‘Peachfuzz’ (Mark Duplass) is a jovial, avuncular man in his late 40s. He’s also a serial killer. And he LOVES movies.

Set in and around the two Creep movies to date, this is a deceptively simple set up that dives headlong into the complex world of its broken protagonist. The format is the same every episode: Peachfuzz either finds or ‘stumbles across’ a victim, plays with them, confuses them and kills them. Written down, that looks simplistic and cruel. It’s far more complex.

Central to all of this is Duplass, whose longstanding presence in indie movies is based on both his amiability and how deeply normal he looks. That normality is central to how Peachfuzz stalks his prey and to the colossal unrest central to the show. It’s twinned with the fact that Peachfuzz is a deceptively brilliant actor. His wounded sincerity, prissy passive aggression and puppylike enthusiasm sweep you and his victims along until suddenly you realise just how alone you are and just who you’re alone with.

There’s a moment at the end of ‘Mike’, the first episode which is hilarious and then abjectly terrifying. That moment extends to a distended 20-minute scream of unresolved horror in episode 4, ‘Brad’. In both cases, Peacefuzz’s victim is a filmmaker. In the first, Mike (Mike Luciano) is a man at the top of his career desperate for a gig. In the latter, Brad (played superbly by DropoutTV regular and Heart Eyes director Josh Ruben) is in the middle of a stalled career and desperate to get back in the game. Peachfuzz exploits both men without mercy, and Duplass does so with such unsettling charm you get carried along. Just like his victims.

That immediacy is what makes the show so good. Peachfuzz’s normality, and the moments where he deliberately lets the mask slip set up a constant tension that only ever increases. He’s right there, always in the camera, always in the spotlight and the murders, when the mask finally drops, are almost a relief. Which is horrific in and of itself.

Just as you start to find this samey, the show shifts focus again. ‘Brandt’ has Peachfuzz ‘stood up’ by his victim and apparently arguing with the personification of his violence. ‘Mom (and Albert)’ gives him a home life, a loving if psychologically abusive mother played by Krisha Fairchild and context but absolutely no forgiveness.  It’s a brave, and in the case of ‘Brandt’ incredibly unsettling move and it marks the show out as something unique even as its lead fades into the background until it’s far, far too late for whoever he has his eye on.

Verdict: You can watch The Creep Tapes without having seen the original movies. It’s a pointedly ramshackle, deceptively charming show about a monster you can’t help but like until he shows you just what he truly is. If you like horror, you’ll love this. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart

 

The Creep Tapes is available on Blu-ray from Shudder now or via AMC