The Poughkeepsie Tapes

1627-poster
release date November 30 2008
studio MGM
director John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle
writer John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle
starring Stacy Chbosky, Ben Messmer, Samantha Robson
site poughkeepsietapes.com
trailer 1 Trailer #1

49 comments

  1. Avatar of jaykhunter
    Posted By jaykhunter on January 25, 2009 @ 10:13 pm

    Film : The Poughkeepsie Tapes
    Original Language : English
    Directors/Writers : John Erick & Drew Dowdle
    Duration : 1hr 24 mins
    Year : 2007 (2008 DVD Release)
    Style : Documentary, which includes interviews and re-enactments, and splices of the tapes in question
    Cast : Stacy Chbosky as Cheryl Dempsey (main victim) (apparently she’s in Quarantine), non-famous actors.
    Mindset : Reality

    Plot : In the late 90s, a very clever and sick serial killer terrorised some small towns in New York, mostly in a town called Poughkeepsie. The police never find the killer, but they found over 800 videotapes – the killer recorded his stalkings, abuse and killings on tape. This is a documentary of this serial killer’s story.

    Characters : FBI profilers, Field Agents, Police officers, a pathologist, victim’s loved ones – everyone you’d expect to be dealing with a serial killer case.

    Plot Progression : The documentary is divided up into stages, from initial murders, missing people, as the police try to track down the killer, littered with FBI profiler’s analyses of the killer and input from other people. Kept at a good pace.

    Originality: This “film” reminds me SO MUCH of any forensic shows on Living TV etc. eg Forensic Detectives. The production values are so piss-poor – terrible quality of footage, sloppy editing, ugly/boring people giving their POV – it all smacks of Living TV! You can’t help but be sucked in to believing that this film is real, that it’s a documentary on a real killer, and not a film. This this reason, and that I haven’t seen anything recently like this, I’d say it’s quite original. Good job!

    Age rating : What’s the age rating of the Living TV stuff? There’s not much blood, but the content is very morbid. So 15s.

    Mindset : We listen to detectives etc speak about the killer’s atrocities and crime scenes etc, as the story unfolds. This is set in reality, deadly serious, punctuated by splices of the ‘horrific’ scenes from the tapes.

    Plot devices : There’s no cheap ways out, besides the obvious! It’s just a straight-forward documentary on a serial killer. Unfortunately, two things do stop suspension of disbelief – the 911 call (which I suppose would be ok if the family allowed it) but really, it was when

    ***SPOILER ALERT!!***

    when the slave girl slit the throat of a hooker. It looked so God-damn fake. I would give out that, given a sharp metal object, the girl captive would’ve tried to kill her captor, but it does make sense in the end.

    Good parts :
    A fantastic story point was the interview with Cheryl, and the aftermath. It seemed eerily real. The whole Cheryl story was very good, actually.
    One of the torture scenes where the girl is contorted while tied up is pretty sick. And when the guy is shouting at the hooker to burst the balloon is unnerving. Good job!

    ***END OF SPOILER ALERT***

    Budget : Cheap as friggin’ chips. And not many chips. I’ve you’ve ever seen Crime Scene Investigators or Investigation of a Crime Scene or Forensic Detectives – it’s just like that. Except a lot of it seems to be shot in the bloody 70s. Cheap, cheap, cheap. It really lends to a more credible film. A director couldn’t possibly trod out stuff in such shit quality, could he? Suspension of disbelief is strengthened!

    Special Effects : Are you having a laugh? Besides what’s mentioned in the spoiler section, no. Holy God this couldn’t be more indie.

    Overall : This film looks like it was made 30 or so years ago. It’s bush-league production really lends credence to the whole film. I enjoyed watching the film start to finish, and by the end, had me wondering if it was real – straight on the internet for me! Besides a few minor details, it really could be taken as kayfabe (i.e. real). I quite enjoyed it but I reckon a lot of horror fans would see it as a load of toss.

    Jay’s Verdict : Enjoyable, would recommend if you want your horror a bit different.

  2. Avatar of Slaser-Maniac
    Posted By Slaser-Maniac on January 27, 2009 @ 1:55 am

    One of the best documentary on how a killer takes woman and children. The killer makes his vitoms do horrible stuff such as a girl in one scene was forced to slit another girls throut and were he made a girl dress up in a suit of some kind and make her call him master. I don’t even think they caught the killer in the movie( i dont think). The movie had some jumpy scenes and sometimes you can’t see whats going on because all the kills are on a camcorder. it was a good movie. See it

  3. Avatar of mode7overworld
    Posted By mode7overworld on March 17, 2009 @ 1:45 am

    Great concept undermined by lots of bad acting. It’s difficult to suspend disbelief and become involved in the premise when the actors continuously remind you that you’re watching a complete fabrication. The last kill is genuinely shocking, but it’s just a reminder that the rest of the movie fails so thoroughly to deliver anything involving.

  4. Avatar of pradakirb
    Posted By pradakirb on March 31, 2009 @ 3:13 am

    This was probably one of the greatest indie-horror movie I have ever seen since The Blair Witch Project. Not only is it scary, but it’s twisted, sadistic, and chilling. It was great but the acting could have been a little better. Overall, it was great.

  5. Avatar of Bloodymuffins
    Posted By Bloodymuffins on April 13, 2009 @ 9:18 pm

    Pretty solid movie. I thought that they did the documentary aspect of it pretty well and the found footage looked quite authentic. I really enjoyed this one. It was dark, twisted, and based in reality. Only downside was that it was not as scary or shocking as I thought it would be but do not let that keep you from seeing it. It is still worth your time.

  6. Avatar of blairwitchasylum
    Posted By blairwitchasylum on April 14, 2009 @ 3:29 pm

    I loved this movie, fantastic plot and the Cheryl Dempsey story was so creepy, her interview was so unnerving and her suicide note

  7. Avatar of cjr83
    Posted By cjr83 on April 19, 2009 @ 12:48 pm

    not only my favourite horror movie ever but my favourite movie ever the story is so good and this is the most messed up and legitimately scary movie i have ever seen

  8. Avatar of marsdreamjunky
    Posted By marsdreamjunky on May 16, 2009 @ 4:09 am

    a VERY VERY creepy and unsettling film. i liked it a lot, it was very low budget, but they did a great job. the only thing that bugged me was some of the acting, which was atrocious. other than this it’s a great film. they might as well dump it to dvd already, since it’s been leaked on the net for quite some times now.

  9. Avatar of choralone
    Posted By choralone on May 24, 2009 @ 2:50 am

    slightly better acting really could have saved this film i think.
    otherwise with the general creepy feeling from beginning to end and the realistic approach to a fake serial killer documentary i can easily say that this one rocks and worth the time spent watching it

  10. Avatar of MKultra138
    Posted By MKultra138 on May 24, 2009 @ 4:11 am

    I recently watched this film online. It was actually the first horror film in a long time to creep me out. The only downside to this was the running time. It could’ve been about twenty minutes longer.

  11. Avatar of morganbeatty1195
    Posted By morganbeatty1195 on May 31, 2009 @ 11:54 am

    all that was real so stop being dumb and saying stupid stuff like that

  12. Avatar of MrBitch
    Posted By MrBitch on July 25, 2009 @ 12:38 pm

    Wow. What an excellent, powerful, disturbing, intelligent and different film this is. Such a shame that a gem like this never breaks through into mainstream cinema. This is a must see horror/thriller.

  13. Avatar of nikolaibossman
    Posted By nikolaibossman on July 29, 2009 @ 4:01 am

    Very creepy movie, I heard this was a mock documentary, but it had me guessing by the end. I had to google to know for sure. Definitely worth a watch. Get a hold of it any way you can, even if by illegal download if that’s what it takes. You won’t be dissapointed.

  14. Avatar of Ykai
    Posted By Ykai on July 29, 2009 @ 3:48 pm

    Anyone know if this is or will be out on DVD? The “official website” is closed….

  15. Avatar of Slasher17
    Posted By Slasher17 on July 29, 2009 @ 6:30 pm

    This movie is a little creepy, I’ll give it that. Its not violent enough though. Its rated R for “sadistic violence and torture”, and we don’t even get to see most of the kills! There is like one violent kill in the whole movie, the rest of the tapes is just the killer screaming at his victims and stuff like that. Anyways, its worth the watch, but since its fake, its kinda hard to get into the movie, cause if you think about it, the whole movie is just people telling you a bunch of crap that didn’t happen. If this wouldn’t be a documentary, it would probably be better.

  16. Avatar of alienfetus
    Posted By alienfetus on October 27, 2009 @ 3:29 am

    Easily one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen, and I’ve seen some disturbing ones. I kind of stumbled upon this movie on some website. If I could find out where to buy it, I would.

  17. Avatar of Rose-Moyer
    Posted By Rose-Moyer on November 7, 2009 @ 6:49 am

    With the success of Paranormal Activity, will this FINALLY be released?

  18. Avatar of BigApple
    Posted By BigApple on November 8, 2009 @ 5:56 pm

    I rarely see a film which gives me the kinds of heebie jeebie’s that I’m making sure my windows and doors are locked. This one did.

    I just sat through my first viewing of The Poughkeepsie Tapes which was directed by John Erick Dowdle and written by John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle.

    This film takes the “faux-documentary” idea very seriously, as the entire film plays out exactly like a documentary would. It’s supposed to be documenting the hunt for, exploits of, and the eventually found videotapes of The Water Street Butcher, a serial killer who prowled Poughkeepsie, New York during the nineties. The thing is, these guys did an incredible job of creating the documentary feel. This is actually poor in all the places so many of “true crime” documentaries we’ve come to be so familiar with are poor. They have almost perfectly written the parts for the police they’ve interviewed, and certainly did a great job with casting. I’ve read a few reviews in the past which took some of the performances to task, but now that I’ve seen it, I honestly don’t think the reviewers in those cases fully understood the intent. If you watch the kind of “true crime” documentary this film is supposed to recreating, you will find a number of the people interviewed for them are not at all used to being on camera, and that’s exactly how this comes across. I don’t know if it’s just a product of poor acting or something the Dowdle brothers specifically tried to get in the movie, but for me, it worked in service of the film.

    Then there’s the “found footage”, which isn’t the most graphic thing I’ve ever seen by a very long shot, but still manages to be downright creepy and weird because of the very bizarre nature of it. Some of the degree of truly creepy and unsettling nature might just be the degree to which it isn’t all that shocking. I think it got to me because it really did come across in a way which really suggested that if some serial killer had recorded all of his exploits, this is exactly what we, as the general public, would be allowed to see. A documentarian has considerations a narrative fiction film maker doesn’t have, especially if they were covering a subject like the one this film is supposed to. If this had been a real documentary, you’d never have seen a shot in which any of the victims were actually killed. It just would not happen, it would be too much, too sensational, too graphic and so on. It would literally become a snuff film, and it would never get made, have a prayer of getting released or distributed or anything. A documentary on the horrors of war, absolutely, you will see people actually die on film. But a documentary on a serial killer or serial killers in general, even if tapes like these actually did exist, the general public would never be shown an actual murder on tape. And if they were, the chances are better than not that it would cause the kind a kind of uproar the likes of which have not been seen in a very, very, long time, possibly ever. As a society, a movie going public, the chances are better than not that we wouldn’t accept it. Sure, people bitch and moan and whine about the “immoral nature” of violence in fiction (especially horror films), but this is one of the few ways in which somehow, some way, on some instinctual level, we understand there is a difference between reality and fiction. The Brothers Dowdle know exactly where to stop to keep the film both riveting and also keep the reality of the “documentary” real enough to have kept me deeply uneasy from about a quarter of the way in.

    The Pougkeepsie Tapes manages to be disturbing and unsettling without being very graphic at all. There is very little blood, very little on screen violence and very little to satiate the gore hounds who would inevitably be flocking to this. But I’d honestly be less likely to suggest someone let a younger child or someone with more sensitive sensibilities see this film than something like, say, Hostel, because what is in this film is, to me, much more disturbing, unnerving and hard to wrangle with mentally or intellectually. With almost no gore at all, it takes certain ideas and themes which are at the base core of something like torture, and puts them front and center with a spotlight on them.

    I can absolutely see that there would be a contingent of the movie going public, especially a few communities in the horror movie going public who would really just crap all over this film because to them, it wouldn’t be scary enough or bloody enough. I can see how there would definitely be people to whom none of this would be very effecting. At the same time, for some odd reason, it got me where I live to a degree which after almost thirty years of obsession with horror films is extremely unusual.

    Here’s the troublesome aspect of The Poughkeepsie Tapes. Like Trick r’ Treat and Paranormal Activity, this film hit the festival circuit in 2007 and was picked up by one of the major film studios. MGM is still sitting on this film and are basically refusing to release it. Though I can’t offer any explanation with any absolute conviction, I think I might understand why this film hasn’t been released yet. They are in a no win situation as far as the marketing is concerned. There’s no way to market this film without setting up public expectation that it will more or less be a “faux-documentary” Saw rip off. If they can’t dispel that, the film loses in every way. All of the people going to see a film which they are hoping and expecting to be the same kind of blood soaked festival of gore that something like Saw is are going to be disappointed. The movie going public who are tired of poor imitations of Hostel and the original Saw, are the people who should be seeing this movie, but it’s impossible to put together a trailer and marketing campaign which will tell them that without ruining some of the more important aspects of the film and doing that ever more popular, completely useless and stupid thing of telling the entire story, surprises and all, in the trailer.

    There is definitely, definitely an audience for this film. That I have no doubt about. It’s obvious a good deal of time, and more importantly, thought, was put into this film. The Dowdle Brothers have managed to create a stirring, disturbing and unusual piece of cinema here. It’s the kind of thing which would find it’s way into some corner of cinema history which future generations of horror fans would visit in their constant quest to satiate their appetites. I don’t know this would necessarily become a “cult classic” kind of film, but more something that genre lovers would respect and enjoy and in the future would definitely talk about as among the best of the “faux-documentary” style horror films. It’s definitely the kind of thing any future film makers considering venturing into the “faux-doc” style should be advised to see.

    The Poughkeepsie Tapes is something I wouldn’t have felt cheated to have spent movie theater money on, that I’d recommend to friends with a leaning toward genre films, and I’d give a 7.5 out of 10, possibly an 8.

  19. Avatar of downward_spiral
    Posted By downward_spiral on November 8, 2009 @ 8:27 pm

    I can see this coming out soon because of how good Paranormal Activity did. Overall not that bad. It was entertaining but the torture porn thing is getting old and im starting not to like these types of movies anymore. I think this would be a hit if it came to theaters. But it was just alright.

  20. Avatar of fmyers1
    Posted By fmyers1 on November 8, 2009 @ 8:50 pm

    Terrible movie. Dont understand the rating. Nothing good about it.

  21. Avatar of coldblood
    Posted By coldblood on November 10, 2009 @ 6:17 am

    This movie is awesome. Do not confuse this with ‘torture porn’. Torture porn is to gross you out, this film is meant to creep you out – and it does that big time. This is one of the most realistic portrayals of a serial killer that I have seen in a film.

    The killer revels in instilling incredible fear from his victims before they meet their gruesome death and in one case something much worse than death.I don’t want to give too much away but I will say that PT far exceeded my expectations – and they were pretty high.

    The stuff here could be torn right out of a true crime book where all the eerie details are left in. There is gore but not as much as you might think but then again the original 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre didn’t have much gore either. TCM and PT both have the same traits. They are both grisly, sick, perverse, raw, and unshakeable.

    We have finally gotten our Paranormal Activity and our Trick R’ Treat. MGM needs to pull PT out of hiding and release it on the innocent public.

    Don’t listen to the haters. This film is the next Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer.

  22. Avatar of maynardmorrissey
    Posted By maynardmorrissey on November 21, 2009 @ 10:15 am

    an outstanding movie. The definition of ‘mockumentary’ – very scary, thrilling and disturbing. A masterpiece!

  23. Avatar of horroranime700
    Posted By horroranime700 on June 24, 2010 @ 9:17 am

    What a truly creepy ass movie! I watched this movie after midnight and I was actually a bit creeped out after the film was over. It was a fantastic low-budget indie movie! One of the best I’ve seen in a long time! Some of the acting was okay, but there were a few performances that were great such as Stacy Chbosky and the killer. I even found this film to be disturbing enough to have made me laugh a little bit at the most twisted places. It almost made me feel a little fucked up lol. Sadly, this great creepy horror movie NEVER got it’s theatrical release that it SHOULD have!!!! This movie deserved all the hype, attention, and money that Paranormal Activity did. (I though Paranormal Activity was a piece of shit.) What a shame that MGM never relased this movie when it was supposed to in early 2009 even after starying an advertisment campaign for it on TV and in the theaters. WHNEVER it is this movie gets a release, I’ll be sure to pick it up on DVD or Bluray. I really hope it has special features :)

  24. Avatar of thegreatone
    Posted By thegreatone on July 3, 2010 @ 9:27 pm

    Creepy little film that I found to be very entertaining. The serial killer in this film is a sick fuck and the shit he did to that Dempsey girl should earn him a ticket straight to hell. Good movie.

  25. Avatar of trickytreats
    Posted By trickytreats on July 13, 2010 @ 4:45 pm

    This was an excellent idea for a movie. And it definitely had some creepy aspects to it. But the supposed victims and FBI agents all seemed like actors to me. Didn’t quite have the genuine feel of a documentary.

  26. Avatar of JM
    Posted By JM on August 11, 2010 @ 3:09 am

    YYEEEAAHH!!! Not perfect, but AWESOME stomach churner. Gritty and realistic the way I like it. The balloons were a riot. Somewhere beneath all the “holy shit”, I felt pretty bad for that chick he held captive for all those years. But whatever. Like most of you I wonder, how this never got released Ill never know…

  27. Avatar of freddykruelgirl
    Posted By freddykruelgirl on September 26, 2010 @ 7:09 pm

    I found this movie highly unsettling. It was the little touches that set me on edge. They would be impossible to talk about in depth without spoilers but the one-two punch of some of these details stacking up in rapid succession at the climax of the film had me almost physically uncomfortable. I don’t know the last time I pitied a fictional character more. The found footage at times has you squinting at a dark screen, wanting to see more and feeling like a scumbag for wanting to see more all at once.

    The great trick to much of the Water Street Butcher’s footage is the way he sets up reveals – which makes sense given the fact that the profiler describes him as having a “highly theatric” sensibility. It works out for the viewer too. You get that moment of heebie-jeebies and then OH GOD ITS WORSE THAN I THOUGHT. Really nicely done.

    I love documentaries and I love horror so for me a really well done mockumentary is great and this one pulls it off quite well. I really hope that MGM releases it some day because I would love a DVD with cast and crew interviews so that we can find out how these people felt about what they were shooting. I’m sure they made more fake found footage than they ended up using, I’d like to see that, too.

    I also have to say that I really really appreciate the fact that even though there is a sexual element to the WSB crimes the audience doesn’t see any of that. I am so tired of movies using rape and sexual torture for shock value. The violence and psychological angles are more than enough. We were about ten minutes in and I was already looking up the reason for its rating on my phone. When I saw no mention of “sexual violence” I let out a huge sigh of relief.

  28. Avatar of sirsquirt
    Posted By sirsquirt on September 28, 2010 @ 10:32 am

    with a horde of ” documented ” serial killer films out, it might be easy to look at this film on face value as just another one to ad to the list.
    But this one is different. And in a good way.
    The film doesn’t provide any background story to the killers motivations, actions or reasons for his killing.
    The p.o.v camera shots is unsettling at worst, devastating at best – the little girl scene in the front yard being the best exponent of this method of cinematography.
    It’s a long time coming, but if you get a chance to see this, do it – it could well be one of the finest serial killers movies you may never see.

  29. Avatar of Betzerebb
    Posted By Betzerebb on September 28, 2010 @ 4:35 pm

    i got this film on tape and am just waitin for it to come to dvd! what a great film!

  30. Avatar of InsideTheDescent
    Posted By InsideTheDescent on October 9, 2010 @ 3:44 am

    Umm, a 4.. Really..?
    I don’t think it was quite that good.
    Was it bad? Not necessarily.
    Was it good? No.
    Interesting watch, definitely not a four.. More like a 2.5, good for some laughs though, not creepy or anything though.

  31. Avatar of Mr.-Sandman
    Posted By Mr.-Sandman on November 19, 2010 @ 4:51 pm

    This movie is messed up. Seriously it is the creepiest movie I have ever seen. It is so upsettingly good. It is shocking and terrifying and disturbing at many times. There hasn’t been a movie that had me scared like this in a long time. So many disturbing scenes that just kept me going on and on watching this movie. Let me just say this if you are planning to watch this movie be prepared to be shocked, terrified, scared, upset at times, disturbed and freaked out cause this movie is at the top of my scariest movies and it deserves to be there.

  32. Avatar of lucie-with-a-gun
    Posted By lucie-with-a-gun on November 19, 2010 @ 8:30 pm

    film turned into a letdown for me. the biggest ? is that ‘the tapes’ of such importance reveal very little about the killer, his psychosis or even about his activities. too much talking head time done by less than capable actors. and they talk about minutes on the tape that we dont even see. wtf? the pathologist bad acting pevertedly creepy when discussing the mutilation of the victims made my eyes roll involuntarily. cool idea. execution needs work.

  33. Avatar of DeathbyJoy
    Posted By DeathbyJoy on March 16, 2011 @ 7:37 pm

    This was truly the most boring movie I have ever sat through. Every bit of torture or death was done better somewhere else. And there wasn’t nearly enough blood, guts, or cheese to make up for the horrific acting.

    The idea of a serial killer that changes his MO to evade capture has potential, but it didn’t work for this film. Instead there didn’t seem to be a focus. It was like they looked up “serial killers” on Google and just compiled a bunch of different facts.

    The director didn’t even know that there was a serial killer at one time in Poughkeepsie, NY until after the film was done. (According to Wikipedia…take that for what you will.)

    My other issue with this film was that you didn’t get to really know any of the characters. And because you don’t bond with them, you don’t really care that they die.

  34. Avatar of sanityfair
    Posted By sanityfair on April 10, 2011 @ 7:59 am

    I give this movie a five. Overall it was a bit disappointing, but deserves from credit for some truly unsettling scenes.

    This movie has a problem of the uncanny variety, and that is to say that it straddles a line between black humor and actual real horror, but doesn’t push either side.

    The condition of the footage is very fake looking. You know, the only tapes that are scratched and skip. It’s just not done well, and it’s probably is that it’s overdone. I feel that Saw suffered from this as well, when it does that awful editing at the end of the movie that ties everything together. Its too much.

    Anyone can tell you good horror is almost always understated. Thats why Hitchcock was famous and thats why movies like Silence of the Lambs and The Shining go down not only in horror history, but history of cinema in general. Today, too many people forget that sometimes less is more, and thats what the intent seems to be here in some of the shots but it fails.

    Now the fake VHS would work great if this was more of a black humor video, and the interviews and everything work great towards that. Especially that balloon thing in the beginning, hilarious.

    The actual horror scenes, some of them are a little eh but some are truly wtf moments, moments that look really planned and well executed. I think thats one of the reasons for my disappointment, because the film could work on either level but because there is this struggle between the two, it stagnates.

    Favorite part was near the end with the killer walking on all fours towards the camera. Thats all I will say about that, but when you see it you’ll know what I mean, and that play on the illusion is truly creepy. That whole scene is one of the scenes that makes me frustrated because its very well done.

    So no, not the best but its obvious the team behind this movie were intelligent folks. Reminds me a bit of Roth’s Cabin Fever. I think Cabin Fever attempted the same thing but pulled it off better because it was more 75% horror, 25% black humor. Many people are critical of him and think he’s just a rip off but I remember when I watched Cabin Fever for the first time and how at the end it stuck with me because of its black humor elements.

    Its worth a watch just for the good scenes.

  35. Avatar of Rusted
    Posted By Rusted on April 16, 2011 @ 12:08 pm

    This movie would have to be the most unsettling, disturbing, creepiest, upsetting and downright scariest film I’ve ever seen. I actually had to switch this off at one stage as the footage from the tapes is just so realistic. Let me just say that the protracted stalking scene in a house will leave you shattered. Unlike any other serial killer movie you’ve ever seen, this uses the POV/found footage gimmick to maximum effect. The result is just…so messed up. Can’t believe that this is still on the shelf. Release it now. See it.

  36. Avatar of seraphim.sloth
    Posted By seraphim.sloth on April 22, 2011 @ 12:40 am

    This film really got under my skin, I have been searching for a film to do that to this degree with out going over the edge the way “A surbian film” The Poughkeepsie Tapes was a brilliant film, that scared the freakin pants off me and the shocker at the end left my jaw on the floor and shit in my pants. this may be my new favorite film.

  37. Avatar of seraphim.sloth
    Posted By seraphim.sloth on April 22, 2011 @ 12:40 am

    This film really got under my skin, I have been searching for a film to do that to this degree with out going over the edge the way “A surbian film” The Poughkeepsie Tapes was a brilliant film, that scared the freakin pants off me and the shocker at the end left my jaw on the floor and shit in my pants. this may be my new favorite film.

  38. Avatar of BOOxItsBree25
    Posted By BOOxItsBree25 on May 4, 2011 @ 11:43 pm

    I WANT TO SEE THIS MOVIE SO BAD ! it was supposed to come out a verryyy long time ago and then they like didnt release it or something and then they did . idk . but i wanna see it , alot of people keep saying its unsettling or disturbing ? why is that ?

  39. Avatar of RichRomero
    Posted By RichRomero on May 8, 2011 @ 4:03 am

    I found this film online and saw a special screening about 2 years ago. Idk when exactly a DVD will be released, if it will at all, but the film is great. Very inventive and often creepy. If you havent seen this film, i highly recommend finding a way of reaching it and watching it.

  40. Avatar of Chichaboo
    Posted By Chichaboo on June 13, 2011 @ 12:02 pm

    Not brilliant…the acting is really bad, and the tapes just got annoying due to the (deliberate) bad quality. The actual story and ideas behind the film was actually ok, the visual side just let it down for me. I wouldn’t really class this as a horror or even a thriller. The part when the freak is walking on all fours towards to end though is quite creepy, it was the only part that really sparked an interest for me!
    If you’re a fan of those awful American documentaries about killers etc, but want a bit more of the killing visuals, you’ll probably enjoy this.

  41. Posted By Luna_In_Dreamland on October 27, 2011 @ 10:13 am

    Not as disturbing as I thought it would be. Some of the acting is bad, like the dismemberment expert who looks like he is trying not to laugh. I still enjoyed it, though, and its well worth a watch. Did find the kid footage a little unsettling and what he did to Cheryl Dempsey, wish it revealed more about the killer and his background but I understand why they don’t.

  42. Avatar of Kwonkicker
    Posted By Kwonkicker on October 27, 2011 @ 9:24 pm

    Despite never being released in theaters this is easily one of my favorite horror movies. While not outright terrifying it is nontheless a disturbing and sinister account of a depraved serial killer and his twisted madness. I have family in the town itself and so being able to visualize and know where exactly the crimes took place (even though it’s a movie) nontheless was pretty cool.

    The most enjoyable part was the identity of the killer himself. We’re never told nor does the film ever fully explain how he began his killings, why he did them, his true identity or anything. The unknown is always terrifying and so this added a sense of dread to the film. Aside from the atrocious and brutal nature of his crimes the part for me which was the definite “Oh shit” moment was at the end when Cheryl was found, later interviewed and declared love for her ‘master’.

    Then, to add to his twisted and demented ways, the killers robs her grave and steals her body away for God’s knows what reasons.

    Ultimately, the Poughkeepsie Tapes is an electrifying and disturbing movie about a killer who’s crimes left a community terrified for years to come.

  43. Avatar of Zingaya
    Posted By Zingaya on February 5, 2012 @ 4:15 pm

    This movie is very unsettling. Definitely worth watching.

  44. Avatar of iamspoonbender
    Posted By iamspoonbender on March 1, 2012 @ 9:29 pm

    This is truly an unsettling film. There are certain parts that are abit corny for sure. That withstanding, this really is disturbing in many ways. You can tell the writer & director did their homework, and research for this. Compared to most horror films this is rather quiet, and slow. Which really adds to the negative atmosphere. I would recommend turning up the sound abit, as this is alittle quiet. Definitely worth seeing.

  45. Posted By thesickness89 on March 5, 2012 @ 2:05 am

    This film is, BY FAR, the best use of “found- footage” to date. And it was made 6 years ago. I watched this alone in a big empty house, large screen, and loud surround sound audio. Let me tell you, I have never been so terrified. I do not scare easy, in fact, I have never been so unnerved by a film since I was a kid. This movie has the creepiest stalking scene I have ever seen, talk about suspense. The movements the “master” makes while creeping around in his bizarre mask, was some of the creepiest stuff caught on tape. The tapes themselves were very well done, very distorted and unfocused, seeming much more realistic. The lack of on screen violence also adds to the experience of Poughkeepsie Tapes, because it is not the violence that makes this scary. It is the constant sense of dread and flat out creep factor. The only thing that really took me out of the experience was some horrible acting by a couple of people during the documentary segments. But getting passed that this is a solid horror film. The ending “interview” is very unnerving, and the choice to end after the credits with a clip from one of the tapes was brilliant. Definitely stuck with me long after the first viewing.

  46. Avatar of halloweengirl13
    Posted By halloweengirl13 on July 15, 2012 @ 6:48 am

    What is taking this movie so long to be officially released?
    Was gonna be then got pulled back.

  47. Avatar of Scream1210
    Posted By Scream1210 on November 21, 2012 @ 7:17 pm

    Finally got a copy of this and it was well worth the wait. One of the scariest and most horrifying movies of all time! This movie takes terror to another level. It so realistic it will make your stomach turn. Its 100 times more entertaining and terrifying than the Paranormal Activity movies. Try and see this movie! You can watch it on youtube. But if you want to add it to your collection you have to get tricky. Amazing gem of a movie! Its a crime it was missed.

Official Score: 4 / 5