When "Paranormal Activity" took the world by storm in 2007, the modern found footage genre was born and has since seen its fair share of attempts at reinvention. When it comes to the most heralded found footage films of the last decade, there's perhaps no other film than "Creep"; released 10 years ago, the first film focused on videographer Aaron (Patrick Brice) who meets up with a man named Josef (Mark Duplass) to film his life before he dies of an inoperable brain tumor. Josef becomes increasingly unhinged from here, toying with Aaron and the audience until he ultimately kills him.
The second film unfolds similarly, this time though, with Josef, now named Aaron, disillusioned with his life as a killer. When it was first announced that "Creep" would be spinning off into a television series, fans of the films were excited. Quite innovative for their time, the films feel like they were just scratching the surface of what the found footage genre could be and how these films that had become played out by the mid-2010s could transform. Instead of attempting to break new ground, "The Creep Tapes" plays it safe over its six-episode run.
The first episode of the series, titled "Mark," unfolds similarly to how both films did. A man wielding a camera like a flashlight walks up to a nearly snowed-in cabin, greeted only by a sign on the door which reads: "Just double checking that you are already rolling! Further instructions await you inside!" He then enters the dimly lit interior before the camera jolts up, revealing Duplass' name-changing character, dressed as a vampire. Eventually, he's lured out into the cold and chased through the snow in an intense game of hide and seek. The cameraman's gasps and Duplass' gleeful cheers are the only things to be heard until he finally kills his victim with an ax.
It's almost a direct rehashing of the previous two films, and while fun to watch, the beginning of episode two signals that this isn't going to change anytime soon. While "Creep" isn't necessarily a film that needs a prequel that examines why its villain is the way he is, blatantly recreating your franchise's "greatest hits" and selling it to your fans as a new product makes for a frustrating watch. While some episodes work and feel like fresh new products in the found footage genre, most do not feel so different from your average "V/H/S" film. It makes for a series that lacks depth, forcing you to question whether or not this show is coming too many years too late.
Despite its lackluster storytelling, one of this series' shining qualities is that each episode has its own identity. While Duplass' jovial-but-sinister schtick gets old about halfway through each chapter, there's no denying that each still manages to make you feel uneasy. Although the first episode plays out too similarly to the films, the second comes along and proves that outside of a house or cabin, the villain of these stories is perhaps even more unhinged than he already was. But then, while still holding their own narrative, we're once again forced to watch these tricks play out similarly to the previous episode. With a runtime of around 30 minutes each, there's no reason for "The Creep Tapes" to drag, but there comes a point in each episode where you feel as if you're stuck in a groundhog-day scenario.
It's unfortunate that the series' best episode comes so early in the six-episode run, breathing some much-needed life into a series that now feels like a product of its time. After a seven-year wait, some fans may be happy to see Duplass hamming it up on screen again, but unfortunately, that's the only thing this new series has to offer. The black humor is there, and so is the found footage that made the original films feel so cutting edge. However, the scares become redundant after the second episode until you feel this might have just been made into another film.
The levity that came with "Creep" and its sequel film is all but devoid in this new chapter. Watching a cat-and-mouse game pan out over six episodes has never been so dry and truly boring as this. It's unfortunate that what "The Creep Tapes" ultimately excels at is warning audiences that, more often than not, we don't need spinoffs of our favorite films.
All episodes were screened for review. "The Creep Tapes" premieres Friday, November 15 on Shudder and AMC+
