Talk:The Strangest Security Tape I've Ever Seen/@comment-26054278-20160426015844

Let's quickly establish that I'm not going to make the "repetition" joke that nearly all the people who have commented on this story have made. It has, surprisingly, gotten repetitive (and yes, I do see the irony in this situation).

Regardless, is this (kind of well-known) Creepypasta worthy of the "PotM" title and all the praise supporting it? In my opinion, yes. It isn't too often that I find myself agreeing with the majority, but here I can assuredly understand why some might regard this pasta so highly.

The build-up throughout this whole story is genuinely magnificent. In fact, I really love the way the story plays out (up until the ending, but I'll address that when that approaches) with small clues and hints at what is truly going on.

Perhaps the reason a reader can stay so invested is because of how the protagonist reacts to the odd occurrences around him. Yes, the main character is a little lazy and not exactly a great person, yet I still find him a decent enough protagonist due to him sharing the confusion and lack of understanding with us. Due to this, we can sympathize with him and get invested in what is going to happen with both him and the mystery.

When the protagonist freaks out and swears after seeing the time loop, he shares that sentiment with us. If we were in his situation, we might feel the exact same way. The more we can put ourselves into the character's shoes while still feeling that this character has their own identity, the more we can relate to them (if that, of course, is the intended purpose of the author). Therefore, the character development in this piece is actually quite strong.

To rewind back to the point on the writing, I must say that the pacing is done equally as well. Everything seems to flow smoothly from action to action. Sure, the ending is a tiny bit rushed (and I'll go into more depth on the ending in a moment), but I can overlook it in exchange for the bigger picture, and as far as the bigger picture goes, the pacing is rather impressive.

The end of the pasta is the largest source of debate for most people. Some love it, while others seem to view it as a cop-out and despise it. I personally don't adore it, but I still like it and admire it for creativity (well, creativity until this trope started to just get overused to hell). It didn't blow my mind or do anything extremely exceptional, but the idea is one that just slowly lingers in your mind and sticks with you; becoming increasingly disturbing the more one puts thought into it.

Speaking of disturbing, the vague identity of Jeremy makes him an intriguing antagonist to me. We don't know his exact intentions or what he is doing, but we know just enough to speculate and still find some fear in him. I would have liked to have been slightly more scared by him, but I'll take what I can get.

My main problem with this Creepypasta is that the whole backstory about the fire seems forced. For a story with otherwise brilliant pacing, this section about the fire and Jeremy seems pretty tacked in. This whole thing about how they never caught the person who was responsible for the arson and how an entire family died comes across as weak and not very original for a story with many other unique ideas.

However, that element doesn't distract from an, otherwise, excellent story. I read it a long time ago and it was always one of my old favorites, and while I don't believe it to be the "10/10" masterpiece I used to consider it as, I'd still say that it certainly holds up nicely. 8.5/10.

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