There’s something about turning 40 that makes some people want to take stock of their lives and press reset. For Angela Bassett in 1998’s How Stella Got Her Groove Back, she needed a career change and a romance with a man half her age. But everyone’s journey is different. Creep 2’s alternate title might be How a Creep Got His Groove Back. The film considers two characters, a YouTuber struggling to make her work relevant, and the self-described “most prolific” serial killer in American history. Both have run aground creatively, and at least one will be reinvigorated by their encounter. Director Patrick Brice and his co-conspirator Mark Duplass return to once again explore the many oddities about people who connect online and meet in real life. Even more than its 2014 predecessor, which had become a cult favorite in the three-year interim thanks to its presence on Netflix, the sequel considers the creepy behavior of not only the killer but the person who ignores the warning signs and proceeds to spend time with him. But in doing so, Creep 2 might also render a portrait of artists desperate to feel relevant either for their audience or their creative self-respect.

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