Creep “Franchise” continues Creep Tapes (currently streaming on Shudder), in which creative collaborators Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice investigate the video locker of a serial killer who films all of his gruesome murders. as in both Creep feature filmsThis six-episode series is directed by Brice, with Duplass once again playing the maniac Josef, who manages to film the “interactions” of his victims, thus fitting into the found-footage-horror aesthetic. Apparently, the concept of a serial killer killing people is perfect for a serial drama, because that way you’d probably kill six people in two hours instead of less than that.

Opening Shot: This is found footage, the opening scene is really long. But I’ll just say that it starts with Mike (Mike Luciano) turning on his camera and filming the dirty floor of his car and then himself. check-check-is-this-thing-openhis equipment.

Main idea: The camera pans as Mike walks from his car in the dark towards an isolated house in the woods. The signs instruct him to keep rolling when he walks through the door and finds a script next to a lit candle in the dimly lit house. And then a voice from the darkness. A light turns on and Josef (Duplass) appears at the top of the stairs. Mike continues filming as Josef, in character wearing a caped Dracula costume, walks down the stairs. And at this point we learn that Josef is a stupid, stupid, and oddly funny man. Of course, we know he’s a serial killer, but Mike doesn’t know that yet. shh shhdon’t let it.

Josef’s shenanigans are part of his audition for acting school. He pays Mike $1,000 to shoot the movie, and Josef will have to pay him another $1,000, and even another $1,000 to stop Mike from bailing out on this strange man, so he says very sincerely to the camera: “ My name is Jeff Daniels. Negative HE Jeff Daniels, but I hope that with your guidance he will one day reach his level of artistry.”

From there, Josef will wear a black turtleneck for a faux-glamorous reenactment of a dramatic scene, have a mini-meltdown that pushes Mike away, spend more money to get Mike to stay, force Mike to help him reenact a scene . Miseryetc. They eventually find themselves outside in the snow, there’s an ax there, but I’m sure they’ll just end up chopping some firewood. It’s a cold evening, you know.

Which TV Series Will It Remind You Of? There aren’t many definitive found footage series out there. However Creep Tapes presents a premise that vaguely resembles any of a series of short films V/H/S anthology film series.

Our View: I watched the first two episodes Creep Tapesand is left with the impression that the short film format is perfect for this conceit: Josef tricks some poor fool into filming him; Josef jokes cruelly; Schmoe ends up in an unmarked grave. There’s no real thematic subtext or anything here (except maybe) Never respond to Craigslist ads), so it’s mainly about finding different ways to use handheld camera techniques and Duplass’s entertainingly unhinged performance.

As for the method? I think found footage hit a dead end a decade ago, so the prevailing hope is that something interesting and/or funny is happening in front of the shaky camera. And that would be Duplass, a medium-sized whale (think orca or mink) who clearly has a good time with this character, enjoying playing with his food, manipulating his victims for 15-20 minutes of screen time before disposing of them. from the gene pool.

It’s hard to tell whether the scenes are entirely scripted or improvised, and that’s a good thing, because Duplass’s performance is loose and natural — certainly a product of his lo-fi mumblecore roots — and he at least gives us the impression that he’s surprising his collaborator. – stars with their oddities. Is that, along with the differences in setting from episode to episode (the second takes place during the daytime, pitting Duplass against a birdwatcher played by David Nordstrom) enough to satisfy you Shudder sufferers? I think so too.

Sex and Skin: It’s not in the first episode.

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

Sleeping Star: The minimalist nature of this series doesn’t give us much choice, so here’s a shout-out to the poor generic guys who end up falling victim to Josef. We didn’t know you very well.

Most Pilot-y Lines: Josef: “Oh, Michael. Did you just step on me?”

Our call: amused by Creep Tapes. It’s largely up to Duplass to make us laugh and scare us, and he succeeds in doing so. TURN ON STREAM.

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