Fantastic Fest 2024: A Glimpse into The Creep Tapes
This article covers highlights from the annual genre film festival, Fantastic Fest, held in Austin, Texas.
On September 25th, attendees of Austin’s renowned Fantastic Fest were treated to an exclusive preview of The Creep Tapes, a forthcoming horror series on Shudder. This chilling narrative revolves around a serial killer who cunningly persuades his victims to record footage of their own murders. Indie filmmaker and horror enthusiast Mark Duplass stars in the series and has previously appeared in the two films that initiated this franchise. During the three episodes screened at the festival, Duplass showcased significant nudity, including an intimate slow zoom-in shot of his bare backside and full-frontal exposure. Following the screening, a Q&A session with Duplass and his long-time collaborator Patrick Brice sparked discussions about this bold artistic choice.
When asked if he insisted on appearing nude for the show, Duplass chuckled before sharing his perspective on male nudity in horror films. “I have strong feelings about it,” he stated. “The kind of nudity that resonates is not when someone is reluctant but rather when they embrace it despite knowing no one wants to see them naked.” He emphasized that such authenticity eliminates any sense of exploitation—except for Brice, whom he humorously claimed was fair game.
Brice chimed in regarding their creative decisions: “We’ve been focused on what new aspects we can reveal.”
Duplass expressed comfort with showcasing full-frontal nudity specifically because most viewers will watch it on standard-sized screens rather than large cinema displays: “It’s like we’re all sharing something here,” he remarked while gesturing toward the massive screen behind him.
A Surprise Screening Experience
The Creep Tapes made its debut during one of Fantastic Fest’s secret screenings—a unique event where audiences are seated without prior knowledge of what film or series they will view. This marked the fifth secret screening at this year’s festival following other notable presentations such as Jason Reitman’s comedy Saturday Night, Ali Abbasi’s biopic The Apprentice, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ thriller featuring Hugh Grant titled Heretic, and Michael Gracey’s innovative biopic experiment Better Man.
Exploring The Creep Franchise
At its core, The Creep franchise centers around a serial killer (played by Duplass) who adopts various aliases while maintaining a complex relationship with a menacing werewolf mask known as Peachfuzz—a detail unveiled in earlier installments. Shot using found-footage techniques where characters operate handheld cameras themselves, this new series delves deeper into Peachfuzz’s origins while introducing fresh victims for torment.
Reflecting on their journey together during the Q&A session, Brice shared how Creep was his first project post-film school: “I never imagined anyone would actually watch it.” He expressed gratitude for revisiting this creative endeavor which rekindles memories from childhood filmmaking experiences using his mother’s High-8 camera alongside friends.
Duplass echoed these sentiments: “This is reminiscent of what my brother Jay and I did growing up in New Orleans—now I just get to do it with gray hair! It feels incredible.”
When questioned about returning to The Creep franchise after some time away from it all, Duplass quipped that perhaps audiences need more heroes like his character—even if he’s technically a villain: “He really is such a good guy,” he joked lightheartedly.
Liberation Through Creativity
Describing how liberating playing such an unconventional character can be compared to previous roles filled with nuance and restraint due to larger productions’ expectations; Duplass noted how refreshing it felt not having those constraints while filming The Creep Tapes. He contrasted working on high-budget shows like The Morning Show, which involves extensive crews and meticulous planning against their small-scale production style where creativity thrives among just five or six crew members living together during shoots—allowing spontaneous scene development over shared meals each day.
Mark your calendars! Season 1 of The Creep Tapes premieres exclusively on Shudder and AMC+ starting November 15th. Viewers can expect two episodes released simultaneously followed by weekly episode drops thereafter. For those eager for more content related to this chilling saga before then,CreepandCreep 2 are currently available for streaming via Netflix or digital rental platforms like Amazon Video or Apple TV among others.
Student at Government College of Engineering Kolkata and an enthusiastic Journalist. Follows Topics such as Indian Politics, Gaming, Anime, etc. Click on the bell icon for more news and opinions from Srijan.
