Spooky Season Favorite ‘Creep’ Returns to LA and Talks TV (REVIEW)
The fan-favorite production delights with this year’s crossover with the CBS series ‘Ghosts’
After taking two seasons off, JFI Productions’ Creep has returned to Los Angeles with Creep LA: Ghosts. This year, they’ve partnered with CBS to feature their television show, Ghosts. If you’re wondering how that works, well, you’re not alone, it was my biggest question going in.
That partnership manifests in two ways across two mansions in West Adams. The first is through a themed pre-show area in one of those mansions where you’ll spend some time waiting for the experience proper to start. I haven’t ever seen Ghosts, but it’s been made up to look like the bed and breakfast from the show. The theming here is on point and feels like a cozy B&B haunted by friendly ghosts. There’s not a ton to do, but it offers some solid photo ops if that’s your thing and is a nice way to wait for everything to get started.
The second way is through inspiration for the theme of the experience. Creep LA: Ghosts features a variety of ghostly stories throughout the second mansion. Each of the stories have something loosely to do with the afterlife whether it’s a seance, the aftermath of a heist, or a man mourning his wife. These are all classic Creep and alternate between spooky, weird, fun, and scary in equal measure. The individual stories work well enough, but it’s really a vibes-forward experience. That could be a problem for a lesser show, but, as per usual, the Creep LA vibes are excellent.
What helps set this edition apart is how site-specific it is. Previous shows have featured wonderful sets, but this is the first time that the show feels so finely tuned to the location. The mansion that the main experience takes place in screams haunted house. The layout is confusing and haunted; I was never quite sure where I was in the house and that disorientation helped set the mood. You’ll be in a basement one minute and then a bedroom the next. Sure, this house has a study. Why is there a ticket booth here? Where did the large and ornate-ish staircase come from? That type of stuff. It’s a ton of fun.
The team has pulled out a number of haunt-type gags this year. I don’t want to spoil any of them, obviously, but they’re well integrated into the experience and elicited genuine screams from the audience. It felt like a new twist for Creep, and they offer effective scares for the moments where they’re put to use.
What hasn’t changed much this year is the cast! Many of Creep’s standard players are back, which is always a nice thing to see. These folks understand the vibe that the show is going for and bring it every year. They allow it to easily change moods on the fly to let it move between silly and serious or spooky and scary over the runtime. .
These are all of the things that make Creep, Creep, and a Halloween favorite in LA. And after two Spooky Seasons off, it was exactly what I was looking for.
Creep LA: Ghosts runs through October 27 on select days in Los Angeles, CA. Tickets are $75.50.
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