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. All of these 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. The first four 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, but the series is in danger of being overly repetitive if it doesn’t look out. I’d love to see maybe one person gets away and there’s a part one and two set of tapes. Or maybe a tape 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. 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 right, wrong, and reality. It really is a marvelous role and a performance I couldn’t see many other actors pull off.

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.

Episode 4 feels like more of the same as Duplass’ Creeper once again lures some unsuspecting soul into his lair. By this time, the same format has been used in two movies and three episodes. So it’s getting tired. Still the inclusion of actor Josh Rubin in the fourth episode only helps as his brand of humor really fits this series.

Episode 5 finally gets to some uncharted ground as the Creeper has a one-to-one with himself in a hotel room while waiting for his next victim. This is a real crisis of conscience episode as Duplass’ more ferocious side—Peachfuzz, the personality he takes while wearing the werewolf mask, begins to fight for control. This episode cheats in that the camera is able to capture two Duplass’ when one of them obviously is appearing only in the Creeper’s mind. I liked this venture into the self-loathing psyche of the Creeper, even though this episode broke the rules of found footage by showing a hallucination, something that just couldn’t be captured on camera. Still, this was an experimental episode that shakes up the monotony of reputation quite a bit. So I appreciate that.

The final episode is a doozy and basically could have been extended to a full length feature if they wanted to. The Creeper visits his mother’s house, scaring her with the mask, and discovering she has a new boyfriend. This, of course, doesn’t go well with the mama’s boy as the Creeper unravels right in front of his mother and her boyfriend. The result is disturbing and uncomfortable. But these are things that fans of this series of films and episodes have come to expect. I did appreciate this look behind the mask to see what the Creeperr is really like. Turns out he’s quite the neurotic and doesn’t like sharing his mommy with anyone.

While I think the series deterred in intensity as it relied on the same format for too long. How many times can we see the Creeper lure someone into a desolate place, make them uncomfortable, and then eventually murder them with an axe. That’s my criticism of this series. Too much repetition. 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. THE CREEP TAPES gets good when it goes outside of the usual format in the final two episodes and focuses on the dynamic and warped psyche of this character Duplass has so painstakingly developed this character over the span of two movies and now six episodes. I don’t know if I’d like to see a Season Two of THE CREEP TAPES, even though it looks like that’s exactly what we are getting according to IMDB. I’d rather have Duplass and his collaborator Patrick Brice wait for a good idea to expand on in another feature-lengther. But if you’re looking for horror that’ll make you squirm in your seat, Duplass and Brice know how to deliver it in bales and bales.