Creep got under the audience’s skin in the best way possible, and Creep 2 managed to generate even greater acclaim and enthusiasm with a more subversive story. It’s been extremely satisfying to watch Creep confidently transform into an anthology horror series that distills “Josef’s” murders down to concise, economical horror stories. 

The Creep Tapes is the ideal outlet for Duplass and Brice’s duplicitous killer that doubles as an entertaining opportunity to deconstruct the found footage genre. Now entering its third season, the series tackles some of its biggest and most personal stories yet.

To celebrate the latest installment in the growing Creep franchise, Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice discuss the selection process for the season’s stories, finding new ways to raise the stakes and expand the universe’s scope, and figuring out their killer’s psychology and whether they know where his story ends. 

BLOODY DISGUSTING: What I love so much about this series is that all these episodes find different ways to deconstruct the found footage genre. This season features such an assortment of stories. What’s your process for planning out seasons and deciding on the final lot of six episodes? 

PATRICK BRICE: Well, we have a running document of ideas for this show that is just pages-and-pages-long at this point. So part of the process involves going to that and seeing what could work and makes sense for the season. But a lot of the time it’s just instinctual. It’s us either saying, “This is an idea that could work for this season. Let’s go for it!” or it comes from a guest star that we thought would be amazing and figuring out how to tailor the idea to them. 

MARK DUPLASS: Yeah, I think our best episodes happen with like a text at like 11:47 PM from Patrick or myself that says something like, “CUDDLE PARTY,” and that’ll be it. Then there will be an “!” And then there will be a “Yes.” We’ll get on the phone the next day and hash it out and talk it through. The document that Patrick is talking about is also very fun because some of those things are fully fleshed-out episodes and some of them are just small germs of ideas. You know, sometimes we’ll go on set with full scripts, and sometimes we’ll have as little as a page to work with. Every episode has its own DNA.

I love that and how ideas can actively evolve while you’re shooting. The show has such a raw feeling to it that conveys that energy. 

MD: Yeah, the idea is that rather than doing a full shoot where we shoot all six episodes in a row, we sort of shoot an episode anytime that we get three or four days free in our schedules. Sometimes we’ll build it around a weekend if we’re working on other projects. It helps you bring this fresh energy to it. So the season takes place over the course of a year, which also allows me to have different looks and things like that. We find that there’s something about — I guess what they call “The Beginner’s Mind” — by just hopping into all this. We’re always a little cold on the first day, and we’re still trying to find it. I’ll start acting, and Patrick will be like, “That’s not him.” It takes a minute to get back into it. But achieving that state of childlike creativity with it and a beginner’s mind is very much a part of the process. 

This season’s “Anisha” episode is set on a plane and builds to such a huge climax that almost feels impossible for such a small, intimate franchise like this. Can you talk a little about approaching that sequence, bringing it to life, and if you’re looking to push some of these stories to even bigger places?

PB: That came as a result of us saying, “How can we make this feel bigger than it’s ever been?” The concept for that one was sort of born out of doing something that we’ve never done before. It seems kind of scary, and we might not entirely know what we’re doing, but we’re going to figure it out on the day of the shoot. Then something like that is especially nuts when considering the shooting method that Mark’s talking about. It’s much harder to approach things with a Beginner’s Mind when you’re dealing with major stunt work and higher concept ideas. That was one of the most fun experiences I had filming this season just because we were so out of our depth and so out of our element, but still able to apply this shorthand that we’ve learned over the years from shooting this show and getting this franchise.

MD: A lot of the creativity from the show comes out of the function of shooting it on a lower budget. Years ago, when we were making this small independent film — The Do-Deca-Pentathlon — we wanted to get a shot of somebody on a plane. I called one of those stages in Burbank that has all these old, grounded planes. They pull out different sides of them so you can shoot in it. I was like, “It’s going to be ridiculous how expensive this is,” but then they told me the cost, and it was really cheap. As we were talking about expanding the show’s scope, I mentioned that I think it should be doable to get a private plane as long as we can shoot the episode in like two days. 

The Creep Tapes episodes that dig into the killer’s family and backstory are always some of the most fascinating. This season looks at his teen years and one of his first kills. Can you talk a little bit about pulling the veil back with this character, how much you want to keep a secret, and how much of this backstory was already known?

MD: That’s a good question. I mean, we really love how much audiences are enjoying the teasing of his backstory. That wasn’t initially part of our master plan. When we did the first episode with his “Mother,” people really responded to that. So we thought that it would be fun to do one episode each season that has a little bit of lore. I think that the fun of playing with a character like this is that we decided very early on that almost nothing he says is factual, but everything is true. So even if the skin and the details of what he’s talking about don’t necessarily make sense or add up — emotionally — everything you hear from him and feel from him is very, very true and honest. 

So, this season we thought it’d be really fun to do something on a VHS camera, similar to the one that my brother and I had growing up. I loved that camera because it was the first camera that shot on VHSC, the compact one, and you could do two separate audio tracks and put music on it. It was like its own little filmmaking machine. That got into my hands when I was about 16, so I thought it would be really funny to consider what our lead character would do with this camera if he had it. Immediately, we were like, “What if he made something like Blair Witch before Blair Witch?” The false mythology that he had gotten there first felt very funny to us.

Were you actually able to shoot it on older tech? 

MD: So we tried using the older tech and the problem with that is—

PB: It was unreliable. 

MD: It’s very cold where we’re shooting too, which can be a problem for the camera. We have used the same camera for almost everything we’ve done on the show, other than some of the more omniscient perspective things and the iPhone one in New York. It’s kind of been our talisman. It’s like our lucky camera. We’ve spent more money fixing that than if we had bought a new one, but he’s our little buddy. So we used that camera and then treated the footage afterwards. 

This season’s “Nobody” episode is one of my favorites from the series, and it feels like it’s a bit of a sequel to the first season’s “Brandt” episode, which is also largely this solo performance piece. 

MD: You get us, yes! You see us!

Was that episode particularly challenging to figure out? You do such a great job whenever these two sides of the killer and Peachfuzz are in conversation with each other.

MD: Yeah, that one felt harder to get right. I felt like we were talking a lot between takes.

PB: Oh, absolutely. I mean, we were setting ourselves up for this, but it entirely relied on Mark’s shoulders. It’s all his performance and the sort of the dance of it. That was one where, in the opening sequence, we had to really get the timing right. There were a lot of longer takes and sort of fewer cuts because it was just Mark and nobody else. 

MD: But we got to use your voice again! One of my favorite things is when Patrick comes in to play Peachfuzz. Also, our third brother in this, Chris Donlon, is executive producer and editor with us every step of the way. He was also able to play the body in the grave. There’s some excellent musical timing that you’ll see in the episode. It’s really fun when we get up there, and that one was just the four of us putting it all together. I think sometimes it brings out the best in us when we’re all a little afraid and a little nervous. “Is this going to work?” We have those down moments, too. “Why did we try to do this?” But sometimes the best stuff comes out of that. 

Creep works so well as an anthology TV series, but does that make it any more of a challenge to find your way back to it as a film franchise? Is Creep 3 still of any interest or seem like an appropriate way to conclude the series?

PB: I mean, we never want it to end. I think it will end in our actual deaths. Creep 3 is definitely something we still talk about. I feel like making the show just invigorates me to come up with ideas for what would make sense for a Creep 3. The show is almost like our sketchbook, in a lot of ways. We’re trying to play with different ideas that maybe could be smaller, that then maybe push us to what the bigger story would be if we were to make another movie after that.

MD: Yeah, it took us quite a few years between Creep and Creep 2 to figure out that idea and get it right. I think it’s taking us that much more time between Creep 2 and Creep 3 because it’s so important to us. We’re just so appreciative of the fans, who reflect to us that there’s integrity in the way that these stories are told. They feel that from us, so we don’t want to feed them anything less than an A+ breakfast burrito. When it comes to Creep 3, frankly, we just haven’t come up with it yet. When we do, we’ll bring it forward, and hopefully there will be a Creep 4 and a Creep 5 — there’s got to be a movie that’s just called Peachfuzz. We’re working on it, with the only limit being our own creative ability. 

The Creep Tapes Season 3 premieres September 15th on Shudder, with back-to-back episodes airing weekly.

The post Mark Duplass & Patrick Brice On Expanding ‘The Creep Tapes’ And Why ‘Creep 3’ Still Isn’t Ready appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

This season sometimes struggles to articulate its points and can feel like more of the same. However, it provides a deeper dive into Peachfuzz’s character, which may be enough for some audiences. Season three is a mixed bag, but it still works hard to exceed expectations, push boundaries, and leave its comfort zone through more frightening character-driven found footage experiments.

Season two innovatively riffed on found footage’s many different styles, while this season is more interested in character archetypes and the act of connection. These constantly disarming performances leave each episode’s subject – and the audience – feeling incredibly vulnerable. The series explores these perpetual exercises in control and privilege as characters engage in tugs of war over authority and are left to litigate who really has the power in these sordid situations. Peachfuzz casually declares that “we contain multitudes” in the season’s premiere, which strongly resonates in each episode.

These new episodes explore how Peachfuzz’s killings are all repeated attempts to genuinely, truly connect with another human being, even if that’s by steeping his own backstory in lies, deception, and a creepy equivalent to kabuki theater. There’s some muddled commentary on the creative pursuit of being an artist and the grueling process of tirelessly pouring yourself into thankless work and how this artistic pursuit can change you.

Certain episodes do admittedly feel like they run out of steam and abruptly conclude in ways that some may consider to be underwhelming. That being said, it’s important to understand that The Creep Tapes is not about the kills, as gory and grandiose as they may be; it’s about human connection.

This season bombards the audience with some of Peachfuzz’s most wild and ridiculous character archetypes yet. This includes a Tommy Lee-esque rock star who is desperate for notoriety through a viral sex tape, an enigmatic billionaire who is eager to unload a confession that doubles as a budding journalist’s big scoop, and a voyeur living in a listless shut-in’s walls. These contrasting performances are all over the map in attempts to obfuscate Peachfuzz’s truth. However, they’re all connected by a desperate need for relevancy and a compulsion to not be forgotten that’s been present in this franchise since its very start. 

It’s a message that’s crucial to Peachfuzz’s legacy as a prolific serial killer, but one can’t help but feel this quest for relevance extends to the broader found footage genre as a whole. It’s a style of storytelling that’s never completely disappeared, but often feels like it’s one foot out the door and constantly at the risk of being disregarded. The Creep Tapes’ third season makes a strong case for why this genre is still meaningful and a valuable way to tell horror stories.

A lot of this season sticks to stripped-down, minimalist filmmaking that frequently utilizes a bottle episode-like framework. There are still opportunities for these episodes to go bigger and take some risks. There’s a particularly tense stalker story that sets Peachfuzz loose in New York City. There’s also a formative flashback episode in 1994 that chronicles one of Peachfuzz’s earliest kills when he was just a teenager. This season also features the franchise’s most extreme and creative death to date that deserves credit for the sheer audacity of the spectacle. 

This season also continues the tradition where one episode turns the camera onto Peachfuzz and attempts to unpack his own trauma and history. This season’s experiment is a one-man show from Duplass as Peachfuzz confronts and succumbs to his codependent demons. It doesn’t reach the same heights as the previous seasons’ glimpses into Peachfuzz’s dynamic with his mother and sister, but it’s still very rewarding and a real highlight of the season that helps demystify this increasingly interesting monster. 

Season three still retains the dark humor that’s always been baked into the franchise, which may work better for some than others. This heightened behavior and inappropriate sense of humor fit into Peachfuzz’s pursuit of throwing off and destabilizing his would-be victims so that they can’t tell where the truth lies and the performance ends.

The Creep Tapes is a series that lives and dies based on its guest stars. This season features some impressive and eclectic talent that includes Kate Siegel, James Earl, Chris Gethard, Rekha Shankar, It: Welcome to Derry’s Nicholas Hamilton, Terrifier 2 and 3’s Elliot Fulham, and Mark Duplass’ own daughter, Ora Duplass. Patrick Brice continues to handle all the directing duties and has only grown more confident in cultivating this franchise’s avant-garde voice. However, at this point it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring in some fresh blood. 

Like before, six episodes is the perfect length for this season so that Peachfuzz’s continuous kills don’t feel repetitive, formulaic, or blur together. It’s just enough time for The Creep Tapes to approach its central idea from complementary angles and still wrap things up so that the audience is left wanting more, rather than being exhausted by Peachfuzz’s schtick.

The Creep Tapes still has lots to say and plenty of tricks up its sleeve. That being said, this is the first time that the bloom is starting to come off the rose. While a very strong continuation of this concept and character, these are arguably the weakest batch of episodes from The Creep Tapes’ three-season run. This doesn’t mean that a season four would have even greater diminishing returns. However, it’ll need to bring something different to the equation.

As Peachfuzz would say, “You’ve just got to trust the creative process,” even if it makes a bloody mess. It at least helps keep the wolves at the door.

The Creep Tapes premieres September 15 on Shudder, with back-to-back episodes airing weekly.

The post ‘The Creep Tapes’ Season 3 Review: Peachfuzz’s Most Personal Season Is Also Its Most Uneven appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

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!

The post Ranking All 12 ‘The Creep Tapes’ Episodes Ahead of Season 3 appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The series from writers and executive producers Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice will debut with the first two episodes on September 15. Following the season three premiere, two new episodes will roll out weekly on Shudder and AMC+ through September 29.

Season three continues to expose a collection of video tapes from the secret vault of the world’s deadliest and most socially uncomfortable serial killer (Duplass). 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.

To date, the series has lined up an impressive roster of guest stars and the upcoming season is no different.

Guest stars this time include Kate Siegel (Carrie), Nic Hamilton (IT), Elliott Fullam (Terrifier 2, Terrifier 3) and Duplass’ daughter, Ora Duplass (Coven Academy), who will star in a throwback episode.

Get a peek at them in the trailer below, and read on for episode details:

The Creep Tapes is produced by Duplass Brothers Productions and Shudder. Executive producers include series star Duplass and Brice who both also serve as co-writers, with Brice directing all episodes. Additional executive producers include Mel Eslyn, Jay Duplass and Chris Donlon, while Shuli Harel serves as co-executive producer and John Baker serves as a producer.

The new trailer may also give a first look at the original Peachfuzz mask, revealing more of the Creep’s backstory.

The post Peachfuzz Finds New Victims To Play With In ‘The Creep Tapes’ Season 3 Trailer appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The series will debut with the first two episodes on September 15. Following the season three premiere, two new episodes will roll out weekly on Shudder and AMC+ through September 29.

Season three continues to expose a collection of video tapes from the secret vault of the world’s deadliest and most socially uncomfortable serial killer (Duplass). 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.

To date, the series has lined up an impressive roster of guest stars and the upcoming season is no different.

Guest stars this time include Kate Siegel (Carrie), Nic Hamilton (IT), Elliott Fulham (Terrifier 2, Terrifier 3) and Duplass’ daughter, Ora Duplass (Coven Academy), who will star in a throwback episode.

The Creep Tapes is produced by Duplass Brothers Productions and Shudder. Executive producers include series star Duplass and Brice who both also serve as co-writers, with Brice directing all episodes. Additional executive producers include Mel Eslyn, Jay Duplass and Chris Donlon, while Shuli Harel serves as co-executive producer and John Baker serves as a producer.

The post Peachfuzz is Back: ‘The Creep Tapes’ Sets Season Three Premiere Next Month appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The voice on the line belongs to his estranged sister, Angela — played by Duplass’ real-life wife, Katie Aselton (“Legion,” “The League”), who previously voiced the character in the original Creep.

Find out what happens next when the second season concludes tomorrow, December 19, on Shudder and AMC+.

Duplass and fellow Creep co-creator Patrick Brice co-wrote the six new episodes, with Duplass starring and Brice directing.

The series continues to expose a collection of video tapes from the secret vault of the world’s deadliest and most socially uncomfortable serial killer. 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.

Along with Aselton, Season 2 guest stars include David Dastmalchian, Robert Longstreet,Diego Josef, Desean Terry, Alec Bewkes, Linas Phillips, Taylor Garron, Timm Sharp, Jody Lambert, and Jeff Man.

Duplass and Brice executive produce alongside Mel Eslyn, Jay Duplass, and Chris Donlon. Shuli Harel serves as co-executive producer, while John Baker produces.

Daniel Kurland wrote in his review, “‘The Creep Tapes’ second season is a solid upgrade from its freshman year. These six new episodes channel the tension and terror of the first season, but through surprising and subversive storytelling that seeks to challenge found footage and horror as a whole.”

“The Creep Tapes” has already been renewed for a third season due out in 2026, and Duplass and Brice still plan to make Creep 3.

The post Peachfuzz Sets Boundaries in ‘The Creep Tapes’ Season 2 Finale Clip [Exclusive] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

To close out the first quarter of this century, the Halloweenies hit the archives and revisit all the horror movies released between 2000 to 2025. After careful consideration, the gang has made their lists, checked them twice, and given them to Santa Gerber to collate them all into a bonafide top 25. Did your favorites make the cut?

Find out by streaming the first of two episodes below. This installment covers their picks from No. 25 to No. 11, and as you’ll see, their choices are as varied as they’re scary. Let us know what we’ve missed so far in the comments below, and return next Monday when we close out the entire run with the 10 best slices to see what else survived the cutting room floor.

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, Chucky, Alien, and the Universal Monsters. Next year? Hellraiser!

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Re-Animator, Darkman), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Manhunter), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.

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The post The Top 25 Horror Movies of the Last 25 Years Pt. 1 [Halloweenies Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The elusive serial killer tracks down a copycat killer, played by David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil), in our exclusive clip from the Season 2 premiere below.

The series returns to Shudder and AMC+ tomorrow, November 14, with new episodes dropping every Friday through December 19.

Duplass and fellow Creep co-creator Patrick Brice co-wrote the six new episodes, with Duplass starring and Brice directing.

The series continues to expose a collection of video tapes from the secret vault of the world’s deadliest and most socially uncomfortable serial killer. 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.

Addition to Dastmalchian, Season 2 guest stars include Robert Longstreet, Katie Aselton, Diego Josef, Desean Terry, Alec Bewkes, Linas Phillips, Taylor Garron, Timm Sharp, Jody Lambert, and Jeff Man.

Duplass and Brice executive produce alongside Mel Eslyn, Jay Duplass, and Chris Donlon. Shuli Harel serves as co-executive producer, while John Baker produces.

Daniel Kurland wrote in his review, “‘The Creep Tapes’ second season is a solid upgrade from its freshman year. These six new episodes channel the tension and terror of the first season, but through surprising and subversive storytelling that seeks to challenge found footage and horror as a whole.”

“The Creep Tapes” has already been renewed for a third season due out in 2026, and Duplass and Brice still plan to make a Creep 3.

The post Peachfuzz Meets David Dastmalchian in ‘The Creep Tapes’ Season 2 Clip [Exclusive] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“It is something we talk about all the time, and it is something that we are working on,” Brice tells Slasher Radio.

“The show is almost an incubator for what Creep 3 could be, in a lot of ways. I won’t say which episodes, but some of the episodes for the show were potential Creep 3 ideas that we’d had at one point or another.”

Brice continues, “I just want Creep 3 to be a defining statement of some kind with the series. I want it to justify its own existence in terms of being a movie.

“But at the same time, I’m thinking about the precedent of things like this. I’m a huge fan of Army of Darkness, and I always think of Army of Darkness as an example of a third movie in a horror genre as something that challenged itself.”

Brice explains, “It took that an ran with it and took it in another unexpected, super fun direction. Sam Raimi was able to explore almost a different genre through that movie and something that he was excited about.

“If we’re gonna make it, we’re gonna do it right and do right by the franchise that we’ve already created, but we also have to do something that explodes things a little bit and is surprising.”

For now, “The Creep Tapes” remains a priority for the filmmakers. “The way that we shoot ‘The Creep Tapes’ and the way that it exists in our lives as a working model, I think we’re really happy right now, and we’re probably gonna try to do this as long as we can,” Brice notes.

“And that’s not to say we couldn’t make a third movie while we’re the show, but right now, we’re beholden to making this show the best version that it can be.”

As with the Creep films, Brice and Duplass co-write “The Creep Tapes” with Brice directing and Duplass starring as the serial killer known as Peachfuzz.

The post Patrick Brice Compares ‘Creep 3’ to ‘Army of Darkness:’ “We’re Gonna Do It Right” appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“I think you need to consider more carefully the brand you love and how you represent them.”

The Creep Tapes‘ first season felt like such a monkey’s paw situation of “be careful what you wish for.” After years of waiting for a Creep 3, a six-episode TV series was announced. A full season of television seemed like it would be better suited to tackle the franchise’s subject matter and cover more ground than what would be possible in a singular film. While this is technically true, The Creep Tapes largely spun its wheels and became an unfortunately repetitive experience that was already reaching diminishing returns by the end of the season. The season fell into a very formulaic rut, especially when it’s clear that Mark Duplass’ creepy serial killer will be the one who makes it away alive. It should come as no surprise that the one episode that seemed to be the most successful was the one that slightly broke from form and dug deeper into the serial killer’s family life. 

There’s still plenty to enjoy in The Creep Tapes’ first season, but it did feel like it failed to realize its full potential and wasn’t the return to form that the franchise’s fans were hoping for. Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice seem to have listened to audiences, or felt the same way themselves, about season one. Season two is such a satisfying course correction, yet it still faces some of the same limitations of episodic storytelling that were faced in season one. However, this second season works much harder to create some genuinely inspired situations to put its chameleon-like killer in, so that there’s a lot more to be surprised about. Season two learns from its mistakes to deliver a tenser and more terrifying series that bodes well for the already-confirmed season three. It’s a found footage triumph that smooths out the first season’s playback issues.

The series remains a fascinating deconstruction of the found footage genre, its obsession with unreliable narrators, and the inherently artificial nature of filmmaking in general. This was some of the first season’s most rewarding material, and these new episodes dig even deeper. The Creep Tapes demonstrates these points through harrowing setpieces and a revolving door of victims that take bigger risks with its sickening serial killer story. Season two creates some really clever scenarios that subvert standard serial killer and found footage archetypes. This season even finds space for a twisted Christmas horror story.

One storyline in particular really allows Duplass and Brice to unpack the idea of hollow imitations that embrace style over substance, which can be plentiful in not just the found footage genre, but the many remakes and reboots that flood cinemas. It becomes an enlightening lesson in authenticity, which is the perfect way to kickstart the season and to prove to the audience that it’s not the very thing that it’s criticizing. It’s as if The Creep Tapes wants to get in there first and remake itself before someone else attempts to do so and risks diluting the brand. This season goes one step further and exhibits outright apathy for those who strive for less than excellence and taint horror through mediocrity.

Season two immediately leaves a stronger impression than the first season through brilliant setups that include the filming of a house-flipping TV pilot, an emergency therapy session, and even a brush with a copycat killer who steals “Joseph’s” shtick. To this point, the second season also takes advantage of the series’ non-linear nature and just how long “Joseph” has been claiming lives. 

There’s an especially strong episode that features a Saw-like setup that’s full of sadistic puzzles and a very different version of “Joseph” who works through his “torture porn phase.” The series makes sure to properly unpack this serial killer’s evolution beyond his erratic mental state. Much like in the first season, the finale features a cathartic homecoming that provides illuminating details about the series‘ murderous enigma. It’s an effective approach that will likely carry over into season three as this triptych of family trauma.

There are more engaging and unique premises that are explored in season two. These new episodes also throw repeated curveballs at Duplass’ serial killer that force him to change course and go off script. This is the perfect approach for the second season of a show that was seen as too formulaic. These new episodes keep the audience guessing and unprepared for what is to come, but this also highlights “Joseph’s” improvisation skills as he continues to reinvent himself as the situation sees fit. 

Every episode goes off the rails in a completely different way, which all reinforces the season’s larger themes of authenticity. People will watch The Creep Tapes for its vicious violence and frightening setups. Its character work and examination of a fractured psyche and the complicated feelings that overwhelm “Joseph” and what drives his actions become more interesting than any cutthroat chase sequence.

It becomes a tour de force showpiece for Duplass, who consistently rises to the occasion. The Creep Tapes is also a vehicle that’s designed to be a two-hander, which means that there’s just as much significance on the actors who play against Duplass’ killer. The series hasn’t reached the point where these guest actors are given award-winning material to work with, but they’re all very solid performances. Duplass has plenty of experience with anthology storytelling that celebrates these guest actors. Nobody disappoints in season two, which includes guests like David Dastmalchian, Timm Sharp, Robert Longstreet, Diego Josef, and Katie Aselton, the latter of whom is perfectly cast in a role that should be very satisfying for long-time Duplass followers. They’re all excellent foils, especially Dastmalchian, who does the perfect Duplass imitation and ostensibly remakes the first Creep.

The Creep Tapes’ second season is a solid upgrade from its freshman year. These six new episodes channel the tension and terror of the first season, but through surprising and subversive storytelling that seeks to challenge found footage and horror as a whole, in addition to The Creep Tapes property. Season two works hard to remain true to the series’ core and still manages to tell original stories that push Duplass’ serial killer — and the audience — out of their comfort zones. It includes some of the franchise’s greatest heights. These episodes leave the audience optimistic and excited for another batch of blood-soaked character studies and tone poems that are masterminded by one of modern horror’s greatest monsters. 

The Creep Tapes Season 2 premieres on Shudder on November 14, 2025.

The post ‘The Creep Tapes’ Season 2 Is More Evil and Unpredictable Than Before [Review] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The series returns November 14 on Shudder and AMC+ with new episodes dropping every Friday.

Creep creators Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice co-wrote the six new episodes, with Duplass starring and Brice directing.

The series continues to expose a collection of video tapes from the secret vault of the world’s deadliest and most socially uncomfortable serial killer. 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.

Guest stars include David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil), Robert Longstreet (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Katie Aselton (“Legion”), Diego Josef (There’s Someone Inside Your House), Desean Terry (“The Morning Show”), Alec Bewkes, Linas Phillips (Spree), Taylor Garron (“Abbott Elementary”), Timm Sharp (M3GAN 2.0), Jody Lambert, and Jeff Man.

• Episode 201: “Joseph” – November 14
  A copycat killer (Dastmalchian) going by the name of “Joseph” meets his match.
• Episode 202: “Wes” – November 21
  Wes (Josef) takes a job shooting a tv pilot for a house flipping show hosted by a bizarre man.
• Episode 203: “Mark” – November 28
  Mark (Longstreet) wakes up chained to another man in a dilapidated room and is forced to solve a series of puzzles.
• Episode 204: “Ava” – December 5
  Ava’s (Garron) quest to make a salacious documentary is foiled by her deeply uncomfortable subject.
• Episode 205: “Nick” – December 12
  Nick (Sharp) is confronted by his therapist’s odd behavior during an emergency therapy session on Christmas Eve.
• Episode 206: “Angela” – December 19
  A visit from an estranged family member (Aselton) goes haywire.

Duplass and Brice executive produce alongside Mel Eslyn, Jay Duplass, and Chris Donlon. Shuli Harel serves as co-executive producer, while John Baker produces.

“The Creep Tapes” has already been renewed for a third season due out in 2026, and Duplass and Brice still plan to make a Creep 3.

The post ‘The Creep Tapes’ Season 2 Trailer – Peachfuzz Returns Next Month appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“We will make a Creep 3. But we want Creep 3 to kind of be a defining end of a sentence,” Brice told The Direct at Fantastic Fest. “It should be something that closes things up.”

“I think Patrick and I were a little paralyzed after we made Creep 2 to make Creep 3,” Duplass adds. “They were so successful. And when I say successful, I mean the core fans loved them so much. We really didn’t want to make anything unless we felt like it could match or in some ways supersede that, you know?”

The format of the “The Creep Tapes” afforded them the freedom to return to the universe without the pressure of a feature.

“Formalistically, there’s more chaos involved in the television show than in the movies,” Duplass explains. “When you’re trying to wrangle something that’s about 30 minutes, it allows you to strike out more daringly and you can make a lot of different stories, and different types of stories work in that format, which is really good.”

Season 2 of “The Creep Tapes” features six episodes co-written by Duplass and Brice, with Duplass starring and Brice directing.

It continues to expose a collection of video tapes from the secret vault of the world’s deadliest and most socially uncomfortable serial killer. 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.

Guest stars include David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil), Robert Longstreet (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Katie Aselton (“Legion”), Diego Josef (There’s Someone Inside Your House), Desean Terry (“The Morning Show”), Alec Bewkes, Linas Phillips (Spree), Taylor Garron (“Abbott Elementary”), Timm Sharp (M3GAN 2.0), Jody Lambert, and Jeff Man.

The post Mark Duplass & Patrick Brice Will Make ‘Creep 3’ as a “Defining End of a Sentence” appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Beginning Friday, September 5th, over 200,000 square feet of spooky shenanigans will unfold at the Ontario Convention Center for three days — dozens of celebrity guests, hundreds of vendors, and another round of can’t-miss Q & As hosted by the best of BloodyFM.

On Friday evening, Mark Duplass and Patrice Brice will hit the stage to discuss the past, present, and unpredictable future of the Creep franchise with Shelby Novak (Scare You to Sleep, Bloody Disgusting Podcast) and Michael Roffman (The Losers’ Club, Halloweenies).

On Saturday, Fiona Dourif, Melinda Clarke, and Jaime King will explore feminine rage in horror with The Lady Killers, while Universal Horror stars Madeleine McGraw, Violet McGraw, and Jenna Davis will share how the kids aren’t alright with The Boo Crew.

And, finally, on Sunday, Christmas arrives early as Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise stars Robert Brian Wilson and Eric Freeman unwrap the secrets of the franchise with Novak and Roffman, while Ethan Embry joins The Boo Crew to stroll through his silver screen scares.

Bloody Disgusting will also be on site all weekend with their new booth, which includes adult trick or treating, free swag, photo ops, and a number of giveaways.

Beyond the panels, Creep IE Aftermath 2025 will also host Robin Tunney, Frank Grillo, Garrett Hedlund, Soleil Moon Frye, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Alexa Blair Robertson, Lochlyn Munro, and a performance by Unwritten Law. It all goes down this weekend — from Friday, September 5th to Sunday, September 7th— at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, California.

Secure your tickets now!

The post Creep I.E. Aftermath Returns: Bloody Disgusting Hosting Panels for Creep, Silent Night, Deadly Night, Feminine Rage, and More! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Each of the six episodes in the found footage series is presented as a different tape chronicling the exploits of the serial killer known as Peachfuzz from 2014’s Creep and 2017’s Creep 2.

Director Patrick Brice and actor Mark Duplass are back, sharing writing and executive producing duties.

Special Features:

• Filmmaker Audio Commentary
• Shudder Social Q&A with Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice

The series continues to unravel the mind of a secluded serial killer who lures unsuspecting videographers into his world with the promise of a paid job documenting his life. 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.

Mike Luciano, David Nordstrom, Josh Fadem, Josh Ruben, Tai Leclaire, Scott Pitts, Krisha Fairchild, and John Craven are among the cast.

“Not only is Peachfuzz back with renewed vigor, but Duplass’s serial killer character is weirder than ever,” Meagan Navarro wrote in her review. “The Creep Tapes is a welcome expansion of the films. It’s not a reinvention of the format, but rather a fun experiment that explores more dark corners and impulses of a disturbed individual.”

The Creep Tapes was recently renewed for a second season by Shudder.

The post ‘The Creep Tapes’ Season 1 Blu-ray Details Revealed appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“The Creep Tapes” Season 1 comes to DVD & Blu-ray on April 1, 2025.

Mark Duplass reprises his role from the Creep movies in the Shudder Original series from Duplass and Patrick Brice, with all six episodes now streaming on both Shudder and AMC+.

The franchise centers on Duplass’ character, a total creep whose name is ever-changing but whose bizarre, murderous behavior is always documented in a found footage style.

The original found footage movie in 2014 was followed by a sequel in 2017.

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.

Bloody Disgusting’s Daniel Kurland raves, “The Creep Tapes is very careful to not dilute what made the films so effective and it uses its episodic format to deconstruct not just found footage horror, but the very nature of documentary filmmaking and the complex filmmaker/subject relationship.”

Kurland adds, “It’s a bold experiment that pays off and helps reinvent the serial killer chamber piece series in a modern way.”

The post ‘The Creep Tapes’ Season 1 Coming to DVD & Blu-ray in April appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After wrapping October with Robert Zemeckis’ hilarious dark comedy Death Becomes Her (listen), we kicked off November with a look back at Wes Craven’s classic slasher A Nightmare on Elm Street (listen), followed by Albert Ray’s pre-Code 1932 “classic” The Thirteenth Guest (listen).

In honor of Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass re-teaming for Shudder’s The Creep Tapes (review), we’ve decided to revisit the better-than-the-original sequel Creep 2.

In the film, after dispatching new “friend” Dave (Karan Soni), Aaron (Duplass) sets his sights on flailing YouTube personality Sara (Desiree Akhavan). After trying all of the same tricks as the first film, however, Aaron finds that Sara is unflappable: she’s not bothered by his pranks and jump scares and seems more than willing to match his freak in every conceivable way

As the battle of wills escalates, it soon becomes clear that these two may just be made for each other. Will Aaron finally get his happy ending or has he finally met his murder match?

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, and RSS.

Episode 309: Creep 2 (2017) feat. Brooke Solomon

Log onto ‘Encounters’ and dust off your Peachfuzz mask because we’re talking Creep 2 (2017). Along for the ride is The Queer Quadrant co-host Brooke Solomon, who finds plenty to appreciate in a sequel that is more complex than its predecessor.

Plus: Praise for both Duplass and bisexual co-star Desiree Akhavan, debating male vs female nudity, dismissing claims that Sara is “dumb,” Coppola wine, and speculation about Shudder’s The Creep Tapes.

Cross out Creep 2!

Coming up on Wednesday: Just in time for Thanksgiving, we’re going a quick cut and color job courtesy of Jill Gevargizian’s The Stylist (2020).

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 345 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Hannibal Season 1 Episode 11, Time Cut, Heretic, Smile 2 and a brand new audio commentary on Silent Night, Deadly Night for its 40th anniversary. 

The post The Complex Sexual Politics of ‘Creep 2’ [Horror Queers Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Nothing in the world of film and TV excites horror academics like the meta-slasher. This curious subgenre emerged in the ’90s as a response to the slasher boom of the previous decade and involves skewering standard tropes with characters and scripts well aware of the films that have come before. Wes Craven’s 1996 masterpiece Scream opens with the killer quizzing his victim about classic slasher franchises and Drew Goddard’s The Cabin in the Woods concludes with a Director entering the scene to explain the archetypes each doomed character fulfills. Meta-slashers play with our expectations by blatantly giving characters the tools to survive then daring them to follow through with the knowledge they’ve accrued. They are ingenious twists on a beloved cinematic formula and a way to build upon the lore we’ve come to expect. 

Nearly thirty years after the subgenre’s peak, meta-slashers have become the norm. We’re so used to characters who know “the rules” that oblivious victims and survivors now feel fresh and revolutionary. But as we continue to play with the limits of plotting and characterization, a new type of meta-slasher has emerged. Patrick Brice’s Creep franchise follows a strangely charming serial killer who assaults his victims with uncomfortable camaraderie before dispatching them with weapons hiding in plain sight. Frequently categorized as found footage, each addition to this ingenious series further cements its slasher pedigree. The Creep (Mark Duplass) murders victims one by one while donning an updated mask of charm and manipulation. Like a sly Randy Meeks (Jaime Kennedy, Scream), he telegraphs the rules of this deadly game—sometimes outright admitting his crimes—then watches his victims fall into a trap of disbelief. You see, the Creep has evolved with the genre as well and now uses the meta-slasher format to destabilize his prey.

Creep begins with a bit of staged miscommunication. A videographer named Aaron (Brice) has arrived for a full day of filming only to find that the stranger who placed the ad is nowhere to be found. While Aaron waits in his car, Josef (Duplass) startles him by screaming and banging on the driver’s side window. After a day filled with awkward interactions, Aaron learns that Josef has lied to him about everything. He is not dying of cancer or filming a video for his unborn son. Josef is an unstable man who has lured him to the woods with the pitiable hope of gaining a friend. The Creep follows this unsettling day by stalking Aaron at his home, leaving a series of unnerving gifts and video messages. Despite this terror, Josef is still able to convince Aaron to meet him in person once again by promising a heartfelt apology and asking for help. But while Aaron waits for him to arrive, Josef sneaks up behind him and buries an ax in his head. We later learn that Josef has done this many times before and watch the mysterious murderer deposit Aaron’s homemade DVD on a shelf filled with videos named for his many other victims. 

Creep 2 doubles down on this exciting premise as the Creep—now calling himself Aaron—goes through a midlife crisis. He hires Sara (Desiree Akhavan) to film a documentary in which he will reveal himself to be a serial killer and give her full access into the mind of a murderer. Minutes after their introduction, Aaron lays all of his cards on the table, telling her exactly who he is and what he’s done. Determined to put on a show of strength, Sara does not flinch. In private, she admits her disbelief, but wants to keep egging him on for an episode of her exploitative YouTube show. As the day unfolds, Aaron’s slow escalation reaches its peak and Sara finds herself fighting for her life like all the others. 

Seven years later, Brice and Duplass have revived this quirky franchise with The Creep Tapes, a series following the charismatic villain as he targets a new batch of videographers using custom bait designed to lure them in. With each new installment, we see slasher patterns emerge in a fascinating remix of classic tropes. The Creep uses our collective awareness of true crime and horror against his many victims, hiding behind a mask of self-deprecating honesty. Heavy helpings of metacommentary add to the exploration of our collective desire for comforting delusion and an overwhelming need to see ourselves as the hero.

Each Creep chapter consists of raw footage from a handheld camera carried by one of the story’s main characters. While technically considered found footage, this ever-shifting POV subverts an element of the classic slasher. Films like Halloween and Friday the 13th introduce us to victims through the killer’s eyes, shifting our perspective to the unseen villain. The Creep series reverses this technique by privileging the victim’s perspective. We’re introduced to the villain as the subject of each story and watch as he systematically reclaims the camera. Rather than a monster hiding from view, the Creep is a sympathetic performer objectified by the camera’s lens. However, this perspective offers only the illusion of protection. The Creep has decentered his own POV in a clever sleight of hand to distract from the manipulation unfolding in plain sight. 

Carol J. Clover’s academic text Men, Women, and Chain Saws is perhaps best known for codifying the slasher formula and introducing the concept of the final girl. The sole survivor of a slasher film, she (sometimes he) squares off against a killer in the final act, usually using her attacker’s own weapon. Clover assigns gender to this phenomenon, but a more updated version of the theory involves finding empowerment by overcoming a deadly attack. The Creep plays with this trope, directly using the illusion of power to further manipulate his victims. In Creep 2, Aaron stuns Sara by informing her that she will be murdering him before the night is over. Still believing him to be either lying or mentally disturbed, she reluctantly agrees to chop off his head while the camera rolls. In a stunning reversal, he hands her his trademark ax then lays face down on the coffee table waiting for her to strike the killing blow. Sara naturally balks and he feigns disappointment while devising another way to end his life by her hand. 

A similar scene occurs in the opening chapter of The Creep Tapes in which Jeff (Duplass) encourages his victim to tie him to the bed in a Misery-inspired scene for his acting reel. Were both victims to know what he has planned for the night, they would surely take this opportunity to defend themselves or escape, but the Creep has caused them to believe that because they currently hold the weapon, they are not in any real danger. 

It’s a fascinating subversion of the “drop the knife” trope, reminding us that power only feels meaningful once it’s been earned. In traditional slashers, the final girl seizes an opportunity to pick up a weapon and fight for herself, but the Creep has orchestrated a faux version of this empowerment. He abdicates power and orchestrates his own destruction, knowing they will be unable to act. Not only do his victims believe they are in control, they have conflated the virtue of their responsible choice with the true empowerment gained by overcoming a threat.

Though variations have emerged through the years, most slasher killers are known for an iconic mask or disfiguring makeup, allowing them to operate with anonymity and become a dehumanized force of nature. Brice flips this trope on its head with the Creep’s unsettling alter ego, a hairy wolf mask known as Peach Fuzz. We first encounter this villainous persona on a high shelf in a bedroom closet. Josef explains its childish origins before donning Peach Fuzz for a nursery rhyme inspired song. This story serves to fully defang the terrifying creature while elevating Josef’s own humanity. We now believe that Peach Fuzz is the one we should fear. Anytime we see the Creep without his mask, we assume we are in the presence of a well-intentioned man. 

In fact, the Creep wears many invisible masks including one of overwhelming awkwardness. After an initial moment of destabilization, he greets his victims—and the audience—with a broad smile and a cheery demeanor, often insisting on a heartfelt hug. We’re thrown off by this show of earnest vulnerability and believe that by granting him our own goodwill, we have power in the uncomfortable relationship. After all, we’re making the virtuous choice to overlook his cringey behavior. The Creep Tapes presents its villain as both a cheesy actor and an injured skydiver while the first two films see him pretend to be both a struggling creator and a dying father-to-be. In every case, the Creep assaults his victims’ need to be seen as a good person and dares them to reject his embarrassing displays of vulnerability. 

This awkwardness is indeed disarming, but the Creep’s most devious mask is one of brutal honesty. Explaining this trick to Sara, he says, “While I do play around with facts, I never lie.” In each interaction, he tells his victims he is not to be trusted and ultimately plans to cause them harm. The ax he eventually buries in Aaron’s head has been left on the stoop just feet away from their first encounter. While filming in the woods, he casually asks, “When you saw that ax back at the house, was there a small part of you that thought I might kill you with it?” essentially giving away his master plan. In The Creep Tapes, he mentions baiting birds, subtly nodding to the trap he has set. Noting a reference to Interview with the Vampire in his online ad, the Creep tells Sara, “I feel like I’m pretty fair with my victims. I want them to know that I’m dangerous.” He even shows her a video of himself murdering Aaron, removing all doubt that he is truly a killer. But time after time, his victims choose not to believe the damning evidence he hands to them and the “rules” he explains in so many words. Reflecting on his victims’ consistent delusion, he observes, “It’s almost like they want to die.” 

It’s a fair point, but the more likely explanation is that they believe they can’t die. Like a horror fan encountering a murderer in real life, they confuse knowledge of the monster’s tactics with protection, failing to see that the Creep has evolved as well. Not only has he clocked their awareness, he knows they will rest in this illusion of safety. Sara can’t understand why the Creep would tell her his sinister plans, failing to see that he is counting on her disbelief to hide in plain sight. He knows that she will not accept any knowledge she has not had to earn. Like Sara, we’ve been conditioned to believe that all deceit must be hidden and our job as the hero is to uncover the truth. We don’t know how to respond to villainy laid bare and convince ourselves there must be more to the story. 

Shortly after Randy Meeks explains the rules of slasher survival to a roomful of potential victims, he relaxes while watching Halloween. The seasoned horror fan begs Laurie (Jaime Lee Curtis) to turn around and see the killer standing just behind her while another murderer creeps into the room. He’s so busy enjoying the power of his own slasher knowledge that he fails to see his impending victimization. Josef poses a similar question to Aaron while reviewing the footage of his death. “Why didn’t you look behind you? And then I realized why you didn’t turn around. It’s because you’re the greatest person who’s ever lived. No matter what I did to you, you believed I was good and I would do you no harm.” Aaron cannot accept that he has been deceived because that would pull his entire worldview into turmoil. Perhaps he is not the story’s final survivor and decades of knowledge has proved to be worthless. Creep dares us to question whether we would fall for similar tricks. Would we listen to our instincts and believe what we see or cocoon ourselves in the protection of outdated rules while walking headlong into the lair of the wolf? 

The first two episodes of “The Creep Tapes” are now streaming on Shudder.

The post A Mask of Honesty: “The Creep Tapes” and a New Type of Meta-Slasher appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“It’s really kind of a special one for me,” says Duplass. “I always hear this fun lore about, like, bands who just started jamming together casually and then it turned into this amazing thing, or like Mike Leigh will be talking with his friends and then all of a sudden this movie comes out of it.

“My art always felt very painstaking and structured how it was made. But Creep was the only project that just kind of fell out of our pockets,” he explains.

“Patrick and I were talking in my kitchen. We were just friends, and he was fresh out of film school, and I wanted to do something really small and and different from some of the studio stuff I had been doing at the time. We started talking about uncomfortable encounters with human beings that we both just love, that sense of ‘This is probably okay. But is this gonna go bad? I don’t know what’s gonna happen here.’

“So we took a couple of pages of an outline, and we went to my cabin in Crestline, which is about an hour and a half outside of Los Angeles, for five or six days, just the two of us. We just started shooting this found footage stuff, and it was a mess, but there was some really fun stuff in there.

“Our friends were watching cuts of it and encouraging us to take it into a much darker direction, which Patrick and I were not quite prepared for, because we weren’t really genre filmmakers by any means. But we listened to them, because we felt like they knew better than us. Then we, literally over the course of a year, kept refining and reshooting. That was the process of Creep.”

“It was a great melding of the minds,” Brice adds. “Because I think Mark and I were both coming from different directions, but we definitely shared a lot of sensibility; shared sense of humor and this empathy for odd characters. The movie sort of became this horror movie about empathy at the end of the day. That was really, really fun to be able to discover.

“For me, I had just come out of film school, and my background was in documentary. I’d never made a narrative film before, so my first narrative film to essentially feel like an experimental film was a delight. It was just a very comfortable, exciting way to make it. We didn’t know what rules we were breaking when we were breaking them.”

Creep was initially met with skepticism, as the found footage bubble ushered in by Paranormal Activity had all but burst by 2014.

“When we told people we’re making found footage, they were like, ‘Ugh, why would you do that?'” recalls Duplass. “Our take was, as naive as it sounds, it’s just a form. A form is agnostic. There’s nothing good or bad about a form; it’s what you do with it. And the form allowed us to be very scrappy and childlike, obviously because it’s so cheap to make.

“To me, the form facilitated this return to being a 12-year-old kid running around the woods with your friends, making things off the cuff and giggling to yourself and watching it back on a 3-inch monitor — all those things that can get squeezed out of you in the process of becoming a quote-unquote professional filmmaker. I was really excited that the form was going to facilitate that stuff.”

It was none other Jason Blum who saw the potential in Creep, just as he had done with Paranormal Activity years earlier.

“I was a little nervous that people would be exhausted by found footage for sure,” Duplass remembers. “When we showed a first cut to Jason Blum, he was like, ‘I’ve seen every shitty found footage movie you could possibly imagine, and you’ve done something new and fresh with this somehow.’ I think it was precisely because we’re not genre filmmakers. We brought this sense of sweetness and love and heart to this protagonist.”

The first film nearly received a wide theatrical release before ultimately being released to VOD.

“There was a moment where this was going to be a wide release Universal/Blumhouse movie,” Duplass reveals. “And then we tested it for audiences and realized, as is perfectly the case, about 75% of the audience in that theater was like, ‘What the fuck did I just watch?’ And then 25% of the audience was like, ‘This is my favorite movie.’ We’re going to be a niche, and that’s okay.”

Niche though it may be, Creep was easily accessible to its audience via a global release on Netflix in July 2015. A franchise was born with the release of Creep 2 in 2017. With busy careers, the filmmakers ultimately decided to make the third installment a series rather than a feature.

“We came up with lots of different ideas for a potential Creep 3 movie,” Duplass says. “I think we were feeling a little bit of the pressure. Could we deliver on something that’s so beloved? We don’t want to make another movie just to make money or a paycheck. It should be really good.

“A lot of the ideas we fell in love with, but we kept feeling like we might be stretching these to make the feature-length form. Then at some point it just kind of popped in organically that not only creatively but pragmatically, a series was going to be perfect for us, because Patrick’s career really took off, and I was really busy doing things.”

Duplass continues, “Getting a month to go away and shoot a movie was difficult, but grabbing four or five days every now and then to go out and shoot an episode — because we cobbled this together over the course of a year. Whenever we had, like, a free long weekend, we’d put together an outline and go make an episode. It really suited our lifestyles.

“Once we made the first one and we realized how freeing it could be to only have to work with the 30-minute format, it actually allowed us to be that much weirder and strange, which we felt like audiences deserved at this point if we were going to return.”

The Peachfuzz mask “will definitely be back” in The Creep Tapes, but don’t expect any insight into its origin — at least not yet.

“Its origin is something that we like to keep shrouded in mystery, because it’s very important for us. Like all good mythological tales, we hope to tell the origin story one day in 2050, 2055,” Duplass chuckles.

“I don’t really remember how or when [Peachfuzz] became such an integral part of the story. It felt like it was just going to be this little side piece at first.”

“Just like with every time we go into making one of these movies, we’ll have these little sparks and little ideas of information,” Brice says. “What’s so cool about these movies and the form and is how it allows for not just improvisation when it comes to dialogue, but improvisation when it comes to theme and plot points.

“I remember the first day like we were talking about ideas for titles for the first film. This was after we’d sort of come up with the concept, and I remember Mark calling me and saying, ‘I don’t know why, but I think we should call this movie Peachfuzz.’ It’s one of those things.”

Brice continues, “So the movie was called Peachfuzz for the longest time, named after this character — I hesitate to say alter ego, because it might be all he is. I don’t know. It was called Peachfuzz until Jason Blum so eloquently told us, ‘There’s no way in hell your movie is going to be called Peachfuzz. Let’s think of a different title.’ And we came up with Creep.”

The Creep series is a psychological character study as much as it is a horror franchise, with Duplass delving into the mind of the elusive serial killer.

“I don’t want to get too reductive about it, but I can definitely connect to the people pleaser inside of myself and amplify that,” Duplass points out. “I can definitely connect to the person who’s learned how to maneuver in this industry by being slightly different in whatever room you need to be in order to win favor with people, which we all do, and then I amplify that.

“A lot of this is taking things that I know and understand about myself, or that I see in Patrick or in some of my favorite characters that I’ve loved, and just cranking them up to 100. It’s really fun.”

The filmmakers have found that viewers connect with Peachfuzz in an unexpected ways, as demonstrated at The Creep Tapes‘ recent premiere.

Duplass says, “We had our premiere at Vidiots recently, and it was the strangest feeling to watch the audience respond and talk to them afterwards. It was like they got their favorite Nicholas Sparks movie shown to them again. They were like, ‘I needed it so bad! My heart needed it. I missed Peachfuzz so much!’ We’re just like, ‘Great! What’s wrong with you?'” he laughs.

If there’s something wrong with you, you can watch the first two episodes of The Creep Tapes on Shudder and AMC+ now, with a new episode releasing every Friday through December 13.

RELATED: Peachfuzz Is Up to His Old Tricks in ‘The Creep Tapes’ Exclusive Clip

The post ‘The Creep Tapes’ Creators Mark Duplass & Patrick Brice Discuss the Found Footage Franchise’s Trajectory [Interview] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Check out an exclusive clip from the first episode below, in which the elusive killer hires a stranger to shoot his acting reel.

Written and executive produced by actor Mark Duplass and director Patrick Brice, each episode of the the six-part found footage series is presented as a different tape chronicling Peachfuzz’s exploits.

The series 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 only is Peachfuzz back with renewed vigor, but Duplass’s serial killer character is weirder than ever,” Meagan Navarro writes in her review. “The Creep Tapes is a welcome expansion of the films. It’s not a reinvention of the format, but rather a fun experiment that explores more dark corners and impulses of a disturbed individual.”

The Creep Tapes will debut with a two-episode premiere on November 15, followed by a new episode every Friday through December 13.

The post Peachfuzz Is Up to His Old Tricks in ‘The Creep Tapes’ Exclusive Clip appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

As its title indicates, “The Creep Tapes” are episodic snapshots into the exploits of Duplass’s killer. Each episode, running roughly 30-minutes each, plays like it’s plucked from the killer’s collection of videotapes, each named after the episode’s chosen victim. While the first episode serves as a reintroduction into this particularly weird killer’s modus operandi, from his playful meet-cute through the surprise murder reveal, “The Creep Tapes” refreshingly avoids rehashing this same plotline every episode. Instead, Brice (who directs all episodes) and Duplass merely use this as the foundation to get weirder and wilder with their serial killer. No episodes are alike, of the three screened, with each taking bold and decidedly different narrative swings.

The second episode illuminates more about the killer’s relationship with his unforgettable wolf mask persona, Peachfuzz, bending the rules of reality in a way that may polarize. That Brice and Duplass refuse to explain what’s happening is what intrigues, as if immersing viewers into the twisted, broken mind of a maniac. But it’s in episode three that “The Creep Tapes” finds its stride with a soaring guest star performance by Krisha Fairchild (Krisha, “Channel Zero: Butcher’s Block”). I won’t spoil Fairchild’s role in the series, but I will say that Fairchild matches Duplass’s eccentric, unhinged energy every step of the way, pushing his character into even more bizarre territory. Her role fleshes out his character’s backstory in ways the films weren’t quite able to narratively, demonstrating the exciting ways this series can push the horror villain forward into various directions.

As for the central horror villain, Mark Duplass slips back into the role with ease, relishing the open ended possibilities and reveling in the bizarre new turns and reveals. It’s not just the unsettling social interactions that made this character so memorable in the first place; it’s the dark sense of humor. Duplass’s killer delights as he slips into Forrest Gump impersonations, while stalking his latest prey and throwing a temper tantrum. There’s a sense of freedom to Duplass’s infectious performance in this series, one he’s clearly having a blast with.

“The Creep Tapes” is a welcome expansion of the films. It’s not a reinvention of the format, but rather a fun experiment that explores more dark corners and impulses of a disturbed individual. Duplass’s titular Creep still gets under your skin, but he’s just as prone to sending you into hysterical fits. If Brice and Duplass maintain this momentum in the back half of the series, then here’s hoping “The Creep Tapes” continues much longer than its initial 6-episode season. It’s a blast so far.

“The Creep Tapes” made its world premiere at Fantastic Fest and is set to premiere Friday, November 15 on Shudder and AMC+.

The post “The Creep Tapes” Review – Peachfuzz Is Back and Weirder Than Ever in New TV Series appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A new installment in the Creep franchise is “coming soon,” the video teases, suggesting that Creep 3 is finally on the way. Or perhaps it’s something else, like a Creep television series?

UPDATE – 6/4/24 – 4pm EST: The mysterious project teased by Duplass has been revealed to be “The Creep Tapes,” a television series expansion of the Creep film franchise.

Indiewire reports, “The series, co-created by Duplass and Creep director Patrick Brice (who also directed every episode), is currently being shopped to buyers.”

The site also notes that production on “The Creep Tapes” has wrapped in secret.

“The series is based on a collection of video tapes in the secret vault of the world’s deadliest and most socially uncomfortable serial killer, who hires his victims to film him for the day under false pretenses,” Duplass said in a statement.

“Each episode exposes a new victim from one of the fabled ‘Creep Tapes.’”

[Related] Why ‘Creep’ Remains One of the Most Compelling Uses of Found Footage

The franchise centers on Duplass’ character, a total creep whose name is ever-changing but whose bizarre, murderous behavior is always documented in a found footage style.

The original found footage movie in 2014 was followed by a sequel in 2017.

pic.twitter.com/b06bhNqgXC

— Mark Duplass (@MarkDuplass) June 4, 2024

The post Peachfuzz Is Back: Mark Duplass Announces ‘The Creep Tapes’ TV Series appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

That’s why we’ve come to expect found footage flicks to focus more on plot than characters, as dramatic heart-to-heart conversations aren’t as common in “real” recordings as they are in the hyper-reality of narrative film. Fortunately, some of the more talented filmmakers out there have managed to work within these limitations and still come up with memorable character interactions, with the best example of this being Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass’ experimental classic, Creep.

And with the film celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year, I think this is the perfect time to look back on its impressive balancing act that combines just the right amount of scripted drama with narrative improvisation.

The creative duo of Brice and Duplass is clearly a match made in heaven, but the two actually met by chance when Brice’s wife began babysitting Duplass’ children once the couple moved out to Los Angeles. The two filmmakers immediately hit it off, and their friendly chats inevitably led to discussions about possible collaborations once Brice’s love of documentary filmmaking met Duplass’ passion for eccentric characters.

Inspired by Craigslist ads and several true stories about people meeting internet strangers for the first time and being weirded out (as well as classic films like My Dinner with Andre and Misery), it didn’t take long for the duo to come up with a short outline for the project that would eventually become Creep, which was initially titled Peachfuzz. This initial treatment basically amounted to five pages of scene descriptions and conversation prompts meant to explore just how strange an interaction would have to get before the average person would start to get worried.

Unwilling to wait for a serious budget or even a completed script, the two filmmakers simply picked up a camera and decided to shoot the film guerilla-style over the course of a week. It was only during filming that the story would be completely fleshed out, with both actors experimenting with numerous variations of each scene – not to mention at least three different versions of the shocking ending.

The found footage format also allowed them more flexibility during production, with the duo shooting, reviewing footage and then shooting some more after receiving feedback from friends and family in an attempt to make the most entertaining character study possible. During this process, the filmmakers actually realized that what was originally meant to be a black comedy was slowly evolving into a psychological horror flick, which led to the final cut of the film bearing almost no resemblance to their original idea.

In the finished film (which was renamed to Creep in order to make audiences constantly question which of the two main characters is the real weirdo), Brice plays Aaron, a videographer for hire that accepts a suspicious gig at a remote cabin in southern California. Once there, he meets his client Josef (Mark Duplass), who reveals that he’s dying from a brain tumor and has hired Aaron to produce a video diary for his unborn child. However, Josef’s strange behavior soon makes it clear that things aren’t exactly what they seem, and Aaron may very well be in mortal danger.

Premiering on the festival circuit in March of 2014, Creep was a surprisingly big hit with critics – even the ones who usually dismissed found footage movies as cheap cash-grabs. From its eerie depiction of interpersonal connections in an age of constant distrust to its unflinching portrayal of a predator taking advantage of empathy in order to get close to his prey, it’s no surprise that the film became so popular once it was released on Netflix the following year.

Naturally, this led to the development of a sequel in 2016, with Brice and Duplass intending to turn their original experiment into a trilogy of found footage thrillers. And while the follow-up (which I think perfected the idea) and its proposed threequel deserve their own articles, suffice to say that none of this would be possible without the unique formula established back in 2014.

Psychological thrillers about manipulative maniacs aren’t anything new, but we really hadn’t seen anything like this in found footage before Creep, with the movie exploring more grounded frights than your usual supernatural threats like ghosts and witches. In fact, most of the original film’s tension comes from concentrated peer pressure rather than genuine scares, with both Brice and Duplass crafting believable characters that are just a few awkward interactions away from being too strange.

That being said, I still think the chilling finale is what elevates this strange little character drama into top-tier horror territory. It may be set up rather bluntly (in what some fans refer to as the “Chekhov’s Axe” moment), but the final plot twist still remains one of the most memorable visuals in all of found footage, not to mention a testament to how much human beings are willing to risk when searching for approval.

Creep may not appeal to all horror fans, being more of a darkly humorous character drama than a proper scare-fest like Paranormal Activity or [REC], but there’s no denying that the film’s overall sense of humanity remains un-challenged even ten years down the line. And while we can only hope that 2024 is the year that we finally see Creep 3, we at least have definitive proof that character-based found footage is possible and can make things even scarier in the long run.

The post ‘Creep’ 10 Years Later: Why It Remains One of the Most Compelling Uses of Found Footage appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The news comes courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter today, with the site exclusively reporting that Paramount has picked up the spec package for Brice to direct.

Jordan Goldberg and Alex Paraskevas are writing the screenplay.

THR reports, “He’ll Come Knocking At Your Door tells of an ex-con who gets a new job in a revitalized factory town in the hopes of turning around his family’s life, only to soon discover that their idyllic suburban dream requires a terrible sacrifice.”

“Sources describe the project as being in the tone of the fight-for-your-life survival aspects of such movies as Ready or Not, The Purge and Squid Game,” the site’s report continues.

Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey’s Temple Hill Entertainment (Smile) will produce.

Patrick Brice recently directed the Netflix slasher There’s Someone Inside Your House.

The post ‘He’ll Come Knocking’ – Patrick Brice Directing Robert McCammon Horror Movie for Paramount appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Legendary Entertainment and AfterShock Media are behind the upcoming feature film adaptation of the comic book tale from creators Steve Orlando and Steve Foxe.

“Published in 2021, the graphic novel penned by Orlando and Foxe is billed as a social horror-thriller with a bold genre twist. It tells the story of Alan, a wealthy, older gay man, who meets a confident and attractive young man named Scott at a nightclub.

“Their chemistry leads them to end up at Alan’s house, where the men’s dark secrets are laid bare and they have a night together neither of them expected.”

Rob Forman (iZombie) scripted the adaptation that Brice will direct.

“From our nightmares to reality, in the best way possible!” Orlando said. “Here we are at a moment with Party & Prey that we never expected, but couldn’t be more excited for! This has been a story that’s clawed its way to life from the start, first from out of both my mind and Foxes, but as well from those of Alex Sanchez, Juancho! and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. And, of course – AfterShock! I couldn’t be prouder of this book – its lens, its action, its horror, and its representation across the board. We created the comic we wished would be on the stands, and now I couldn’t be more honored and energized for the world to see it on the screen!”

“Creating Party & Prey alongside Alex, Juancho, Hass my fellow Steve, and the crew at AfterShock was a taboo thrill all its own,” said Foxe, “an opportunity to tell a violent horror story entrenched in the gay community, without its rough edges sanded off for easier consumption. I can’t wait to see P&P interpreted into a new medium for an entirely different audience to discover.”

“Party & Prey is a tense thriller examining the youth standards that exist within and outside of the queer community,” added AfterShock Media’s EVP of Film & TV, Sigurani, “and we’re delighted to bring this excellent comic to the screen for all audiences with Patrick, Rob & Legendary.”

The post ‘Party & Prey’ – Patrick Brice Directing Queer Horror Movie for Legendary appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Brice’s film for Sony will adapt the novel from 2021, written by Riley Sager.

THR details, “The plot of the film, which is in early development, is being kept under wraps, though Riley Sager’s book is centered on a young woman, Maggie, whose family fled their Victorian home 25 years earlier in an event that inspired her father to pen a best-selling nonfiction book claiming they experienced a haunting.

“Maggie, now an adult, doesn’t remember those events and doesn’t believe her father’s book. But when she inherits the old family home after her father’s death, she starts to question if there’s more to the house than she believed.”

Blair Butler (Hell Fest, Polaroid, The Invitation) is writing the script for the feature film adaptation of the novel, with Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps (“Stranger Things”) producing.

The post ‘Home Before Dark’ – ‘Creep’ Director Patrick Brice Sets Up His Next Horror Movie appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

After spending Halloween shacking up with the colorful characters in Clue, we kicked off November with a discussion of a seminal queer vampire text in The Lost Boys and revisited Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s “Once More With Feeling” on its 20th anniversary. Now, we’re getting a little…..creepy with Patrick Brice‘s exceptional film Creep!

In the film, Aaron (Patrick Brice) answers an online ad and drives to a stranger’s (Mark Duplass) house to film him for the day. The man wants to make a movie for his unborn child, but his requests become more bizarre as the day goes along.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS.

Episode 152 – Creep (2014)

Pull out your best Peachfuzz-wear because we’re talking about lots of awkward situations in Patrick Brice’s Creep (2014)! Joining us for the conversation is Devin Baldwin, co-host of the Kill the Dead Podcast!

Come along for the ride as we discuss the gay panic that the film has the potential to induce (just depends on how gay panicky you are as a viewer!) while comparing our respective sets of social skills to see who would be out of the house first.

Plus: mumblecore, social awkwardness, the thunk of an axe meeting a skull, a bestiality misunderstanding and one really creepy story from Trace.

Cross out Creep!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re covering our first Val Lewton production with a look at 1943’s queer classic The Seventh Victim!

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for tons of additional content! This month, we’ll have episodes on Amazon Prime’s I Know What You Did Last Summer series, SyFy’s Slumber Party Massacre remake, the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City!

The post Projecting Gay Panic in Patrick Brice’s ‘Creep’ [Horror Queers Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

For her senior year of high school, Makani Young (Sydney Park) moved to small-town Osborne, Nebraska. Her relocation from Hawaii meant fleeing a troubled past, but trouble seems to have found her anyway; someone is targeting and slaying the graduating glass. A masked killer doesn’t just want to murder; they want to expose their victims’ darkest secrets to the world. Makani and her friends must discover the killer’s identity before they lose their secrets and their lives.

Directed by Patrick Brice (Creep, Creep 2), There’s Someone Inside Your House gets off to a strong start with an opening kill that’ll leave you reaching for your Achilles heels in sympathy. Then it shifts to the requisite introductions of character and setting and the usual depiction of high school hell. This is where Brice’s latest, penned by Shazam writer Henry Gayden, is content to stay for much of the story. There’s the mean class president who picks on Makani’s friend and the film’s most likable of all, Darby (Jesse LaTourette). There are the jocks that haze one of their own for being gay, and Makani’s sardonic pal Alex (Asjha Cooper) crushes on fellow friend Rodrigo (Diego Josef), a pill popper that reciprocates her feelings. And then there’s the outcast, Ollie (Théodore Pellerin), who serves as both the town scapegoat and Makani’s love interest.

This slasher is more interested in the social dynamics and high school hierarchy than in the slashing. The kills start excellent, including a gnarly throat-slitting or two, but quickly cut away and finish off the victim to get back to the drama. That might’ve been okay if the mystery injected any suspense whatsoever. Makani’s secret gets drawn out as long as possible, but it’s never quite as egregious as the dream sequence teases build it up to be. It’s befitting of Makani’s guilt but clunkily handled nonetheless. Even worse is the miscast Ollie; Pellerin can’t manage to bring any personality or energy to his character and never rises to making him the red herring the film so desperately wants him to become. He’s constantly bullied and targeted for being a creep or sociopath. Still, his only crime seems to be contentedness in isolation and doting over Makani no matter how poorly she treats him.

The actual killer’s identity, who’s willing to spend hours to 3D print masks of his victims’ faces to adorn while committing murder, is far too easy to spot. A gimmick that sounds neat in theory but never gets explored in any meaningful way, outside of begging the questions of who can afford a 3D printer or how access to one didn’t make it painfully easy for police to narrow down their suspect list. Ultimately, the motives owe a debt to Billy Loomis, just in a more superficial way.

Everything exists on a surface level in this hollow slasher. Characters never feel fully realized, the two lead lovebirds lack chemistry, and a lack of tension can’t sustain such a low body count or horror. Baffling choices get made; introducing Nazi paraphernalia is always a glaring, lazy neon sign that points to bad people in movies. That crutch isn’t needed. It attempts to make big swings in the finale, but not even a fun set piece can make the obvious exciting. This might be a passable intro to a teen slasher, for the young target audience wholly unfamiliar with the genre, except Netflix just released a trio of ’90s inspired slashers this summer with far more personality and bite.

There’s Someone Inside Your House releases on Netflix on October 6, 2021.

The post [Fantastic Fest Review] ‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’ Offers a Bland Intro to Teen Slashers appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Patrick Brice, the director of Creep, Creep 2 and Corporate Animals, is back with Netflix‘s There’s Someone Inside Your House, coming to Netflix on October 6, 2021.

Check out the official trailer below, which presents a new slasher maniac who kills his victims while he’s wearing masks of their faces. And he’s intent on exposing who they really are.

The film is based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Stephanie Perkins, and Henry Gayden (Shazam!) wrote the script. Here’s the official synopsis from Netflix…

“A high school senior (Sydney Park) and the rest of her new school’s graduating class are being targeted by a masked killer intent on exposing their darkest secrets to the world.”

The cast of There’s Someone Inside Your House includes Sydney Park, Théodore Pellerin, Asjha Cooper, Dale Whibley, Jesse LaTourette, Diego Josef, Burkely Duffield, Sarah Dugdale, William MacDonald, Andrew Dunbar and Markian Tarasuik.

Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps (“Stranger Things”) and James Wan’s Atomic Monster produce.

The post The Killer in Netflix Slasher ‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’ Wears Masks That Look Like His Victims [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Brice’s latest comes exclusively to Netflix on October 6, 2021.

The film is based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Stephanie Perkins, and Henry Gayden (Shazam!) wrote the script. Netflix has provided us with a new synopsis today…

“A high school senior (Sydney Park) and the rest of her new school’s graduating class are being targeted by a masked killer intent on exposing their darkest secrets to the world.”

The cast of There’s Someone Inside Your House includes Sydney Park, Théodore Pellerin, Asjha Cooper, Dale Whibley, Jesse LaTourette, Diego Josef, Burkely Duffield, Sarah Dugdale, William MacDonald, Andrew Dunbar and Markian Tarasuik.

Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps and James Wan’s Atomic Monster produce.

The post ‘Creep’ Director Patrick Brice’s New Movie ‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’ Crashes Netflix in October appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

With HBO’s Room 104, a peculiar anthology series where every single episode takes place inside the same motel room, the brothers set out to prove that you don’t need massive budgets and novel locations in order to tell unique genre stories, leading to an oddly entertaining show that features everything from musical comedies to Found-Footage thrillers.

That’s why we’ve decided to come up with this list of six of the best Room 104 episodes for horror fans, as 4 seasons later, we’re left with quite a few spooky and bizarre stories that are sure to delight those of us with an interest in the macabre.

Not all of these episodes are certified horror stories, but they all contain elements that horror fans are likely to appreciate. Naturally, there are several stand-out episodes that didn’t quite make the cut, so don’t forget to share your own favorites with us in the comments below.

Now, onto the list…

6. The Knockadoo (Season 1 – Episode 03)

Featuring the legendary Tony Todd as an eccentric cult leader presenting a series of spiritual self-help DVDs, you don’t need to hear much else about The Knockadoo in order to know that the episode is a must-watch for horror fans. Fortunately, the rest of this surreal story lives up to Todd’s spooky performance, featuring darkly beautiful visuals that often make you forget that the episode takes place in the same motel room as all the others.

The ambiguous finale might not be for everyone, but The Knockadoo stands out as an eerie exploration of the very real horrors of cult mentality and the reasons why desperate people are attracted to these groups in the first place. Plus, you get to see the always-lovable Orlando Jones as a creepy cultist, which is just further icing on the cake.

5. The Plot (Season 3 – Episode 01)

It’s rare for an anthology show to have an episode exploring the origins of its own premise, but The Plot attempts to do just that. Directed by genre veteran Macon Blair (Murder Party, Green Room and the upcoming Toxic Avenger remake), this strange little period piece stars Luke Wilson and Christine Woods as estranged siblings arguing over the plot of land that will eventually become the motel housing the titular Room 104.

Naturally, spooky shenanigans occur once a demonic presence reveals itself, with the episode suggesting that there might be a supernatural reason behind the motel’s penchant for wacky incidents. You’ll probably appreciate this story more if you’ve seen the rest of the show preceding it, but there’s no denying that The Plot is an entertaining take on sibling rivalries and classic deals with the devil.

4. Ralphie (Season 1 – Episode 01)

One of the more overtly horrific stories on the show, Ralphie tells the tale of an ill-fated babysitter who’s hired to take care of a problem child named Ralph. Unfortunately, Ralph claims that his evil counterpart “Ralphie” is locked in the bathroom and shouldn’t be let out, leading to tension as the babysitter questions whether or not this is just an imaginary friend or something far more sinister.

Featuring creepy kids and Shyamalan-like twists, this first episode of the series already starts things off on a strong, creepy note. The plot might not lead down the path you’d initially expect, but this spooky little yarn makes the most out of a self-contained location and is sure to get you in the mood for more eerie motel stories.

3. Hungry (Season 2 – Episode 04)

Hungry isn’t a particularly scary episode, but the implications behind this chilling true story become more disturbing the more you think about them. Loosely based on an actual news report from 2001, Hungry follows two seemingly ordinary men who decide to meet up in a motel room in order to finally engage in their twisted fantasies.

While this bizarre tale of mutual trust and (sort-of) body-horror isn’t for the feint of heart, it does manage to present a surprisingly poignant moral dilemma about the limits of consent and bodily autonomy. I’d just recommend that you watch this one on an empty stomach.

2. Night Shift (Season 3 – Episode 10)

A cheesy homage to 70s horror tropes and vampiric storytelling, Night Shift follows a duo of estranged actors reuniting on a podcast to talk about their old show. Of course, it doesn’t take long for viewers to realize that the titular “Night Shift” was more than just fiction, with the actors revealing the tragic circumstances which led to their eventual falling out.

Feeling a lot like a lost episode of FX’s excellent What We Do in the Shadows, Night Shift is a short but sweet horror comedy that will be best enjoyed by fans of the cheesy horror programming that the episode is lovingly poking fun at.

1. Itchy (Season 3 – Episode 03)

One of my personal favorites, Season 3’s Itchy has Patrick Brice reunite with Mark Duplass for another masterclass in Found-Footage storytelling. Following the video diary of a man with a mysterious skin condition attempting to reach out to his doctor as he isolates himself in a motel room, Itchy is a deeply disturbing horror story featuring copious amounts of paranoia, psychological turmoil and body-horror.

The claustrophobic environment and conspiratorial subject matter may remind some viewers of William Friedkin’s paranoid thriller Bug, but Duplass and Brice’s mastery of the Found-Footage format make this one hell of a unique take on both real-world mental health issues and classic horror/sci-fi tropes.

The post HBO’s “Room 104”: 6 of the Best Episodes for Horror Fans appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The film is based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Stephanie Perkins, and Henry Gayden (Shazam!) wrote the script. Netflix has provided us with the synopsis today.

“Makani Young has moved from Hawaii to quiet, small-town Nebraska to live with her grandmother and finish high school, but as the countdown to graduation begins, her classmates are stalked by a killer intent on exposing their darkest secrets to the entire town, terrorizing victims while wearing a life-like mask of their own face. With a mysterious past of her own, Makani and her friends must discover the killer’s identity before they become victims themselves.”

The cast of There’s Someone Inside Your House includes Sydney Park, Théodore Pellerin, Asjha Cooper, Dale Whibley, Jesse LaTourette, Diego Josef, Burkely Duffield, Sarah Dugdale, William MacDonald, Andrew Dunbar and Markian Tarasuik.

Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps and James Wan’s Atomic Monster produce.

The post ‘Creep’ Director Patrick Brice’s Netflix Horror Movie ‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’ Gets Plot Synopsis appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The story, Deadline explains, “centers around Dawn. She’s not a bad person – she’s just made some bad choices: wrong guy, wrong friends, wrong everything. But she wasn’t expecting her parents to pay a boatload of money to ship her off to ‘Out of the Wild’, a wilderness boot camp with a bunch of other messed up kids to learn important “life lessons.”

“Dawn and the other cubs wind up learning a lot, but not what they expect, for what happens in the woods isn’t what their parents planned. Sometimes plans go very wrong. And this is one of those times. Suddenly Dawn is more scared than she’s ever been in her life.”

Producers include Isaac Klausner and John Fischer.

The post ‘Creep’ Director Patrick Brice Adapting Suspense Novel ‘The Wild’ for HBO Max appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Lucy is the poster child of corporate greed. Played by Demi Moore, Lucy is the CEO of Incredible Edibles, a company that appeals to the ecologically conscious with edible cutlery products. She’s ruthless, selfish, and full of buzzwords and “woke” phrases to keep her battered employees under her thumb. She whisks them away to a team-building retreat in middle of nowhere New Mexico, and stands by as they strain themselves over a team-building exercise. When it’s time for a cave expedition, she forces their hired guide Brandon (Ed Helms) to take them on the advanced route they’re ill-prepared for. Of course, they’re soon trapped by a cave-in, and the disgruntled employees don’t take long to turn to cannibalism.

Written by Sam Bain (Four Lions, Fresh Meat), Corporate Animals plays like an Alive meets The Office sketch comedy. In other words, the humor is largely comprised of the character antics and their personality quirks. At the forefront are her two assistants Freddie (Karan Soni) and Jess (Jessica Williams), both long-suffering but kept in competition with each other over potential job promotions. Both cope with varying abuse by Lucy, but their close proximity to her makes them unofficial leaders once things go south. Aidan (Bodied’s Calum Worthy) is the standout as the employee who injures himself early on, and the budding infection leads to some absurd comedy- including a lot of Britney Spears gags.

This is essentially a chamber piece, and despite the limited locale, Brice does enough with it visually to keep the brisk runtime moving along at a snappy pace. The cave is large enough for the cast to spread out, too. But this comedy of terrors is all character work and not much plot. So how much you’ll connect with this film depends on how much this type of humor works for you. A lot of the gags work well, especially with Aidan, but some jokes get repetitive. Though it does have a kitchen-sink approach; from deadpan to overt slapstick sitcom fare. Much of it hinges on Moore’s performance as the gleefully callous boss, and her comedic timing is brilliant.

Often in horror-comedies, the ratio of horror to comedy is heavily skewed in one direction. The satire is heavy-handed in this horror-comedy, and the horror is minimal. There are a few great moments of gruesome gore, but again, everything is in service to the humor. Corporate Animals is a sitcom stretched to feature length, without much narrative to drive it. It’s aimless. It’ll make you laugh and groan, but there’s not a lot of bite behind its bark. This is just pure entertainment that skewers corporate greed and its trickle effect on the resentful employees. Brice and the cast make excellent use of their limited space, but how much you enjoy the film will depend solely on your sense of humor as its only goal is to make you laugh.

Corporate Animals is releasing in theaters and on demand on September 20, 2019.

The post [Review] Cannibal Comedy ‘Corporate Animals’ Takes Literal Approach to Biting Satire appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

To give you fair warning, the trailer is very much NSFW, with Demi Moore delivering a few lines that you probably never expected to hear her deliver. Check it out below!

The cast also includes Jessica Williams (Booksmart, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Ed Helms (“The Office”, The Hangover), Karan Soni (Pokemon Detective Pikachu, Deadpool) and Nasim Pedrad (Aladdin, Despicable Me 2).

In the film, written by Sam Bain:

Lucy (Moore) is the delusional CEO of a struggling startup aimed at millennials. In her infinite wisdom, Lucy leads her staff, including her long-suffering assistants Jess (Williams) and Freddie (Soni), on a team building retreat in the caves of New Mexico led by an overeager guide (Helms). When disaster strikes and the food runs out, mandatory office bonding becomes a lot more… appetizing.

Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, Mike Falbo, and Ed Helms produced.

The post [Trailer] Demi Moore Turns to Cannibalism in Patrick Brice’s Comedy ‘Corporate Animals’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

THR reports today that Sydney Park (“The Walking Dead”) will star alongside Theodore Pellerin, Ashja Cooper, Dale Whibley, Jesse LaTourette, Burkely Duffield and Diego Josef.

THR details, “the story sees the graduating class at Osborne High being targeted by a masked assailant, intent on exposing the darkest secret of each victim. Only a group of misfit outsiders can stop the killings — before their own secrets are revealed to the world. Park will play Makani, a transfer student new in town. She and her friends get caught up in the murders while her blossoming romance with a loner sees him turn into a suspect.”

Henry Gayden (Shazam!) wrote the script.

Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps and James Wan’s Atomic Monster produce.

The post Sydney Park Lands Leading Role in ‘Creep’ Director Patrick Brice’s ‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The cast includes Demi Moore (G.I. Jane, Ghost), Jessica Williams (Booksmart, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Ed Helms (“The Office”, The Hangover), Karan Soni (Pokemon Detective Pikachu, Deadpool) and Nasim Pedrad (Aladdin, Despicable Me 2).

In the film, written by Sam Bain:

Lucy (Moore) is the delusional CEO of a struggling startup aimed at millennials. In her infinite wisdom, Lucy leads her staff, including her long-suffering assistants Jess (Williams) and Freddie (Soni), on a team building retreat in the caves of New Mexico led by an overeager guide (Helms). When disaster strikes and the food runs out, mandatory office bonding becomes a lot more… appetizing.

Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, Mike Falbo, and Ed Helms produced.

The post ‘Creep’ Director’s Horror-Comedy ‘Corporate Animals’ Moves into New September Release Date appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The cast includes Demi Moore (G.I. Jane, Ghost), Jessica Williams (Booksmart, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Ed Helms (“The Office”, The Hangover), Karan Soni (Pokemon Detective Pikachu, Deadpool) and Nasim Pedrad (Aladdin, Despicable Me 2).

In the film, written by Sam Bain:

Lucy (Moore) is the delusional CEO of a struggling startup aimed at millennials. In her infinite wisdom, Lucy leads her staff, including her long-suffering assistants Jess (Williams) and Freddie (Soni), on a team building retreat in the caves of New Mexico led by an overeager guide (Helms). When disaster strikes and the food runs out, mandatory office bonding becomes a lot more… appetizing.

Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, Mike Falbo, and Ed Helms produced.

The post ‘Creep’ Director’s Horror-Comedy ‘Corporate Animals’ Set for August Release appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Brice will direct There’s Someone Inside Your House for Netflix, based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Stephanie Perkins. Henry Gayden (Shazam!) wrote the script.

“Slated to being production this fall, the pic is described as a combination of two different beloved teenage genres: the slashers that came to prominence in the ’80s and ’90s and the character-driven coming of age classics a la John Hughes’ films and American Graffiti.”

Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps and James Wan’s Atomic Monster produce.

The post ‘Creep’s Patrick Brice Directing Horror Movie ‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’ for Netflix appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“[We] finally found an idea that we’re really excited about,” said Brice. “One of the things we want to keep true with these movies is that they’re… still small scale. Keeping that focus tight. Letting it be something that sort of orbits around Mark’s character. We’ve found something we’re really excited about. We’re still in the process of writing. I can say that.”

Brice continued, “It’s a chance for us to do something I haven’t really seen in horror movies, let alone found footage movies.”

As for when it’ll happen, that all hinges on Duplass and Brice’s scheduling.

“Between the two of us, in the last year, I made another movie – I just got hired to direct another film that is very much a horror film. On a much bigger scale than any of the Creep movies. So I’m really excited about that too. And Mark is doing a million things,” Brice explained. “We’re at the point where, if all goes well, shooting this movie later this year. [We have to] find a pocket in our schedules where we can actually make this movie and do right by it.”

The post Patrick Brice Talks ‘Creep 3’ in New Interview; “We Found an Idea We’re Really Excited About” appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Ed Helms, Jessica Williams and Demi Moore star.

In the film: “Disaster strikes when the egotistical CEO of an edible cutlery company leads her long-suffering staff on a corporate team-building trip in New Mexico. Trapped underground, this mismatched and disgruntled group must pull together to survive.”

Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, Mike Falbo, and Ed Helms produce.

The post ‘Creep’ Director’s Horror-Comedy ‘Corporate Animals’ Getting Summer Release from Screen Media appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“I think the violence and the gore came out of the subject matter,” director Patrick Brice told us.

“[Screenwriter ] Sam [Bain] is first and foremost a comedy writer, so thinking about the characters, thinking about the story was really our first intention in terms of laying groundwork in and then that stuff came in as window dressing as the script went on.”

For his part, Bain rejected the label “horror comedy.”

“Horror comedy doesn’t really [describe it],” Bain said. “I think it’s a black comedy with a corpse they eat.”

“It’s not meant to be a horror film or anything like that. It just felt like blood or violence to some degree was essential to the story but only in small doses.”

That said, when it comes to eating a human being, Brice went there. “That was pretty fucking gross,” Brice bragged. “We had whatever our set dressers initially set up for us and then we kept adding blood and intestines and body parts to it from that point on. It was something that we kept adding to. We only cut to it a couple times, but when we do, we want it to be effective.”

Jessica Williams takes a bite out of the arm on camera. While Williams was not available for an interview, her costar Karan Soni relayed what the arm was made out of.

“She said chocolate sauce and coconut [gelatin] but it was vegan,” Soni said. “I think she was pretty grossed out by it.”

Brice added, “Our hair and makeup person who did all our makeup but also created the arm for us, I think she tried to make it sound tastier to Jessica than it actually ended up being. But Jess really took one for the team.”

It only takes five days for the group to decide to eat the guide. Is that a little quick to resort to cannibalism?

“Or slow?” Bain asked right back. “Some audiences have been like, ‘Why’d you wait so long?’ Everyone was different but some people could never bear to do that. Some people would do it in a heartbeat. It just felt like I didn’t want that scene to be running too late in the film because it felt like a centerpiece defining scene in the movie. But also if it happens too quick then the desperation isn’t there.”

Cannibalism aside, just being trapped in a cave is scary enough for many people. The team built a cave for the set, and Soni recalls feeling the claustrophobia.

“We all started losing our minds actually because the cave had four walls and then they would lock us in there,” Soni said. “The walls were really, really high, and then if you had to go to the bathroom, these grips had to physically move these walls. So we really felt we were kind of just locked in this prison because video village was on the other side and all that stuff. Everyone started losing their minds a little bit so I think it was really good for the movie because we started just getting frustrated with each other. It was just doing the scenes over and over again, every morning coming back to that same cave and being like, ‘I just hate this cave.’ We all tried to find our spots where it was kind of comfortable to sit because there was not many. Then you’d just be like dammit, someone took the spot.”

So we know it’s bloody, but how disgusting is Corporate Animals? Well, Soni’s character vomits profusely at one point, and that’s when things got real messy (and gross) on set.

“It was a split pea soup concoction of some kind,” Soni recalled.

“Then we had a tube on one side that’s not facing camera that was attached. As they were pumping it out, it would kind of go all over so I had to kind of direct it with my mouth a little bit to keep it going. I don’t know if it actually had a smell or psychologically I just thought it smelled disgusting.”

“Something about the way the lighting hits that vomit always makes me happy when I’m watching it,” Brice added. “Also having the vomit go on for maybe two or three more shots than it probably should. If we’re going to go here, we might as well take it as far as we can.”

The post Cannibalism Makes Sundance Midnighter ‘Corporate Animals’ a Bloody Dark Comedy [Interview] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Moore plays Lucy Vanderton in the horror-comedy, a domineering boss who gets her staff trapped in a cave on a team-building exercise. The group turns to cannibalism, and Lucy advocates for more killing when they run out of food.

“It was totally energizing,” Moore told us at the film’s Sundance premiere. “I felt full the entire time.”

Screenwriter Sam Bain and director Patrick Brice also spoke with Bloody-Disgusting at the festival. Bain confirmed he was indeed playing off Moore’s ‘90s tough-gal persona.

“Obviously what she is known for, what she does brilliantly is play these super tough women,” Bain said. “That’s sort of her stock and trade in that ‘90s period. There is that part of Lucy but we just wanted to push it all the way to being a sort of potential murderer psycho, which I don’t think she has played. That felt like the fun part, pushing that character to the nth degree.”

“Demi has kind of an inherent sense of vulnerability still even when she’s playing one of these tough characters that I think makes her really interesting for that part as opposed to someone that could be more maybe just relentlessly one-note antagonistic the whole time,” Brice added

“She’s terrorizing all these people around her but we also needed to make it so that she felt like a real person at the same time.”

No matter how bad things get, Lucy will never accept any blame. Her team is stuck in a cave, they just ate someone, and yet she’s still trying to motivate them to work together.

“She’s an extreme narcissist,” Brice explained. “She’s incapable of self-reflection. She has all these traits that are related to what you’d call now toxic masculinity but we were applying that to this woman in power and seeing what that did.”

Moore was actually not the first choice for the role of Lucy. Brice originally cast another famous ‘90s dynamo, but now it’s hard to imagine anyone but Moore as Lucy.

“We’d initially cast Sharon Stone but there was a scheduling conflict and she ended up having to drop out,” Brice said.

“It was really close to us shooting the movie so it was also a huge testament to Demi as a person for just being brave enough to jump into a movie that was this off the wall, but also how talented she is that she was able to just inhabit that part immediately.”

Watch for distribution and release news as it comes in.

The post [Interview] Patrick Brice On Casting Demi Moore to Play a Murderous Cannibal in ‘Corporate Animals’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Now, Sundance announced they will hold the World Premiere for the film that stars Ed Helms (Tag, Vacation, We’re the Millers, The Hangover), Jessica Williams (Fantastic Beasts: The Crime of Grindelwald, The Incredible Jessica James) and even Demi Moore (The Seventh Sign, Parasite) who is pictured above.

In the film: “Disaster strikes when the egotistical CEO of an edible cutlery company leads her long-suffering staff on a corporate team-building trip in New Mexico. Trapped underground, this mismatched and disgruntled group must pull together to survive.”

Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, Mike Falbo, and Ed Helms produce.

Check out a new photo below:

The post Fresh Shot of Sundance’s ‘Corporate Animals,’ Ed Helms and Demi Moore appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Heading into Cannes, Bloody Disgusting learned that the film would possibly star Ed Helms (Tag, Vacation, We’re the Millers, The Hangover), and Jessica Williams (Fantastic Beasts: The Crime of Grindelwald, The Incredible Jessica James). Now, we’re hearing that Demi Moore (The Seventh Sign, Parasite) is replacing Sharon Stone (The Disaster Artist, Casino, Basic Instinct) in one of the main roles.

“Lucy (Moore) is the egotistical megalomaniac CEO of Incredible Edibles, America’s premier provider of edible cutlery. In her infinite wisdom, Lucy leads her staff including her long-suffering assistants, Freddie and Jess (Williams), on a corporate team-building caving weekend to New Mexico. When disaster strikes, not even their useless guide, Brandon (Helms), can save them. Trapped underground by a cave-in, this mismatched and disgruntled group must pull together in order to survive. Amidst sexual tension, startling business revelations and casual cannibalism, Freddie and Jess emerge from Lucy’s shadow. Hilarious and sometimes shocking, the laughs and gasps mount as these Corporate Animals are unleashed.”

Protagonist Pictures will be handling the film at Cannes.

The post Demi Moore Becomes One of the ‘Corporate Animals’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Heading into Cannes, Bloody Disgusting also learned that the film will star Sharon Stone (The Disaster Artist, Casino,Basic Instinct), Ed Helms (Tag, Vacation, We’re the Millers, The Hangover), and Jessica Williams (Fantastic Beasts: The Crime of Grindelwald, The Incredible Jessica James)!

“Lucy (Sharon Stone) is the egotistical megalomaniac CEO of Incredible Edibles, America’s premier provider of edible cutlery. In her infinite wisdom, Lucy leads her staff including her long-suffering assistants, Freddie and Jess (Jessica Williams), on a corporate team-building caving weekend to New Mexico. When disaster strikes, not even their useless guide, Brandon (Ed Helms), can save them. Trapped underground by a cave-in, this mismatched and disgruntled group must pull together in order to survive. Amidst sexual tension, startling business revelations and casual cannibalism, Freddie and Jess emerge from Lucy’s shadow. Hilarious and sometimes shocking, the laughs and gasps mount as these Corporate Animals are unleashed.”

Protagonist Pictures will be handling the film at Cannes.

The post ‘Creep’ Director’s ‘Corporate’ Retreat Goes Horribly Wrong! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Since that article, we’ve seen everything from a surprise sequel to the king of found-footage, Blair Witch, to Found Footage 3D, a loving parody of the sub-genre. While I definitely enjoyed several of these movies, I think it’s fair to say that none of them were innovative enough to truly change the way that we perceive this kind of film, even though they don’t necessarily have to be in order to be entertaining.

Nevertheless, a few weeks ago I watched Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass’s Creep 2, and after letting the film sink in for a bit, I’m now convinced that the cinematic holy grail of found-footage is much closer than I thought, and here’s why…

The first Creep was released back in 2014 to surprisingly positive reviews, and I’d rank it as one of the best found-footage flicks to come out of the past few years. The film’s simple yet fascinating take on boundaries and interpersonal relationships resonated with viewers, and since then Mr. PeachFuzz the supposedly “friendly” wolf has become something of a celebrity in the horror community. Although the movie has its fair share of flaws (with some segments dragging on a bit too long), the clever script and Duplass’ now-iconic performance reminded us that talent and creativity can overcome nearly any limitations when telling a compelling story.

Through several interviews with both Brice and Duplass, it was revealed that the simplicity of found-footage was what allowed them to take risks and experiment while crafting the movie that eventually became Creep. From improvised dialogue, alternate scenes and even different endings, the duo was able to pick and choose the best material to tell the story at hand, and resulting in a captivating thriller with only two characters and a single camera.

When Creep 2 was announced, I, like many others, was extremely skeptical. A lot of what made the first movie work depended on that surprise ending, and it seemed like the sequel was just going to rehash the first film’s premise minus the rising tension. However, when it finally came out, I was blown away by an incredibly self-aware story, mesmerizing characters and the overall creativity behind nearly every aspect of this simple yet elegant production.

Not only is Creep 2 one of my favorite movies of 2017, but if we’re lucky, it might also be the start of a shift in the way that filmmakers use found-footage to tell a story. This is one of those elusive cases where a movie simply would not be as interesting or as impactful had it been shot and edited like a traditional cinematic thriller, as the found-footage aesthetic is absolutely vital in conveying this story’s message.

The film is a groundbreaking achievement in minimalist filmmaking, and part of that is due to Brice’s understanding of how telling a good story with fewer tools and resources than usual should inherently require more effort in other departments to compensate, not less. By stripping away most modern filmmaking conventions and focusing on the two amazing leads, Creep 2 has more in common with a live stage show than a traditional horror movie, and that’s a good thing. This is one particular story that only benefits from the less-is-more approach, showing us only the most essential elements of the story, and stripping away the rest.

Of course, the found-footage aspect also lends the film a kind of intimacy with these characters, not to mention a heightened sense of believability. Despite what many moviegoers claim, realism isn’t necessarily as important to maintain the illusion of found-footage flicks as consistency. Most films in the genre falter by trying to make the footage as realistic as possible, with little regard to how much story is actually being told, and then later resort to “cheating,” by artificially telling us parts of the story that couldn’t be conveyed organically earlier. This is what turns the found-footage aesthetic into an obstacle rather than a tool for telling more unique stories.

This pre-occupation with realism only really ever worked with The Blair Witch Project, but that was before general audiences became aware of the trickery going on behind the scenes. There’s also the fact that the Blair Witch phenomena was more of a multi-media event, featuring complementary experiences and mythology that went way beyond the movie itself, resulting in a much broader and more sustainable suspension of disbelief.

Luckily for us, much like the first film, Creep 2 does things differently by being one of the rare Blair Witch Project successors that relishes in the home-movie aesthetic without being utterly consumed by it. The movie even incorporates the eventual compiling, editing and presentation of this footage into the plot itself. The story’s real strength lies in its compelling character interaction and disturbing subtext, with the found-footage aspect being a narrative tool instead of the film’s focus, which is really the direction that newer productions in this genre should be heading towards.

Surprisingly enough, my point here isn’t to just gush about how much I loved Creep 2 (though it’s likely that I’ll only ever stop when the third film in this planned trilogy finally comes out), but to state that the bar for found-footage movies has been raised, and it seems that us fans of the genre are at a cinematic crossroads. We can either continue on a path of mostly shallow and overtly familiar films, or be inspired by masters of the craft like Brice and Duplass. If other genre filmmakers are taking notes (and I certainly hope that they are), it’s only a matter of time before we see more creative and entertaining gems pop up in this vastly underestimated sub-genre.

After all, Sara loves her Juicy-Fruit, and we love our found-footage movies.

The post Why We Need More Found-Footage Like ‘Creep 2’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

So then, what’s the future of the series? Will Creep become a trilogy or have we seen the last of Peachfuzz? Speaking with Phantom Podcast Network, Brice revealed this week that he *hopes* to make Creep 3… though nothing is certain at this time.

“I can neither confirm nor deny [another sequel] at this point. But we’re definitely having conversations,” Brice told the podcast. “I’ve been thinking more and more about it. I like the idea of… Creep 2 is kind of our Evil Dead 2. It was kind of our chance to take a lot of the ideas and themes that we had going through the first movie and then playing on those towards a specific audience. Letting it be funnier.”

He continued, “I like the idea of, if we do a third movie, it being our Army of Darkness. Ya know. Going kind of off the rails. We’ll see.”

The post Patrick Brice Talks Potential ‘Creep 3’; Would Take Franchise “Off the Rails” appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Released onto VOD outlets this week, Patrick Brice’s Creep 2 (read our review) is a strange and wonderful sequel, managing to be as compelling and mysterious as the first film. Mark Duplass is back as “Josef,” now going under the name “Aaron,” and yes, he’s brought the Peachfuzz mask along with him.

Check out a clip from Creep 2 below, which takes a sinister (and NSFW) turn at the end!

In the film, presented by The Orchard…

“Creep 2 stars Desiree Akhavan as Sara, a video artist whose primary focus is creating intimacy with lonely men. After finding an ad online for “video work” she thinks she may have found the subject of her dreams. She drives to a remote house in the forest and meets a man (Duplass) claiming to be a serial killer. Unable to resist the chance to create a truly shocking piece of art, she agrees to spend the day with him, but discovers she may have dug herself a hole from which she cannot escape.”

Creep 2 was written by Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass.

The post [Exclusive] Peachfuzz is Back in ‘Creep 2’ Clip! appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

I’m of course referring to Creep, which stars Mark Duplass as a man who calls himself Josef. Brice himself plays Aaron, a videographer who arrives at Josef’s house on a mission to document, as he’s told by Josef, his new friend’s final days. Of course, Aaron quickly begins to realize that Josef isn’t who he says he is. He’s an insane crazy person.

And he makes Aaron his next victim.

The success of Creep, no doubt fueled by Duplass’ captivating performance as one of the most magnetic, awkward and disturbed serial killers to ever grace the screen, paved the way for Creep 2, released this week across VOD outlets. Brice again directed Duplass in the sequel, which sees the title character masquerading around as… Aaron.

Desiree Akhavan co-stars as Sara, a YouTuber who isn’t having much success with her channel. Her contribution to the web? She answers bizarre personal ads and films her subjects, exploring the lives and kinks of the world’s most interesting humans. As if by fate, Sara and “Aaron” come together… and you might be surprised where things go from there.

The most interesting element of Creep was that we weren’t quite sure what Josef’s motives were until literally the final scene, so you may be wondering if a sequel could possibly manage to be as compelling as the first film. After all, we know precisely who Josef/Aaron is at this point, so can we really be as invested in his whole act the second time around? Remarkably, Brice and Duplass make Creep 2 feel like a fresh new experience, thanks in large part to a vastly different dynamic between Josef and his new friend.

Rather than simply serving up another unwitting victim for Duplass’ character to play around with before killing, Creep 2 flips the script with Sara, a fascinating woman in her own right who’s maybe as interested in toying around with her latest subject as Aaron himself is. Hungry to achieve viral success with her web series, Sara is unafraid to put herself in harm’s way to get the footage she craves, making her the perfect friend for Aaron and he the perfect friend for her.

And Aaron has different goals this time around, cutting the act not long after meeting Sara and laying all his cards out on the table. He flat out tells Sara that he’s a prolific serial killer, asking her to film a documentary in the hopes that he can regain his passion for his “job” – this makes Creep 2 feel a bit like Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, which sure isn’t a bad thing. To his surprise, Sara is so on board with all of his madness (mostly because she doesn’t believe his stories, partly because she kinda loves this dude) that Aaron may genuinely be falling for her – or maybe he’s just buttering her up for the inevitable.

We know who Aaron is but we still have no idea what he’s going to do next. Or, for that matter, how his latest victim is going to react to any of it – Aaron’s cards may be laid out on the table, but Sara is a total mystery to us. And that’s the brilliance of Creep 2, which manages to be as mysterious, surprising and wholly unpredictable as the first film. That’s also the brilliance of Duplass’ performance; once again, he’s so charming that even though you’ve seen him slay two people, you can’t help but want to be his friend.

As horror fans, we often lament that new icons just aren’t being created here in the present day, but Creep and now Creep 2 make a pretty damn good, one-two punch case for Mark Duplass’ “creep” being a brand new horror icon for a brand new generation. He may not be a burnt up dream demon or an undead monster in a hockey mask, but “Josef/Aaron” may actually be the most downright interesting and altogether fascinating horror villain to ever get his own franchise. And Creep 2 is sure to leave you hungry for so much more of his particular brand of insanity.

Horror sequels are rarely this enjoyable.

The post [Review] ‘Creep 2’ is a Strange and Wonderful Sequel appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

While initially pegged as a trilogy, Brice revealed at the Telluride Horror Show that the films were pre-sold on one condition, that there be two sequels.

Meredith Borders led an interesting and fun Q&A with Brice, who informed the audience that Creep 3 is currently in development.

“Creep 2 stars Desiree Akhavan as Sara, a video artist whose primary focus is creating intimacy with lonely men. After finding an ad online for “video work” she thinks she may have found the subject of her dreams. She drives to a remote house in the forest and meets a man (Duplass) claiming to be a serial killer. Unable to resist the chance to create a truly shocking piece of art, she agrees to spend the day with him, but discovers she may have dug herself a hole from which she cannot escape.”

The post ‘Creep’ Director Confirms Trilogy at the Telluride Horror Show appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.