THE CREEP TAPES Season One: Episodes One & Two (2024)
New streaming on Shudder!
Directed by Patrick Brice
Written by Patrick Brice, Mark Duplass.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/rOGYYzTVim0
CREEP (2014) Review: https://mlmillerwrites.com/2020/06/11/retro-best-in-horror-2014-2015-6-creep/
CREEP 2 (2017) Review: https://mlmillerwrites.com/2018/10/27/best-of-the-best-in-horror-2018-6-creep-2/
Just when we all thought there was nothing new the found footage genre could tackle, Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice delivered CREEP in 2014 and took the subgenre into a scary and uncomfortable new direction. I revisited CREEP and its sequel before diving into the first two episodes of THE CREEP TAPES released last Friday on Shudder and the films still hold up in delivering chills that range from awkward to terrifying to just plain wrong. The series promises more of the same as it delves into the Creep’s (Mark Duplass’) collection of videos we saw at the end of the first CREEP film. Each half hour segment is a truncated version of the two films.


And yes, they are uncomfortably funny and awkwardly terrifying as both segments have the Creep luring unsuspecting souls to a remote location to terrorize and inevitably kill them. Both episodes have moments where you laugh because you are uncomfortable with the topics discussed that are so personal and odd, and gasp when the Creep finally turns from amusingly creepy to downright deadly.


And I think that’s where the problem might lay in this series. Both episodes, while featuring different victims and different locales, start and end the same way—with the Creep killing the person at the end of each segment. Now I know that’s the premise of this franchise and this is only the first two episodes of THE CREEP TAPES, but I hope we get some kind of new and creative variation on the premise in upcoming episodes. Maybe one person gets away and there’s a part one and two set of tapes. I hear there may be one taking place with the Creep as a kid. This would allow us into the brain of the enigmatic star of the series and offer us something new. This series needs that variety to keep from being redundant.


I trust Duplass and Brice to do just that. In these first two episodes, while it is subtle, there are moments of revelation that occur as the Creep meets a birdwatcher and finds their methods of luring in their interests are the same or in the first segment where we get a very cool scene where the Creep changes from friendly to diabolical right in front of our eyes. This is all Duplass who hasn’t missed a beat in the eight years since we last saw him in front of the camera as this Creep. The conversations will make your spine itch as he pries his way into the minds of his victims and scrapes away at their patience and sense of reality. It really is a marvelous role and a performance I couldn’t see many other actors pull off.


So, I’m in for the ride and most likely will be covering THE CEEEP TAPES as it is released. Is it talky? Yes, and those who need more action and kills per minute are going to find this a wear to one’s patience. I also think that Duplass’ Creep is going to get too much under the skin of some and they just won’t like feeling that way and turn it off. For me, I relished every weird and intrusive moment and hope we not only get more of it in future episodes, but variations and expansions on some of the themes only hinted at in the films. I do have to warn you that in order to enjoy this series, I recommend watching the movies first. It’ll open up this creepy world Duplass has cobbled together and prepare you for the depravity to come.


THE CREEP TAPES will be released weekly on Shudder on Fridays. The first two of the six episodes are available now. Be sure to check out my reviews of CREEP and CREEP 2 , links provided below before the comments.

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