Kara Gray Ramirez explains how Creep’s Mark Duplass is the horror equivalent of Michael Scott from The Office!
Mark Duplass is generally known for his comedic acting roles, so when he was cast as an unpredictable weirdo in Patrick Brice’s directorial debut ‘Creep’ in 2014, audiences were curious to see how it would play out. Brice himself plays Aaron Franklin alongside Duplass, as a videographer looking to make a quick thousand bucks. Duplass is the strange man named Josef (aka Peachfuzz) who hired him to film a day in his life for his unborn child “Buddy” before he dies from a brain tumor; all of which is completely fabricated to get Aaron to trust him.
As Aaron films, Josef exhibits increasingly concerning behavior with constant white lies, jump scares, cringe song and dance numbers, a very peculiar wolf mask and oversharing disturbing details about his personal life. He tries uncomfortably hard to impress Aaron and win his attention and friendship. I recall my dad cringing at Duplass and his character saying to me upon our initial viewing: “Man, he is so tough to watch and so awkward. He is like the Michael Scott of horror.” This comparison could not be more dead on to what makes Duplass so deeply unsettling in this role, and that is what makes his character seem so familiar. I don’t recall another character making me feel that uncomfortable since the ‘Scott’s Tots’ episode of ‘The Office.’
Like Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) of ‘The Office’ Josef uses a very cartoonish and theatrical approach to gain attention, while rarely considering the feelings of anyone else. When he first revealed the strange wolf mask he apparently keeps in his closet, he transforms into the persona “Peachfuzz.” Watching his ‘wolf’ performance is peak cringe, yet you find yourself captivated by his lack of awareness. Their desperate and constant need for personal connection outweighs any social boundaries with a complete lack of tact and consideration for others.
The main difference that separates the characters is their intent. Michael Scott is searching for actual love and friendship, and is generally quite naïve to his blunders, while Peachfuzz plays coy to gain trust through the guise of friendship, when he is looking simply for control and violence. When it becomes clear he is a serial killer and has videotaped all of his victims, audiences crossed their fingers and hoped we would get to see more of his awkward blunders and violent encounters in a sequel.
Luckily ‘Creep’ was very successful and spawned a sequel ‘Creep 2’ in 2017, and a show ‘The Creep Tapes’ on Shudder in 2024, with each episode a ‘videotape’ focusing on a different victim and the insane theatrics Mark Duplass puts them through before ending their life for his amusement. The show works beautifully because it turns up the antics to a new high and the viewer reaches maximum second-hand embarrassment within 19-27 minutes. It is satisfying to see Patrick Brice reveal the contents of the cabinet full of snuff movies shown in the first film. Each episode is a flavor of the week victim that Duplass plays cat and mouse with in absurd fashion. One of the very first episodes is deeply Michael Scott coded as Peachfuzz intentionally orchestrates an encounter with a victim by falling dramatically from a parachute. This episode is reminiscent of the Season 3 ‘Safety Training’ episode of ‘The Office’ where Michael fakes a suicide attempt to illustrate the “dangers of office depression,” and threatens to jump from the office building to make a point in a debate with his employees. Major, theatrical events are made out of minor happenings with these characters so much so, you would think Peachfuzz is Michael’s younger brother.
The second film is the first time we see Peachfuzz get intimidated by his victim, and we see a role reversal. ‘Creep 2’ follows a videographer named Sara looking for strange content for her web series. She gets lured into filming Duplass who is going now by “Aaron,” the name of his victim in the first film. Unfortunately for ‘Aaron’, Sara is not easily scared or intimidated, and she gladly welcomes his eccentric behavior with open arms. Sara’s connection to Peachfuzz perplexes and overwhelms him, and for a while you believe he has met his match. Sara shuts down his antics faster than Ryan denies Michael’s creepy compliments. After the film’s conclusion and the introduction to the series ‘The Creep Tapes,’ you can see Peachfuzz has yet to find someone at his level of menace.
The ‘Creep’ series has managed to make a huge name for itself in the found footage genre. The first film was so good it almostseemed like a happy accident. Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass have carefully crafted the Peachfuzz character with such entertaining banter, audiences cannot look away from his bullshit. Characters like Michael Scott and Peachfuzz make a lasting impression because they both live so blissfully in their own version of reality where they are always the main character in everyone’s story.
Meet Kara!
Kara Gray Ramirez is a proud wife and mama, as well as a writer and horror fanatic.
Since falling in love with All Hallows Eve in 2013, Kara has built a substantial Art the Clown collection. In 2025 and 2026 Kara wrote for Dread Central.
She previously worked in the animal industry for 7 years as well, and loves cats, as well as playing bass and singing.
You can follow her on Instagram at @Karuh13, on X at @karagrayramirez and check out her Letterboxd profile here.
