"The Creep Tapes" Season 1, Episode 5 markedly diverges from its predecessors in the series. Instead of commencing with the plight of a victim, the episode unfolds with Kyle (played by Mark Duplass) serenading himself while embedding axes into a hotel room. He then settles into a chair, initiating a monologue into his personal camera about codependency, only to be abruptly distracted by a movement within the body bag positioned behind him. To his astonishment, he discovers the Peachfuzz wolf mask nestled inside, revealing that the codependency in question is an intricate dance between him and the Peachfuzz persona. In a dramatic gesture, Kyle proceeds to hurl the mask out of the hotel room door.
Navigating the complexities of this scenario is somewhat of a conundrum and could pose significant challenges in narrating. For clarity's sake, I shall continue to address Duplass's character in this episode as Kyle (consistent with the pseudonyms I've employed to denote him in earlier installments), and I shall refer to the wolf mask as Peachfuzz (a moniker derived from the protagonist's alias in the "Creep" franchise).
I can't recall any prior hints suggesting such a profound schism within the central character of the "Creep" universe, as evidenced in "The Creep Tapes" Season 1, Episode 5. A bulk of the episode unfolds as a contentious dialogue between Kyle and Peachfuzz, which I perceive as transpiring within the character's psyche. Despite witnessing the mask perched atop another figure's head after Kyle orders from PF Chang's, every clue suggests that he is solitary within that hotel confines. We're grappling with either hallucinations or the possibility that the Peachfuzz mask is an otherworldly entity. The choice is yours.
This ambiguity, coupled with the hotel room milieu, evoked comparisons to "Room 104" throughout the runtime of "Brandt." Intriguingly, the episode declines to reveal the room number upon Brandt's (played by Scott Pitts) eventual arrival in its climactic scenes. I wonder if Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice pondered incorporating that detail.
The core conflict in "Brandt" barely touches upon Brandt himself, except for the circumstance that he arrives woodland-late to his hotel room. Instead, the crux revolves around Kyle's desire to carry out the murder sans Peachfuzz's assistance, which inflames Peachfuzz to no end. As I decipher this narrative, it seems deeply entrenched within our protagonist's psyche, rendering a blow-by-blow account of the spat between Kyle and Peachfuzz somewhat redundant. What truly captivates is the lead character's perception within the "Creep" franchise, viewing the wolf mask as a co-conspirator, an interpretation that had never crossed my mind before, leaving me uncertain of my sentiments towards it.
Upon Brandt's eventual arrival, Peachfuzz has Kyle ostensibly trussed up in the shower. However, it becomes evident that his bonds are merely a ruse, leading to a minor mystery about how the water faucet operates intermittently. Regardless, Kyle extricates himself from the tub to answer the door. He instructs Brandt to count to three before entering, and subsequently, clad in a bathrobe and donning the wolf mask, hurls an axe into Brandt's visage.
Regardless of my feelings towards the remainder of the episode, its climax renders it unforgettable. Apparently, Kyle and Peachfuzz have mended fences, yet that's not what delights me. Instead, it's the episode's structure—its tantalizing withholding of the victim until a swift, brutal conclusion—that thrills. Kyle was eager to get to know Brandt, but ultimately, it was a meeting that never transpired, nor did we ever get to know Brandt ourselves. He was simply too tardy for such acquaintanceships.
