Review : Horror Short - Creak (2011)

CREAK tells the tale of a young couple who are awakened through the night by a strange sound, emanating from somewhere within their home. Its a simple, home invasion motif that most, if not all of us, can identify with. We've all been there, alone in the dark, with our minds conjuring all manner of untold horrors, come to roost in our normally safe haven.

Director, Luther Bhogal-Jones, has created a short, sharp nail-biter that manages to wring an impressive degree of tension from its premise, during its five minute run-time. Channeling Carpenter, Bava and Argento, Bhogal-Jones CREAK can be viewed as an exercise in precision film-making. It wisely goes with a minimalist approach that helps the audience connect with the inherent reality of the situation. Using sparse lighting, a claustrophobic location and stripped down dialogue, it draws the viewer into its protagonists sense of apprehension and paranoia with great effect.
Where CREAK really excels though, is in its very effective score and sound design. The score is immediately unsettling, and the ambient sounds that fuel the characters fear is excellent. Bhogal-Jones has used his limited time and budget to his advantage, and crafted a fun, creepy short that deserves your attention.

Also of note, It was very refreshing to find that the couple who may, (or may not), be being terrorized just happened to be a gay couple. There's never any mention of this, rightfully of course; it's just the way it is. I'm glad we're getting to the point when writers and directors don't feel that a characters sexuality has to be used a either a plot-point or a defining element of that characters persona. Also, in the case of CREAK, the fact that our two actors are female, certainly adds to the sense of helplessness, not to mention the dark places the story most likely goes after the credits have rolled.

CREAK is a solid, creepy genre short that does a whole lot right. Have a look-see!

You can visit the productions company behind CREAK, 'Sincerely, Psychopath' here, for more info on the current and upcoming horror releases. And if your interested in the making of such a short, swing by Luther Bhogal-Jones' blog here