The Creep Tapes: Season Two — The Creep Tapes: Season Two( Blu Ray)

It’s fair to say, by and large, the found footage genre is a decidedly mixed bag, both in content & delivery. One of the finer examples of the genre is 2014’s Creep. The film focused on Arron (Patrick Brice), a young videographer, taking a job filming Josef ( Mark Duplass), who he believes to be a dying man, but as things unfold, it becomes clear that Josef is not dying, but he’s a cunning killer, and Arron is his next victim. The film blended awkward/ dark humour with some effective jumps and several unsettling moments. In 2017, there was a second film, Creep 2, which managed to keep the spirit of the first film and added to it. And then in 2024, we got The Creep Tapes, a six-part series on Shudder, which found us being presented with the tapes of victims from the killer's cupboard- with episodes playing out around the twenty-five-minute mark. Here we have a Blu-Ray release of the second series from Acorn Media International with commentary tracks for each of the six episodes from the lead actor, director, and editor.

Joseph is the first episode of series two. And it mixes fear, unease, and some very funny moments.

We kick off with POV footage of someone entering a house, walking through the corridors to a dark/ damp room. Inside is a figure tied to a chair with a blood sack over its head. We then see someone in a Peach fuzz mask- with unsettling tone switching up & down voice- the figure talks about how the person in the chair is his best victim ever… the killer mask comes off, and it’s not our Joseph…but another man using his name, played by David Dastmalchian( Late Night With The Devil, Oppenheimer), dressed the same. It’s a great start to proceedings - mixing dread & real terror. Anyway, we see our Joseph driving along, past a few easter eggs from the first film. He’s travelling to do a video, his last wish, and we meet our other Joseph. As things unfold, we find out our new friend is a big, big fan of the first film and starts trying to recreate it. And so we get a great mix of dark comedy and the uneasy.The episode features just two leads, aside from the victim, and both actors work off each other wonderfully- a great start to the second series.

Next is Wes. It finds young videographer Wes (Diego Josef) getting a job to shoot a TV pilot for a house-flipping show hosted by sleek-backed haired and bearded Joseph, pretending to be an estate agent named Trip Engold.

This one starts nicely tense, as Wes is trying to find his client- then we get a mix of unease and awkwardness. Before a trip out into the night, which features a few great twists. Again, Duplass is excellent here, slipping between being awkwardly charming,unsettling, and damn cunning- I tell you, the first twist we’ll have you jumping right out of your seat.

Episode three is Mark. This is, I guess, the series take on Saw, though with a few twists- firstly, the victim in the room is not the brightest spark, and secondly, Joseph’s clues are not that clear.

This is again a two-man episode, with Duplass acting alongside Mark( Robert Longstreet), a short, lacking energy, and a go-get-up victim. They both wake up in a room chained- and have to solve the puzzles to get out. A nice mix of comic frustration, threat, with moments of atmosphere- oh, and a little bit of gore too.

Next is Ava- this episode finds Duplass at his most unpredictable, at points downright unhinged. With a great plot, you're not sure where it’ll go next.

This time around, the focus is on Ava(Taylor Garron), a young African American woman, who is hired by the wild-eyed, scruffy-haired, and stubbled David (Duplass) to shoot a promotional video for an animal shelter. And as you probably guess, neither the shelter nor the animals are quite what was expected. In the episode, Duplass is throwing himself about, running, and acting odd to the max- with along the way some very chilling/ unsettling fixed stares. With a very dark/ devilish twist at the end of the episode. Definitely one of the highlight episodes of series two.

Nick is a festive edition of the show- finding a thick, white-bearded Duplass, pretending to be a psychiatrist on Christmas Eve, doing a session in his home.

Nick Green (Timm Sharp) is the bearded, bespectacled & troubled patient- his dad left when he was young, he has no money, his wife has left him, and he has zero hope..This episode switches between being chilling, awkward, and deranged. With some neat twists/ surprises, and wonderful lines like ‘I know you're an adult, I can feel your distended testicles on my leg’. We also get a few clever movie quotes and nods, too.

Finally, we have Angela, which I guess is the most formally dramatic, revealing, and different episode of the series, connecting to the final episode in season one, Mom (And Albert).

The pre-credits find Duplass out in the woods, beating a tied-up victim with a spade. His mobile rings- he huffs and puffs disapprovingly, on the other end is the voice of a woman, who seemingly has control of the serial killer….as he drops everything & jumps in the car. He pulls up at a huge nighttime mansion, finding the drunk, high, and skimpy dressed Angela (Katie Aselton). The pair banter/argue back and forth like a married couple- seemingly the killer is paying for both her lifestyle and silence…but who is she, his wife, a family member, or just some unbalanced woman he’s become fascinated by.

This is a great end to season two- with it basically be a two-actor back & forth, with both Duplass and Aselton giving great performances.

Each of the six episodes has commentary tracks with actor Mark Duplass, director Patrick Brice and editor Chris Donlon. I played a few of these, and we get a great selection of interesting filming detail, how/why episodes came about, amusing stories, and a real feeling that the three love doing the series, and it’s all very much a team effort.

I’ll have to admit that when I saw that a second season of The Creep Tapes had been made, I was somewhat nervous/apprehensive. So, I'm happy to report that it’s on par/ at points bettering the first season. Once again, Duplass is truly inspired in his playing of the slippery-as-snake serial killer. The use of the found footage format is effective and often creative, and lastly, there is some great writing/ surprising plotting going on throughout the series. Here’s very much looking forward to season three!....oh, and it would be great to get a full/ proper release of Creep 2.