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THE CREEPERS (1971)
aka ASSAULT
Directed by Sidney Hayers
Genesis Home Video VHS
Reviewed 12.07.06
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
Power lines, sex, and oil painting.
That combination sounds almost
filthy.
During the early 1970s, wondrous
gutter junk such as He
Kills Night After Night
(1969) began to infiltrate the UK
horror system with a rich dose of
sleaze. The real stuff. Not just
a taste. Along comes The Creepers
aka Assault. Based on an
obscure novel called The Ravine
by Kendal Young, The Creepers
works hard for a piece of the action.
It has a dirty little mind. That,
and a shy composure. In other words,
the rape of a 15 year old schoolgirl
is no one's idea of good natured,
but the film is too bashful to muck
about in the dirt. That's why it
works. Relatively speaking, of course.
A stuffy, all-girls art school in
London is in trouble. The Headmistress
yells "No make-up on school
property!", but that's the
least of her worries. The deep forest
surrounding the grounds sets the
scene for rape and murder. After
two girls are assaulted in a flurry
of energetic POVs and power line
close-ups (?), twenty minutes are
down...and so is our engrossment.
From there, we're on hold as mod
teacher Miss Julie, investigative
good-guy Dr. Lomax, and a dopey
police force attempt to solve the
mystery. They never really do, but
peaks abound. A drug store blows
up. An experimental truth serum
called "Pentothal" is
put to poor use. Julie has a way
with oil paints. The power line
fetish nearly makes sense in the
end, but it's still pretty weird.
The Creepers keeps things
simple and steady. Instead of wallowing
in explicitness (the rape scenes
cut before anything too nasty happens),
the film adopts an apprehensive
attitude, which leads to a mostly
enjoyable experience. Disturbance
is replaced with atmosphere. The
combination of slick-yet-ragged
photography and tense edits gives
the booming woods a terrific sense
of doom. Visually, it's a low budget
knock-out. Unfortunately, the dawdling
second half wears you down. In never
pushing too many buttons, the film
saves itself from cheap dismissal,
yet loses out in the ensuing wishy-wash.
Almost had it.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Genesis strikes again. Video blips,
drop-outs, and a grubby print were
highlights. Then, there's the odd
pattern of barely visible lines
that never leave. I took the opportunity
to ask them about those curious
power lines. They laughed at me.
EXTRAS
Well, a guy in silver underwear
bangs a gong before the feature,
while the words "The Rank Organisation
Presents" fill the screen.
I found this scene to be quite intriguing.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Creepers steps up to
UK trends, but the pace was too
tough to care. If you can find it
for cheap, a watch won't hurt. I'd
still like to read the book. |
Are you in the woods alone?
Now I get it
No comfort
Julie the great
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