Plenty of horrific subgenres have successfully made the transition to TV over the years, but found footage has rarely made a significant splash on the small screen. That’s why I was thrilled when Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass’s Creep Tapes became just as popular as the movies it’s based on, with Shudder’s unexpected hit becoming one of the most original genre productions to come out in recent years.
With Season 3 premiering next month, we’ve decided to celebrate Mr. Peachfuzz’s bright future by coming up with a list ranking all 12 episodes of the show. After all, while I don’t think that there’s a single bad episode here, some of these murderous yarns are more memorable than others, so we might as well try to identify the best of the best!
As usual, this list is purely based on personal opinion, but don’t forget to comment below with your own ranking if you disagree.
With that out of the way, let’s stock up on Juicy Fruit and dive into the list.
12. Elliot – Season 1 (2024)
As I mentioned above, I don’t think there’s a single bad episode of The Creep Tapes – Season 1’s “Elliot” just has the rotten luck of being slightly less creative than the rest of the show due to it adhering to the established formula without adding anything new.
While I love the subtext about how both Elliot and “The Skydiver” have similar interests when it comes to stalking their subjects from a distance, there’s a lot more fun to be had in future episodes.
11. Brad – Season 1 (2024)
One of the show’s first meta experiments, “Brad” had Duplass’ charming killer take the form of a deranged fan of a documentary filmmaker played by Heart Eyes and Werewolves Within director Josh Ruben.
While the episode’s true-crime setup is downright genius, I actually think that this concept would have worked better as a feature-length Creep film rather than a shortform yarn, and that’s why “Brad” remains on the bottom half of the list despite being a fun time.
10. Nick – Season 2 (2025)
Another unfortunate case of a great idea being undercut by the small-screen format, our first Creep Tapes Christmas Special is still an undeniably great piece of television. Unfortunately, 20-something minutes just doesn’t feel like enough time to properly develop Duplass’ fake therapist persona and the Silent Night Deadly Night–inspired evil Santa shenanigans.
Of course, watching our killer protagonist speedrun his way through an experimental therapy session is still one hell of a fun ride.
9. Ava – Season 2 (2025)
Ava also suffers from the recurring problem of feeling a little too similar to some of the stories that preceded it, but this Tiger King-inspired thriller manages to overcome its formulaic structure by hinting at a larger mythos through the animal toys while also ending with a bonkers kill. This one also features Duplass at his most comical, with this vegan animal lover persona being one of his character’s greatest disguises.
That being said, I still refuse to believe that Sara is dead!
8. Mike – Season 1 (2024)
A stellar debut that proved that The Creep Tapes wasn’t going to be any less intense than the movies it’s based on, “Mike” was both a killer introduction to Duplass’ character for folks who weren’t familiar with his M.O. as well as a fun standalone hunt.
The episode is admittedly a rehash of ideas already present in the films (a necessary evil when you consider that this is essentially a pilot), but the snowy atmosphere and legitimately intense rapport between our leads make this a solid entry in the Creep saga.
7. Jeremy – Season 1 (2024)
Watching Mark Duplass play an evil priest while messing with a bad-faith amateur journalist is already fun, but the added references to exorcism movies make this a highly entertaining piece of religious horror.
The final chase here is also appropriately chilling, and that’s why I’d argue that “Jeremy” is one of Season 1’s best offerings.
6. Brandt – Season 1 (2024)
“Brandt” is the trippiest episode of the show by a wide margin, with this bizarre story providing fans with our first look at the Peachfuzz Killer in an intimate situation where he isn’t playing a character meant to deceive victims.
It may not benefit from a ton of action (though the shots where Duplass acts against himself are phenomenal), but this one-man bottle episode is bizarre and riveting in equal measure.
5. Wes – Season 2 (2025)
I was actually excited to see The Creep Tapes parody a home renovation show, but the twist here ended up being even better than anything I could have possibly anticipated.
A brilliant take on how serial killers’ manipulative tendencies allow them to easily navigate law enforcement, Wes is one of the show’s most thrilling episodes that also happens to contain one of Duplass’ overall best performances!
4. Mark – Season 2 (2025)
The Creep series is at its best when Aaron/Josef/Peachfuzz fully indulges in his filmmaking fantasies, so a meta episode paying homage to the long-running Saw franchise was bound to be incredibly entertaining.
The only reason that I don’t rank this one any higher is that, once again, I don’t think 22 minutes is enough time to thoroughly satirize all of the recurring tropes that plague the Saw series!
3. Mom (and Albert) – Season 1 (2024)
Popular culture has thoroughly explored the idea that serial killers tend to have mommy issues, but few horror stories dare to go into the eerie details of what a warped mother-son relationship might actually look like.
“Mom (and Albert)” is a rare exception, with this darkly humorous (and thoroughly uncomfortable) exploration of our protagonist’s backstory hinting that his penchant for murder is only a symptom of much deeper issues.
2. Angela – Season 2 (2025)
A sequel of sorts to “Mom (and Albert)”, “Angela” finally gives us more information about the wife/sister that was briefly mentioned all the way back in 2015’s Creep.
However, what really makes this episode so damn memorable, other than Duplass’ hilarious rapport with real-life spouse Katie Aselton, is the way that it makes you question everything that came before. In fact, Angela’s suggestion that her brother/lover’s mommy issues may have been manufactured reminds me of that Joker quote about how the villain prefers his past to be multiple choice, with this added bit of mythology making The Creep Tapes even more fascinating.
1. Joseph – Season 2 (2025)
Another meta masterpiece, “Joseph” is the perfect mix of the classic Creep formula with a post-modern twist. In this excellent Season 2 debut, Mark Duplass becomes the victim of a copycat serial killer played by fan-favorite David Dastmalchian.
What follows is a loose remake of the original Creep film that culminates in a classic example of why super-fans should never meet their heroes. I would have loved to see this concept stretched out over a feature-length runtime, but this is still my personal favorite episode of the entire show!
