Stream It Or Skip It?

The Creep “franchise” continues with The Creep Tapes (now streaming on Shudder), in which creative collaborators Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice dig into the video closet of a serial killer who films all of his gnarly kills. As with the two Creep feature films, this six-episode series is directed by Brice, with Duplass once again playing the maniac Josef, who always manages to get his victims to film their, uh, “interactions,” and therefore fit the found-footage-horror aesthetic. As it turns out, the concept of a serial killer killing people is perfect for a serial series, because that way, you get six kills in two hours instead of, you know, probably less than that. 

Opening Shot: This being found footage, the opening shot is reallllllllly long. But I’ll just say it begins with Mike (Mike Luciano) switching on his camera, shooting the dirty floor of his car, then himself as he check-check-is-this-thing-ons his gear.

The Gist: The camera rolls as Mike wanders through the dark from his car to an isolated house in the forest. Signs instruct him to just keep on rollin’ as he comes in the door and finds a script next to a burning candle in the dimly lit home. And then, a voice from the darkness. A light goes on and Josef (Duplass) is at the top of the steps. Mike keeps filming as Josef, wearing a Dracula costume complete with cape, descends the stairs in character. And at this point, we learn that Josef is a goofy, goofy dude, funny in a sort of weird way. Of course, we know he’s a serial killer, but Mike doesn’t know that yet, so shhhhhh, don’t let on.

Josef’s shtick is all part of his acting-school audition. He’s paying Mike $1,000 to film it, and Josef’ll have to pay him another $1,000 and maybe even another $1,000 to stop Mike from bailing on this weirdo, who very sincerely says to the camera, “My name is Jeff Daniels. Not that Jeff Daniels, but I hope with your guidance to one day achieve his level of artistry.”

From here, Josef will don a black turtleneck for a faux-grandiose acting-out of a dramatic scene, have a mini-meltdown that repels Mike, whip out more cash to get Mike to stay, force Mike to help him reenact a scene from Misery, etc. Eventually they end up outside in the snow, where there’s an ax, but I’m sure they’ll just end up cutting some firewood. Chilly evening, y’know.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? There aren’t many strict found-footage TV series out there. But Creep Tapes offers a premise that feels vaguely like any of a number of shorts from the V/H/S anthology film series.

Our Take: I previewed the first two episodes of Creep Tapes, and came away with the impression that the short-film format is perfect for this conceit: Josef finagles some poor schmoe into filming him; Josef effs mercilessly with schmoe; schmoe ends up in an unmarked grave. There’s no real thematic subtext or anything here (except maybe don’t answer Craigslist ads, ever), so it’s essentially about finding different ways to use handheld-camera techniques, and about Duplass’ amusingly deranged performance.

As for the method? Well, I feel like found-footage found itself at a dead end a decade ago, so the prevailing hope is that something compelling and/or funny is happening in front of the shaky cam. And that would be Duplass, who’s clearly having a medium-sized whale (think orca or minke) of a good time with this character, who seems to enjoy playing with his food, manipulating his victims for 15-20 minutes of screentime before eliminating them from the gene pool. 

It’s hard to discern if scenes are strictly scripted or improvised, and that’s a good thing, because Duplass’ performance is loose and natural – absolutely a product of his lo-fi mumblecore origins – and at least gives us the impression that he’s surprising his co-stars with his antics. Is that, along with variations in setting from episode to episode (the second plays out in the daytime, with Duplass confronting a bird watcher played by David Nordstrom), enough to please you Shudder sickos? I think so. 

Sex and Skin: None in the first episode.

Parting Shot: Josef kneels down in front of the camera, smiles and winks.

Sleeper Star: The minimalist nature of this series doesn’t give us much choice, so here’s a shout-out to the poor generic dudes who end up being Josef’s victims. We hardly knew ye.

Most Pilot-y Line: Josef: “Oh, Michael. Did you just put your foot down with me?”

Our Call: I was entertained by The Creep Tapes. It all pretty much depends on Duplass to make us laugh and creep us out, and he delivers. STREAM IT.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.