Horror fans rejoice! The acclaimed Creep franchise by creators Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice is expanding this year with a television series that’s set to debut on AMC+ and Shudder. Per Bloody Disgusting, The Creep Tapes will premiere its first two episodes on Friday, November 15, with the remaining four episodes dropping weekly thereafter. The duo debuted the first movie in their found footage saga in 2014 to much fanfare at the South by Southwest film festival, and it has since gone on to become a cult-classic that’s lauded for offering a fresh take on the saturated sub-genre. 10 years later, Duplass says that bringing The Creep Tapes to life has been “a true nightmare come true.”
“A little over 10 years ago, Patrick Brice and I spent a week together in my cabin with a small digital camera. We emerged with a found footage horror film that was so wildly strange and uncomfortable we assumed no one would see it. To be continuing this unholy legacy in the series format is a true nightmare come true.”
The Creep Tapes will further expand upon the world Duplass and Brice gave birth to a decade ago, and revisited once more in 2017 with Creep 2. Both films have been well received by critics and genre fans alike, with Creep sitting at a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and its sequel holding steady at 100%. Check out the synopsis for the new series below.
“The Creep Tapes
continues to unravel the mind of a secluded serial killer who lures videographers into his world with the promise of a paid job documenting his life. Unfortunately, as the tape rolls, the killer’s questionable intentions surface with his increasingly odd behavior and the victims will learn they may have made a deadly mistake.”
Not since Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon in 2006 and Lake Mungo in 2008 had a found footage movie been such a breath of fresh air in a sub-genre full of clichés, lack-luster frights, and paranormal investigators. Duplass and Brice managed to create something special with Creep, a story about a struggling videographer who’s tasked with filming a man’s dying days, only to discover that everything is not what it appears to be. The suspense was top-notch, the acting was phenomenal (with Duplass himself playing the villain), and the editing spliced together a coherent narrative that was sharp and original, and made you more uneasy with each passing frame.
That being said, the duo made movie magic once more with Creep 2, which was superior to the first film in that it made the titular creep’s actions even more unsettling to watch as he spiraled out of control while Sarah, a young YouTuber, could do nothing but film his descent into madness before realizing that “Aaron” was everything he said he was, and more.
The Creep Tapes won’t be a continuation of either film in the traditional sense, but rather act as a compendium of sorts by showcasing the various victims that “Josef” has added to his collection over the years by recording each of their deaths in grisly fashion. Shudder is the perfect home for the series, too, given its reputation for debuting some of the most original movies and TV shows the genre has to offer, both foreign and domestic. Look for The Creep Tapes to debut on the streaming service starting November 15.