end, where you watch helplessly. Mhmm. Still hoping that this guy is just a creepy guy, but ultimately harmless as he goes through that long process of readying that axe and then finally putting in his head.   Again, crazily enough in the middle 

Craig:  of broad daylight. Well, I think the fact that there are really only 2 players in the whole, film, adds to the intimacy of it. And you can tell or I I feel like I I’m not a filmmaker, so I don’t know what I’m talking about. It feels like a filmmaker’s movie. It didn’t feel like he felt forced to include any particular conventions. You know? The runtime is only about 80 minutes. You know? It didn’t feel like it was stretched, you know, for time. You know? They they Todd the story.   It was effective, and and and got out. And and, I think that shows. I I think that you can tell that this was kind of a passion project for a young filmmaker as opposed to some big budget studio. Yeah. 

Todd:  There wasn’t a lot of junk in there. It was all pretty it was all pretty gritty and raw. 

Craig:  Yeah. And it was funny, but it’s not played for laughs. You know? And I I think that the humor, is in part due. It it’s like uncomfortable humor. Like, it it comes across as funny because it’s so bizarre, but you kind of laugh nervously. Like, that that that’s funny, but it’s really creepy too. And I I thought it was, a good balance, you know. In the beginning, Joseph’s antics, are are are funny.   You know? We were laughing, and then it becomes, far more sinister in the end. And I think effectively so. It it’s it’s, it’s a spooky film. 

Todd:  And that just you know, it’s it’s kind of in the tradition of all your kind of bad villains is that, that they’re very underestimated. Uh-huh. And you realize by the end, you’ve severely underestimated this guy even more than you realize. Yep. 

Craig:  Yeah. And, you know, we were, doing a little bit of research, afterwards. And, apparently, the plan both guys involved, their their plan was to make this the first of a trilogy. I don’t know how I think that I read somewhere that it’s not going to necessarily be direct sequels but rather something, in a similar vein. You know, different creeps, different types of creeps. And I and I did also read that, you know, both the director and, the actor Du plus since the release of this film, they’re both doing pretty well. And so I I think that, you know, if we do see any, sequels, to this film, it may be a while because I think both of these guys can have a lot on their plates. 

Todd:  I can see why it’s a success. I can see why it really really is a standout. It was a great movie to start off October with. Good. 

Craig:  I’m glad you liked it. It was fun to watch it with you. I was sitting over here kind of quietly, kind of trying to gauge your reactions. I’m I’m I’m glad you enjoyed it. I would have hated to start you off on something crappy. 

Todd:  No. It took me all over the map, and it was great. Good. And then yeah. And and we got, 30 more days of this to go for me. Yeah. If you’re interested in reading my reviews, check out my website, toddcoons.com. Yeah.   He writes a pretty good review, folks. 

Craig:  I’ve been reading them for a couple years. It’s it’s good stuff, entertaining stuff. 

Todd:  You’re too kind. Thank you. And, also, we’ve got, through October, 3 more of these to go. Yeah. So, we’ll have some great movies. Maybe you throw a couple classic horror films in there. Yeah. Maybe. 

Craig:  And I I really do like kind of doing some of these, you know, a little bit lesser known things too, I you know? Yeah. Well, as always, I’m Todd. And I’m Craig. 

Todd:  And you’ve been listening to 2 Guys and a Chainsaw.

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