REVIEW: ‘The Creep Tapes’ Season 3 Treads Familiar Ground In Pursuit of the Kill

When a horror series is episodic and follows a very specific formula for its main character, there’s potential for great episodes and clunkers all the same. The Creep Tapes Season 3, directed by Patrick Brice, doesn’t do much differently from the previous two seasons, but some episodes shine more than others. 

The Creep Tapes Season 3 throws us immediately into a new situation for our titular creep, played by Mark Duplass, whose name changes across the franchise. Episode 1, “Crystal,” forces the audience to spend time on a boat with the Creep (or Josef), who pretends to be an aging rockstar trying to revive his career by making a scandalous tape.

The situations that Josef places the audience in either switch between believable and requiring suspension of disbelief. Either way, this season manages to mostly maintain its charm with those sprinkles of dark humor that fans love from Duplass. 

Mark Duplass remains eerily great as Josef in The Creep Tapes Season 3.

The Creep Tapes Season 3 continues its anthology format, with Josef continuing his fun and games by pretending to be a different person for each victim. While this season ends with more insight into Josef’s past, it’s not nearly as strong of a season finale. Without spoiling the events, Episode 6, “Jody + Brie” focuses on close friends Jody and Brie, whose evening is disrupted by a surprise visit from a kid who’s new in town. The episode leaves you wanting more, and it lacks the delightfully bizarre energy of the previous two season finales. 

Although The Creep Tapes Season 3 doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary for this franchise, Duplass’ commitment to the performance of the Creep (or Josef) is a huge selling point. There’s charm and madness in his performance that sets him apart from your typical villain in a found footage film. Josef isn’t picky about the types of victims he chooses to film for his collection. And that’s what makes his modus operandi so frightening because his victim could be deserving or undeserving of some brand of terror.   

Guest stars keep things fresh, with Kate Siegel’s appearance being a particular high point this season.

Another positive aspect of The Creep Tapes Season 3, like the previous two, is the guest stars. Some of these stars are ones we’re familiar with in the horror world, and others we aren’t, whether that’s scream queen Kate Siegel, Nicholas Hamilton, Elliott Fullam, Ora Duplass, or James Earl. Out of all the guest stars, Kate Siegel’s episode is by far one of the best of the entire season. No matter the character she’s playing, she always pulls your attention because she’s incredibly magnetic. Her chemistry with Duplass also makes her episode a lot of fun. 

In terms of the individual stories being told throughout The Creep Tapes Season 3, there are certainly some highs and lows. Found footage is a hard sell, even for horror fans, and the season falls into some trappings that force people to suspend their disbelief.

Compared with previous seasons, it struggles to stand out despite its shining moments.

Unless you’re meant to believe all of the victims are incredibly airheaded, there’s no way that a person wouldn’t immediately sense danger in some of the situations that the season throws us into. It doesn’t take away from any enjoyment folks may have, but it does make for episodes where individual plots don’t always land.

As a whole, The Creep Tapes Season 3 is a satisfying and short venture into Josef’s world again. Duplass’s performance will carry horror fans through, even if they don’t love every episode. And you’ll certainly remember specific scenes between Siegel and Duplass for reasons. Though when you stack this season up against the previous seasons, it settles into familiar territory that doesn’t make it stand out. 

The Creep Tapes Season 3 premieres with two episodes on Shudder and AMC+ on September 15, 2026.