The Creep Tapes Recap #1: Mike

Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass have moved one of our favorite serial killers from film to TV in their new show, The Creep Tapes. They heard us asking what was on those other tapes at the end of the first movie. They have returned and they answered the question and then some. The first two episodes hit Shudder on Friday, November 16th. I knew I would need to talk about it often because this is my kind of chaos. So, welcome to my recaps! They will be unserious and weird tributes to the man, the myth, the legend known as Peachfuzz, and all of his deadly endeavors. 

The Creep Tapes – Season 1, Episode 1: ’Mike’

Episode one finds us in our familiar routine. We see a new filmmaker who responded to an ad for $1,000 and has no idea this is his last time making a movie. Mike (Mike Luciano) is our way into what initially seems like the exact same scenario of our previous victims in Creep and Creep 2. However, our favorite weirdo (complimentary) immediately switches it up providing the Peachfuzz fans who are theater kids with too much joy. You have not lived until you watch Mark Duplass make a grand entrance on a staircase dressed like an old-school Dracula. 

Peachfuzz is going by Jeff Daniels this outing and is pretending to be a bad actor. So, he is still pushing his victim’s empathy buttons in more fun ways than the previous films. His lie this time is that he needs help getting into an acting school. This is why he placed the ad and is giving his new version of the vulnerable speech we are very familiar with by now. Because Mike needs the money, he agrees to help what seems to be a temperamental and demanding dude with cash to spare. 

Everything that follows is so funny and solidifies that we all have a little Peachfuzz in us. Like most of our favorite killers in the genre, we are rooting for the chaos and here to see what this man does. Gone are the fleeting thoughts of hoping these filmmakers make it. We are now firmly in the era of hoping their death will be the most creative and sickest of the franchise. I am one of the many people who will never unpack that, and I believe most people reading this are also in that camp.

There’s A Whole Lot of Creeping Going On

The first episode of The Creep Tapes stands out because it cements that Duplass can slip into this character like most of us do our favorite hoodie. He is having as much fun toying with his audience as his character does toying with his prey. However, his making Mike reenact the foot scene from Misery is possibly one of the best things I have seen all year. Between the James Caan wig, making Mike tie him up, and the delivery of my favorite loaded line of the episode, this scene was too perfect. By the time he says, “Can you just be a murderer? It’s not that hard!” I already knew this episode was my new personality.

I also noticed (and am glad I did) the beautiful shots of “Jeff Daniels” reflection in the window when Mike realizes he is snowed in with him. At first I thought it was a randomly cool choice, but now I have watched all the episodes and have a new theory. I will save that for the last episode recap because I am still processing and want to see if you all pick up what the Fuzz is putting down. The Creep Tapes is really here to fuck with our minds and expand on the lore that sucked us in. I am so damn here for it!

Mike Gets The Ax

Anyway, things escalate as they tend to do with Peachfuzz. Fans of the franchise might lose their shit like me when they see the “Peachfuzz door.” While we love this house and do not play about Mark Duplass on this blog, our wolfman is the real reason for the season. So, getting a hint of him in the first episode is when we knew we were serious.

I thought the actor, the house, and the holy Peachfuzz were more than we dared to ask for in the pilot. However, I am happy to report that Mike gets the ax, and we are reminded we have a fourth “character” in this universe. The delightful glee in “Jeff Daniels’” eyes as he pretends to accidentally reveal he will kill him is contagious. If this episode does not hook you, you might be normal. I am so sorry and I hate that for you. 

The Peachfuzz Rundown: 

Peachfuzz Alias: An aspiring actor named Jeff Daniels.

Deadly Double Meaning: “Can you just be a murderer? It’s not that hard!”

Passing Strays: 

• They reference Venmo and Zelle. So, I assume that is a signifier that we are moving forward from the events of movies at this moment. However, none of us can predict what Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass will get up to later. 
• The reflection in the window moment. Put a pin in that because it is not just a visually pleasing moment. It is actually a window into some much deeper and weirder shit that is to come. 
• He had Mike tie him to a bed. Just because too much is going on to unpack in what was supposed to be a quick recap does not mean I did not notice!
• Really happy I was right about The Creep Tapes working as a series. I will try to not to gloat too much about being so damn right.