The Creep Tapes Recap #4: Brad

Episode four of The Creep Tapes continues to take us further into the mind of Peachfuzz Incorporated. Many fans eagerly anticipated this chapter because one of our favorite actor-filmmakers would be the newest victim. We did not know much about the plot but expected it would get extra weird with Josh Ruben as Mark Duplass’ scene partner this time. Duplass and Patrick Brice definitely delivered something sinister with this script indeed. What follows is a lot of vomit, bodies, and concerns. So, it was perfect for holiday viewing, and we should dig in already.

The Creep Tapes – Season 1, Episode 4: “Brad”

Brad (Ruben) made a true crime documentary years ago, but like most filmmakers could use a little extra cash. So, he is the latest person to arrive at Peachfuzz’s house of horrors. Like in previous episodes, this chapter of The Creep Tapes takes what we have come to expect and blows it up. It transforms our familiar deadly routine to keep us on the edge of our seats as we watch the games play out. All we ever know for sure is that we are guaranteed a murder that is being recorded for the closet. 

When Brad enters the scene, we see Josef (he does not give an alias again) playing a piano. He is dressed like he is about to play pickup basketball, even wearing a backward baseball cap. So, I immediately became concerned there was going to be a chase. However, our nameless sociopath is chill, a little too chill. He launches into the weird flattery game he plays with his intended victims. Josef is pretending to be the biggest fan of the doc Brad made. He has researched him and shares his findings as if he is trying to impress him. He also pulls out a bootleg DVD of Brad’s movie The Boy, The Man, and The Gun while calling him the father of the genre. Our boy is laying it on thick, which makes what comes next that much more fun (or I guess mean).

New Game, Who Dis?

After all of this, he takes Brad to a room and shows him a dead body. Josef is not here to do the usual cat and mouse this week. He is here to play a very different kind of game today. When Brad finishes vomiting at the sight of the dead guy on the floor, Josef tells him this is his chance to make a new kind of true crime doc. He then leaves Brad with the body and the vomit as he heads out to cause some Peachfuzz mischief in another part of the house. Because Josef has laid the perfect foundation, Brad quickly comes around to the idea of spending a day with a killer. He grabs his camera and finds Josef digging a hole. (Which is like the 90th red flag.) Very soon after, we see that Josef’s plan is to seemingly frame Brad for these murders.

This is wild and makes me wonder if he has framed some of his other victims. Or if this is just another game designed for the most recent object of his obsession. We may never know for certain as he loves an extravagant setup, and we only see the recorded parts of his hobby. However, I choose to believe it is a bit of both. Josef is always giving the victims of tomorrow one last hurrah. He also has to know that any good serial killer has to start covering his tracks eventually. So, why not have a few people who disappear drag a few bodies around on tape before he offs them? One of the things Brice and Duplass excel at is making the audience doubt themselves, much like Josef does his victims. We think we know the score, but we can never truly understand what happens in Peachfuzz’s mind.

Another Iconic Peachfuzz Murder

I think Brad, the character and the episode, will be one of the favorites of the first season. Not only because we have all been waiting to see Duplass and Ruben play together since the cast announcement woke us up last month. I say that because this episode is thrilling and unexpected as it moves The Creep Tapes needle closer to hell. This character is also a runner which is exciting and relatable. Brad tries to escape a few times before getting the business end of a shovel. This is another death that happens off-camera, but it sounds awful. So, I obviously enjoyed it. I have mentioned multiple times this season that the sounds used to mark these kills are sick and sinister, and this episode is no exception. 

This episode of The Creep Tapes feels more like it is part of a full-season arc than even its predecessors. While I am obsessed with each episode (because I have taste), it feels like this one is continuing the buildup of whatever is going on with Josef during this phase. In each episode, he gets bolder and reveals something new about himself. However, they also all feel like they are marching toward a huge turning point, and that is what makes for great TV. This is why we feel a sense of dread before we hit play now. We have never known what to expect from the creep. Yet, our few known variables have also disappeared, which is terrifying. It also makes for a fun time in this winter of our discontent. 

The Peachfuzz Rundown: 

Peachfuzz Alias: N/A

Deadly Double Meaning: “Gonna go to a lot deeper places than that.”

Passing Strays: 

• Did we know Josef played the piano? What other random skills does our favorite serial killer have?
• If that is Sara’s locket on the first body, this takes place after Creep 2.
• Who are these two bodies? How do we get this story?
• Instead of messing with Brad’s car, he threw a body behind it. So, this is one of the few times the victim could have gotten away. However, we see how escaping ended for Sara so…
• The entire “The bottom guy was obsessed with the top guy…” bit should be studied in a college seminar. 
• This continues the trend of Josef almost begging his victims to figure out they are in danger.
  • Last week, he showed Jeremy the exorcist video and revealed he was using the name of a dead priest.
  • This week, he walks Brad into a crime scene and tells him to find him when he is done processing.
• The blood on Josef’s face after he ends Brad is unsettling.
  • I also cannot believe he made this man dig his own grave. That’s so rude and funny.

New episodes of The Creep Tapes hit Shudder on Fridays.

Did you miss Sharai’s last recap? Then read it here! Want to hear Sharai talk about the entire season? Then listen to this recent episode of Girl, That’s Scary.