We’ve reached the end of The Creep Tapes Season 1! Whew, time flies.
This season has taken us through the wild kills of Josef (Mark Duplass) over an unspecified amount of time. From open wetlands to making a true crime story, Josef has shown us the depths of his maniacal depravity. Episode 6 follows in the footsteps of Episode 5 (Brandt) by showing us a deeper look into the psyche of Josef and what makes him him.
“Mom (and Albert)” follows Josef as he makes a surprise visit to his mother’s (Krisha Fairchild) house. Shortly into Josef’s visit, he’s introduced to her new beau, Albert (John Craven). Josef isn’t sure how to take his mother’s partner and does whatever he can to make the visit as awkward as possible. But will the awkwardness turn into murder? Will this be the first Creep Tape without a kill?
(Spoilers from here on out.)
First and foremost, we finally get what we’ve all been begging for…DONG! Josef throws a fit and runs away. His mother goes looking for him and finds him naked with half of his body (head first) in a jacuzzi. He eventually comes out of the hot tub and we finally see the penis of a madman. So, for those who stuck through the first five episodes just to see if we got it, well, there you go!
Everything about Episode 6 is freaky and paints Josef in somewhat of a sympathetic light. One of the things we learn is Josef’s unique obsession with Forest Gump. As someone who has only seen bits and pieces of Forest Gump on TNT over the years, I cannot really comment on if/why that is important. What I can comment on is the information that directly impacts Josef as a character.
When Albert arrives, his mother introduces Josef to Albert, saying, “This is my favorite son, Wolfie.” This lends us two important pieces. But before we unpack that, Josef’s mother reveals she still has his stuffed animal named Wolfie. We also learn that when Josef was six, he had a bad dream and ripped the wolf’s head off. His mother goes on to say that she didn’t sew it back on completely so that he remembered what he did. Josef has an age regression issue. He goes to check out his bed, and when he realizes it’s not his “special bed,” he throws a fit.
What does this teach us? The most obvious thing it teaches us is that Josef has been babied far too long. His mother calls him by the name that he calls his stuffed animal, which he ripped the head off of. From what we’ve learned, his mother has purposely stunted his emotional growth OR didn’t do anything to make sure Josef’s mental health was addressed from a young age. Returning to how he was introduced to Albert, she says that Wolfie is her favorite son. This either implies that Josef has siblings OR that his mother is also a pathological liar and is feeding Albert a false narrative of her life.
Given what we’ve seen to the point of Albert’s introduction, either of those two options is possible. By the time that Josef kills Albert, his mother doesn’t really seem too upset. Even though his mother shoots down Josef when he tells Albert that he wants to film with him, it’s clear she knows more than she’s leading on.
But that’s when we get the all-too-telling final shot of the season. Josef and his mother have a conversation on the ground next to where Albert is now buried. Earlier in the episode, Josef’s mother comments on how he breastfed for 6 years; he was also a biter. Cut to post-Albert kill. Josef and his mother awkwardly embrace and Josef suckles from her. It’s truly appalling and tells us all we really need to know.
Episode 6 was fantastic and gave us a proper backstory into who Josef is and why. Now we must take into account that Josef’s mother may be just as pathological as he is, but I feel there is some truth in what she says.
The Creep Tapes has been a welcome entry into Creep cannon, and if Shudder is smart, they will have already asked Duplass and Brice to start Season 2.
What did you think about this series? Was it everything you wanted from a Creep expansion? And what was your favorite tape?