Josef (Mark Duplass) continues his reign of terror with the best episode in the entire series so far. We’ve seen Josef trap people in a snowy mountain cabin, bait a birdwatcher into an oxygen-deprived fate, and get a gotcha journalist. So what could he do next? How about trapping a true crime filmmaker into a nightmare out of his own films?
Brad (Josh Ruben) is a washed-up true-crime filmmaker who hasn’t had a hit in years. He is invited by Josef to a gorgeous house and offered to hear a pitch that’ll change everything. What is the pitch? Document true crime as it occurs. After some hemming and hawing, Brad agrees to participate in this odd experiment. Little does Brad know that he may end up more than a documentarian.
Why is this my favorite episode? To start, Josh Ruben. I love Josh Ruben. From his hysterical appearances on Game Changer to his harrowing performance in A Wounded Fawn, Ruben is one hell of a talented actor. But he’s more than just an actor; he’s also a great horror director. His written/directed hit horror comedy Scare Me delights with frights, while Werewolves Within was a more mature, albeit still funny, directorial feat. Simply put, whatever Josh Ruben touches turns to gold.
Secondly, the story. Episode 4, “Brad,” has one of the best stories of the series. Imagine you are a true-crime filmmaker who hits gold with your first project. Then, everything dries up. You can’t find the magic that made your first project so special to true-crime fanatics around the world. Suddenly, you’re allowed to change your fate. There’s something magical about that.
I want to go into more detail about this episode’s story, and we will break the spoiler barrier at this point. The big twist for this episode is that not only is Brad obviously being targeted by Josef, but in a way that’s more sinister than Josef has done before. Josef turns Brad into the killer. What Brad didn’t know is that Josef had cameras set up in specific locations and planned to make Brad appear as a killer. Once Brad realizes this, his whole world falls apart. He, on camera, has become what he wanted to film. What Josef has done here is gorgeously grotesque.
Besides the great twist, Duplass and Ruben have brilliant chemistry. I feel like I’ve said this many times in my Creep Tapes coverage, but Duplass plays off everyone so well. That’s one of the charms of Duplass and the Creep franchise as a whole. Without an actor as incredible as Duplass, this franchise would not work. His boyish charm plays off his maniacal inner nature in ways that haven’t been captured before.
If The Creep Tapes aren’t automatically greenlit for a second season, someone is making a mistake. These episodes have endless replayability. Each time you watch, you’ll find something new. You will see moments where something clicks in Josef’s head that you missed the first time; you will see when he makes split-second decisions you may have missed. The easiest way to put my thoughts into a phrase is that this franchise is lightning in a bottle.