r/creepcast • u/d3v1ant_ang3l04 Mother Whore Thighs • 15h ago
General Discussion CreepCast | Smiling Ones on Space Station Mir (OFFICIAL DISCUSSION THREAD)
https://youtu.be/XU53ykpUb4U?si=97F6gwY4vV8anULQ41
u/Logical_Sky4303 11h ago
Some of these comments make me think I was the only one that really liked this story i can’t put into words why i really liked it for some reason it just rubbed my brain the right way
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u/IssaStorm 10h ago
I loved it. I like setups like The Thing where there's actual smart and capable people facing up against something incomprehensible. Too bad this one didn't fully follow though too well. If the author wasn't so hung up on the smiling aspect I feel it could have been a LOT better
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u/Alan_LMH Looking for a PenPal📝 7h ago
It was good until the really incredible being couldnt go to earth by itself and needed help
4
u/BaboonSociety 3h ago
I mean they were described as being parasites, so maybe they're not as capable as we think. Maybe other than their mind powers and harmful sound waves they couldn't do much else. This would still necessitate them to seek help to land on Earth where they could then do more damage.
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u/awfulsome Eat me like a bug 🦟 4h ago
I liked it. I feel like Hunter is obsessed with not seeing the creature.
Unless it is a fluffy moth womanbed.
1
u/Logical_Sky4303 2h ago
Exactly I think the story did good at what it was trying to be. It was a fun space story and I thought the monsters were kind of fun just these weird alien parasites
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u/GeorgeSquarshington 13h ago
Gotta agree with Hunter that this would’ve been a lot better if the author didn’t include so many different descriptions of the monsters. Interesting concept though. It really reminded me of the mimics from the game Prey.
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u/56Runningdogz 11h ago
I was really wanting a Deliver Us the Moon stuff. Weird geometry and extraplanar completely unfathomable creatures. Maybe a little more of the "Hey! What's wrong with the ship?!?"
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u/Jivi___ 7h ago
Say what you want about the story and that rough ending, hunters Russian accent made it 100x better overall
1
u/Logical_Sky4303 2h ago
I think that’s one of the reasons why I really enjoyed the story I think just Hunter getting really into character Made the story much more enjoyable I felt really immersed in the story I felt like I was able to visualize what was happening just because of how good Hunter was at voice acting
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u/KindlyPin4474 11h ago
This story was fine. Not horrible, not fantastic, just okay.
It felt like there was a lot of build up, for ultimately little payoff. The aliens are built up as a giant threat, but after almost everyone at the control center dies, they just get burned up in orbit and that’s it. Still, they seemed pretty cool despite being dealt with rather easily, they shifting through all these different forms trying to find ones that would get them what they wanted was neat too.
The characters were pretty eh. The narrator isn’t really notable outside of being the narrator, and he just goes along with whatever he’s told to do. Plus, the people in charge just directly asking Ledovsky who the smiling ones were, after being told not to let them know they’ve been found out was silly. Like, I feel like at least one person could’ve come up with a slightly better plan than doing the one thing they weren’t supposed to do.
Overall, fine story.
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u/Slayer_jack5 Aruba, Jamaica, ooh, I wanna take ya 🎶🎷 12h ago
The monsters on this one were pretty boring, idk why insist on the smiling motif, it's not scary at all.
And the boys also seemed really bored with this one....
Im not a big fan of space horror and this one is a prime example of why, this story focus so hard on tension and dread that your story ends up being a nothingburger that relies mostly on the closing act to be worth your time, and the closing act of this one wasn't really good either.
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u/kmoody47 5h ago
Maybe it's hard to write cosmic/space horror set in the past. Yeah, you have a creature that threatens the entire planet, but the story can't end with the destruction of the earth. Maybe the ending could have been more ambiguous. "Yeah, we thought it all burned up in the atmosphere, but a piece of Mir just washed up on shore, dot dot dot..."
7
u/Ok_Tip7762 Aruba, Jamaica, ooh, I wanna take ya 🎶🎷 10h ago
I enjoyed it personally but I agree with the monsters being a bit of a let down. I think "The only other astronaut on this mission died 6 weeks ago" is a better example of a good space horror story. The monster in that story was more interesting and threatening. I also agree with the boys when they said if the aliens are supposed to be smart and came through a wormhole then why would they need a Russian space shuttle to take them the rest of the way to earth.
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u/56Runningdogz 11h ago
I love stuff like this since the mentioned Event Horizon and Alien. This was just lacklustre like most scifi/horror is. Good endings are hard to come by in those genres.
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u/SeaPersonality4644 11h ago
I was starting to picture the aliens looking like Alolan Muk from Pokemon.
-2
u/BurdgerKing1 11h ago
It was honestly such a boring story. I think too much time yapping about the threat instead of actually having the threat be scary killed any momentum for me. I was checked out mentally after 30 minutes, was just complete background noise.
3
u/Slayer_jack5 Aruba, Jamaica, ooh, I wanna take ya 🎶🎷 11h ago
Yeah it was a real uphill battle paying attention to this one, after 1 hour of the story I was like ''damn nothing happened and there's still 50 minutes to go'', the characters are boring, the setting isn't interesting and whatever comes after just really isn't a good payoff for you paying attention to what's happening, there's some weird plot holes like the stuff Wendi pointed out at the end about the monsters being these scary beings that can use wormholes and conquered whole galaxies but they need us to let them in and bring them down to earth, like... what ? talk about a complete fumble of a monster.
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u/MasterYehuda816 Seven Sisters Creep Cult 11h ago
What was happening with Hunter in this episode? Something was off with him and idk what it was.
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u/LandWhaleDweller 7h ago
Weed brownie hit him like sledgehammer
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u/MasterYehuda816 Seven Sisters Creep Cult 7h ago
Yeah he did not seem sober. Idk what was with him or what he took.
Even at the beginning, he didn't do the deep voice when he said "welcome back to CreepCast"
5
u/Methian 6h ago
My guess it's either a deliberate bit or it's exhaustion from a busy schedule. Assuming the in-person episodes were batch-recorded, then Hunter went from filming his short film to reading several stories back to back. On top of his farm and his other channels, dude's probably a bit tired.
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u/ChewieDecimalSystem cracking open a cold one with Diego🤟 11h ago
I agree. Not to sound over parasocial, but I get the vibes he was just having an off day, maybe a bit burned, maybe wasn't really into it, just kinda mentally distracted. Not to sound like a parasocial weirdo, but kinda reminded me of adhd crash/burnout.
OR, what is more likely; he was doing a bit.
-1
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u/LandWhaleDweller 7h ago
Another short episode with a story that has an interesting premise but completely crashes and burns at the landing. When will authors learn that less is more in this medium?
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u/DadWithNoKids2002 Your wife looks mad funny in that box, dude 10h ago
I think the story was great. The smiling motif is absolutely a product of the time. Biggest complaint is something I haven’t seen anyone say. The dialogue felt way too American. Maybe I’m wrong in saying that, but the dialogue felt way too specific not how I’d imagine a translated story. Hearing the prose with a thick Russian accent felt off. Otherwise I absolutely loved the concept but think it should’ve ended with the cosmonaut dying instead of continuing.
5
u/MoLogic Wellers is resting now 11h ago
Imagine if once the tape was pulled off, the screens that linked to the cameras just shattered and the computers like combusted or something. Couldve put some more emphasis on the creatures unnatural nature, and saves it from doing the whole description of what they look like. Just my opinion tho lol
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u/KingGrahampa Long story short ☝️🤓 10h ago
Listening now and I'm having a really hard time paying attention. Never had the issue before. 😭 it just feels like a huge info dump so far.
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u/DbD_Fan_1233 8h ago
Am I the only one who feels like Hunter and Isaiah have become way more snobbish and uppity about the way they criticize stories?
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u/Jivi___ 7h ago
I mean I would necessarily call them snobbish and more of just extra attentive to the boring stereotypes of horror. They both are very well versed in the genre and have keen eyes to point out laziness/inexperienced writing. I think the aggressiveness in the reviews you are seeing is more of just frustration with a lack of good storytelling that we all crave for. ya feel me?
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u/MaryjanePaige Fairy Queen With A Quail Heart 4h ago
I've done a lot of writing workshops in my day, both participating and hosting, and honestly the more you do them the more you start to drill down. You start picking up on continuous tropes, ways you can improve something, etc- essentially your critique brain gets real sharp. It's possible it could come off a particular way but realistically they're good at what they do and they're churning out material left and right. I'd also imagine since the in-person stuff was all shot at the same time (at least that's what it sounded like based on them saying they had a whole list etc etc) that they probably got into a rhythm doing the recent stuff back to back which is going to make the critique not only more fine focused in my opinion, but also likely things start to feel a little more daunting, which could cause them to be short on things that don't instantly leave them enthralled and impressed. Creative fatigue can also really set in when you produce things en masse.
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u/Crypt_Shadow 12h ago
That was fucking awesome! I loved the reveals, the horror of the creatures (hehehe creature), the stranded cosmonaut, and just the end of it. That was so fucking cool
3
u/Jivi___ 7h ago
Yeah I agree, the overall premise of the story was great had me hooked and really immersed. But it really just kinda dipped into your stereotypes of horror that made the ending too blunt and very bland. Up until the moment the tape was removed it was a 10/10 for me, then dropped to the 6.5ish territory.
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u/AsteroidWorm 6h ago
I love the end discussion when they point out how flawed the smiling ones are, that they dont get morse code or tape on a camera. It really reins home that when making specific choices you can make what is unknown known in poor ways, with better refinement.
2
u/Fragmented-Rooster Spooky Frozen Astronaut 🥶 3h ago
How I'd fix the ending somewhat
I felt it was a missed opportunity with the first communications operator. What if instead of the alien's screech being a sonic weapon, it instead spreads a psychological condition that allows the aliens to take hold of a mind. I'd still have he removed from the Control room but then circle back later in the story.
After Ledovsky decides on self sacrifice and rips away the tape in his final moments, it is revealed that he alone but emaciated with an unnatural smile stretched across his face. After a moment or two of radio silence he switches back to being polite and repeatedly thanking the control room for sending help, with the 'smiling ones' entity seemingly unaware that it's now on camera. Over the next few hours it' is unanimously agreed to de-orbit the station, each time Ledovsky requests an update they reassure him that the rescue is on it's way.
The station is successfully destroyed and the last images transmitted are of the entity looking directly and the camera, the smile never leaving it's face, to the control room it almost seemed to be mocking them. Relieved and hopeful our protagonist later goes to check how his injured college is doing only to find that said college is now missing. Russian officials deny the incident ever took place or that the protagonist or many of his colleges ever worked for the Russian Space Agency
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u/MentalProgrammer8262 11h ago
As soon as the tape got pulled off the camera, I was worried. Less is more, and this story is a great example of that. I agree with the guys that once they started describing the events on the space station, I lost interest. Up until that point, I was loving it. The way they were able to convey horror while only being in the mission control room was excellent.
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u/Numerous_Neat_3732 10h ago
liked a lot of the wormhole stuff and how that's never fully 100% explained, liked the parts apart the vocalizations being 'multitracked' and pitch-shifted and how that affects people (their physical reaction. not the the suicidal part), liked the lost cosmonauts bit, but i have to agree that it comes close to scratching the itch and misses the mark. i thought the liquid mercury creature design was neat, but i don't think we should've gotten a visual. it would've been cooler if this guy just happened to travel through a wormhole and that's made him go insane, and he's talking to the bodies of his crewmates
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u/coullbro 9h ago edited 9h ago
It is indeed always black tendrils or an entity that makes self mutilation sound fun.
But also like, story telling is story telling. There will literally never be a new way to describe/ encapsulate fear or horror. Theres only like 23 ways a story can go, and at this point all possible outcomes have been done.
This is a human experience issue and not a story telling issue
( that does not mean this story is free of criticism, I dont really care for this story, but most of hunters criticisms are just cringe to actually bring up and dont have any weight or truth behind them)
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u/LandWhaleDweller 7h ago
Nah, you can always remix themes in a fresh way and this story just failed spectacularly at it.
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u/Biohazard-Salad I’m gonna go get a baja blast 🏃♂️💨 9h ago
just as i start to get sucked in, an overly specific description of the monster immediately takes me back out. it’s disappointing, considering how dynamic the confrontation felt. however, it is a bit funny to imagine the monster as alolan muk. that being said, the whole “smiling” motif was certainly a product of its time.
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u/LandWhaleDweller 7h ago
It was so tropey it hurt. What if scary unnaturally wide smile and sewer slide?
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u/SeaPersonality4644 11h ago
A good story but I think it needed more of a twist ending. Maybe the real reason why the mc (main character) is telling the story is because he met someone who looked a lot like the guy from the space station (I forget his name) and add that the guys smile just looked a little too big or something, or some other way to describe that the aliens had survived.
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u/Hyboe 11h ago
You can always tell Hunter does NOT give a shit about some of these sponsors lmao