The Creeping
Written and Directed by Jamie Hooper
Starring Riann Steele, Jonathan Nyati, Sophie Thompson, Jane Lowe
Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Available on VOD/Digital Streaming March 3

by Joe Carlough, Staff Writer

TW: This movie contains references to child abuse.

I hesitated before choosing to review this film: my own grandmother suffered from Alzheimer’s before her passing, and I wondered if this movie would hit too close to home, or act out some savage insensitivity like the depraved The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014), a cheap affair that used Alzheimer’s as a cover-up for demonic possession. What I found in The Creeping, though, was a more sensitive approach, even if the moviemakers did once again choose to intertwine dementia and demons. It’s not my favorite approach to the possession genre, but I’m willing to waive my own feelings and lose myself in their world for an hour and a half. Luckily, that world is quiet, thoughtful, and at times quite spooky. 

The film follows Anna, played by the excellent Riann Steele, who comes to live at her grandmother’s exquisitely rustic country estate to help care for her through her dementia. Haunted by never knowing her mother, and the recent death of her own father (Jonathan Nyati, who we meet often through the film’s use of flashbacks), Anna is buoyed by daily visits from the housekeeper and family friend Karen (played by the eternally youthful Sophie Thompson). Anna soon begins to realize that deaths in her family and dementia aren’t the only things haunting her grandmother Lucy (Jane Lowe) as an ominous presence becomes bolder by the day.

The Creeping follows a common haunted house narrative arc and once again proves that there’s no need to tinker with a working formula: the various aspects of the haunting grow larger in scale day after day as Anna acclimates to her new role as caretaker (even if most of her caretaking seems to be swimming in the pool and walking the grounds of the estate), growing not only in frequency and intensity, but also in the demon’s fascination with Anna. The movie borrows quite a few ghost story tropes and never strays far from the beaten path–bed sheets in human form, items moving on their own, doors slamming–but I’ll be darned if the jump scares didn’t make me jump and the English cottage at night didn’t induce a feeling of dread. 

Ultimately, while The Creeping stays in the shallow end of the pool, afraid to splash out on its own, I found the film enjoyable, effectively scary, and well-rounded in all ways. Riann Steele shines in her lead role, and the supporting cast all put in top-notch performances of their own. The script is competent, the direction and pacing are steady and confident, and I’ve penned Jamie Hooper’s name onto my list of new directors to keep an eye on. The Creeping might not leave a grand and lasting impression, but if you make the popcorn, I’ll dim the lights: it’s scary movie night!