‘The Creep Tapes’ Review: Mark Duplass Has Never Been Scarier
“I love my life.”
And you probably would too, if you were the utterly deranged unnamed serial killer at the heart of the Creep franchise. In Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice’s new Shudder series, The Creep Tapes, Duplass’ central antagonist makes that bold proclamation to his camera after we audience members have watched him ruthlessly murder four random unsuspecting victims over the course of four episodes. When you hear it, it’s hard not to let out an uncomfortable, nervous laugh. Because he’s serious—killing people is what makes his life worth living—and it’s not hard to believe him.
Throughout the first season of this new exploration of Duplass’ Peachfuzz, or whatever his real name might be, we see this notion start to bleed into the larger world in a horrific way. It’s even more terrifying to witness than to just imagine like we did when the killer’s demented closet of murder tapes was revealed in the first film.
The show makes wonderful use of its 30-minute episodic slots, with an equal balance of head-spinning intrigue and character-driven development that takes us from beginning to the morbidly satisfying bloody end each time. The first four episodes of the season are so creative and inventive in how they reshape the first film’s original premise to fit into new circumstances. It reminds viewers that the simpleness of the base story is an asset to the overall world Brice and Duplass are trying to create in any Creep story they tell, no matter the runtime.
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These episodes fit in so well alongside the first two films that they never feel tired or boring, or worse—done to death. So much of the overall Creep premise is sustained on performance, and the supporting players in all of these tape entries—especially horror favorite Josh Ruben—meet Duplass head-on with inspired and unanimously tragic turns against one of the most prolific serial killers in modern cinematic history. Basically, the first four stories are as excellent as both features, allowing us to truly start to imagine endless uncanny and brutal possibilities as vast as the hundreds of tapes hidden in Duplass’ character’s video closet.
So, the series starts with what we all know, cool. But then it ramps up into something that excitingly opens up into a running tap for lore we didn’t expect or even ask for. The premise works so ridiculously well as is—which is why The Creep Tapes was even able to be made in the first place—that we could have probably played in that space for a long time without getting bored.
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But the fact that Brice and Duplass chose to take us down this bizarre and potentially otherworldly rabbit hole is as exciting a step as this cinematic universe (because yes, Creep is a cinematic universe at this point) has ever taken. And honestly, thank god we’re going there because I’ve always wondered how this guy never gets caught. We’re going to some strange, maybe even somewhat cosmic places in this series, and it will be interesting to discover what is, quite literally, lying in the belly of the beast. The set-ups alone are intriguing enough to get audiences hooked. So let’s hope wherever Brice and Duplass go next with this side of the story lives up to the exciting groundwork laid in the last two episodes of this season.
It goes without saying, of course, but it needs to be said: Duplass is an absolute force of nature. His performance in the original film is arguably what sent this franchise into the horror stratosphere, and he reminds audiences that there’s no killer quite like the one he and Brice introduced us to in 2015.
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He’s a living breathing skinwalker, a demon in human clothes. He’s walking entrapment, manipulation, and confusion. He can sweetly lull you into submission one minute and chill you to the bone the next. It’s a delicate balance to get this kind of two-faced character right, and it’s very clear in Duplass’ performance that he feels the impulses of his character as intrinsically as the character himself would. Plus, he’s just so weird. It’s such a lived-in performance that it’s utterly terrifying despite the absurdity, and Duplass’ turn in The Creep Tapes is no exception. But above all, he’s relentless. That might be the most impressive thing in this wholly impressive performance: he simply does not let up. As long as he’s alive and breathing, you’re not safe. That’s what horror legends are made of.
In just six episodes, The Creep Tapes manages to cement itself as an essential horror series that both continues to excel at the conventions it previously established and expertly expands on those conventions to open the door to bold new ideas. It’s hard not to be impressed with how well this series works, and the sheer force of its particularly sinister mix of comedy, cringe, and sheer dread makes it feel like an all-time piece of horror media in the making, a worthy younger sibling to the two films that made this franchise what it is today. The legacy is strong with this one—and for damn good reason.
The Creep Tapes premieres its first two episodes on Friday, November 15 on Shudder. A new episode will premiere each following Friday, with a total of six episodes in the series.
Summary
With six episodes full of sheer dread and sinister comedy, ‘The Creep Tapes’ proves that this franchise is only just beginning.
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