The Creep movie series I’d like to think has moved up to almost cult-level status. I’d like to think it has a pretty decent amount of followers, as it usually gets mentioned when talking about found footage horrors. Mark Duplass has done something pretty special here. Both Creep movies so far have Mark playing a psychological killer who lures his victims to a remote location with the promise of a nice payment of usually $1,000 a day to simply follow him around while filming him. What ensues will then be some of the most bizarre and weird things you’ll see captured between the two people throughout the film session. Yes, some scenes can be highly cringe-worthy as well, but it does nonetheless highlight how deranged the killer is in making the victim feel uncomfortable, along with the very, very slow realization that something just isn’t right. With the Creep Tapes, we have six episodes of around 20-25 minutes each that further explore this killer. With Creep 3 announced, I’m guessing they wanted to keep the momentum and hype going by releasing this mini-series, but was it a good idea?

As a fan of the Creep series, I can say that while I may understand why they did this mini-series, it just feels a bit unnecessary. There are just six total episodes in the series. The first four of them are dedicated to the serial killer killing a different victim, but not before, as usual, making a complete mockery of the victim. The last two episodes are geared more towards understanding the psychology of the serial killer himself. I think the problem is that when you have too much of one thing, it starts to get stale. Unfortunately, by episode three, I was getting just a bit weary, as I just knew that each episode can’t end in any other way than for the victim to just get whacked with an axe. Anything happening between the killing at the end and meeting the victim can, at times, feel insignificant.

The saving point of this series, and dare I even say of the two movies themselves, is Mark Duplass himself as the serial killer. Sorry (or congratulations?) Mark, but you really do play the role of a messed-up and creepy serial killer just too damn well at times! I’d like to say that my favorite episode would be the very first one of the series. This is when the viewers are just getting reacclimatized with the killer himself and when things are the “freshest.” His talk with Mike outside of his house towards the end and the part regarding the axe was just chilling. It’s the part where the victim has just realized that shit is about to get real that makes it horrifying. But unfortunately, I don’t get these chills for the rest of the other episodes once the novelty wears off. And yes, knowing that this might happen, I didn’t binge-watch the six episodes but rather spread them apart, and yet it didn’t help much.

In the end, I was also a bit disappointed to learn that so much of the killer’s problems stem from mommy issues. Surprise, surprise. It is a bit lacking in imagination but does help set up the audience for Creep 3 and for whatever else the series has in store for us in the future. What I would have liked to see is for the victims to have shown more fight in this mini-series. The serial killer doesn’t exactly behave in a normal manner. But I kind of get it? They needed the money, and following and filming some dude for $1,000 a day in some remote area sounds like easy money. Yet, I can’t help but think how much more fun it would be to watch the serial killer really, and I mean really, have to earn his kill for once, physically speaking.