The Poughkeepsie Tapes

2007

Action / Horror / Mystery / Sci-Fi / Thriller

51
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 67% · 6 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 51% · 25K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.0/10 10 24342 24.3K

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Plot summary

When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer's decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen.


Uploaded by: FREEMAN
October 23, 2017 at 08:10 PM

Top cast

Iris Bahr as Psychiatrist
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
600.46 MB
1280*682
English 2.0
R
23.976 fps
1 hr 21 min
Seeds 11
1.24 GB
1920*1024
English 2.0
R
23.976 fps
1 hr 21 min
Seeds 42

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by reelreviewsandrecommendations 1 / 10

Extremely wicked, shockingly banal and vile

There is nearly nothing as viscerally entertaining as a well-made, low budget, found-footage horror film. Terrific, clever movies like 'Man Bites Dog, 'Creep' and 'The Blair Witch Project' are proof of this notion. There needn't be a whole lot of capital invested for a good director with a good script to be able to produce something entertaining, or at the very least original.

'The Poughkeepsie Tapes' suffers from having none of the above. The derivative screenplay and its story are awful, the performances are stilted when they're not over-the-top and Shawn Dufraine's cinematography is constantly shaky and overly grainy (even for a found footage flick) making it incredibly difficult to watch. In short, the product of John Erick Dowdle's direction here is a total mess of a movie.

The film is about a stash of snuff films found in an abandoned house in Poughkeepsie, New York. Interviews with the local authorities in an attempt to catch the serial killer on the tapes prove fruitless, and the fiend seems to be getting more and more audacious and meticulous as his murderous spree continues.

It's a very depressing, repetitive and borderline misogynistic affair that offers the viewer no entertainment value whatsoever. Its cheap-looking and poorly written; not to mention being completely devoid of anything original. Who wants to watch eight-year-old girls as they are raped and murdered, or countless women as they're tortured in increasingly barbaric ways? For that matter, who wants to make a film like that? No-one- besides John Erick Dowdle, I mean.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so offensive if the script was well-written, or if Dowdle had any ideas for the movie at all beyond making women suffer; but it isn't and he doesn't. It's a cheap rip-off of better films like 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,' or the great 'Man Bites Dog;' two movies with similar plots executed with style and skill in front of and behind the camera. There is nothing in the movie but poorly photographed violence, cruelty and pain, and Dowdle clearly doesn't have anything to say about any of it.

What's worse, though, is that it's a technical disaster as well as a creative one. The cinematography is terrible, looking like it was shot by someone who actively hated the project they were working on, and wanted to destroy the film. When it isn't shaky, its grainy, and when its both- which is most of the time- you can barely see a thing on screen. In fact, that's almost a positive; as watching nothing would be preferable to having to sit through 'The Poughkeepsie Tapes' again.

There isn't a good performance in the film, but this fault probably lies with Dowdle's direction rather than with the actors. None of them are given anything interesting to do but scream or recite the poorly written dialogue from the banal screenplay- its not surprising not one of them comes across as having performed admirably. Dowdle wrote the film with his brother Drew; and its scary to think what a family gathering at their house must look like if this film is what they consider fit for public consumption.

How this is so highly rated- and how numerous reviewers find it a positive experience- is thoroughly beyond me. It's boring, unimaginative and ineptly made. If you want to watch a violent horror film made by talented people with fresh ideas about the genre, watch 'Man Bites Dog'. In fact, watch anything at all, just avoid 'The Poughkeepsie Tapes'. It's nothing but a waste of your time.

Reviewed by StevePulaski 9 / 10

Terrifyingly terrifying

I've been seeking a resource to watch The Poughkeepsie Tapes since I saw the original trailer in 2008. After that, no word was ever spoken about the film again. I heard of no release, no screenings, and no mainstream DVD. What happened? As of today, at least to me, it's all still a mystery. Finally, I have seen the film in its entirety, and I hesitate not to label it one of the creepiest faux documentaries I have yet to see.

Found footage films are a dime a dozen, with already several released this year alone. They are an easy way to make a buck; shoot a film for no more than roughly five million dollars, and wind up making an explosive profit. It's as easy as that. Very few bring such motivation, confidence, and shining capabilities to screen, but The Poughkeepsie Tapes pleasingly differentiates itself from just another fake piece of work in the sea. Many found footage pictures today occupy a certain cinematic quality about them. Some of them, like the extraordinarily underwhelming Paranormal Activity 3, feel a tad too polished, and because of the extreme popularity of the franchise, seem to have taken a much more Hollywood route. The Poughkeepsie Tapes doesn't do that, and always remains in the field of campiness and believability.

It centers around the humble town of Poughkeepsie, New York, where, after police raid a house in the city, a stash of over eight-hundred VHS tapes of grisly murders committed by a sadistic man behind the camera are found. They are greatly detailed, even with static in the background and color and audio distortion personifying such an effective state of realism that I am without words. I've raved about cinematography and atmosphere in films many, many times before, but here, it is beyond haunting. A work of photography and directorial skill of immense levels.

We are presented with interviews of FBI officials, psychologists, police offers, victims' parents, and more. Every so often, the clips are punctuated by a videotape itself, showing one of the killers' acts of torment or assault. I was hauntingly reminded of August Underground, a dirty, degrading picture that showed two nameless characters running around going on a sick and unjustifiable murdering spree. The Poughkeepsie Tapes occupies more than just mindless snuff, but depth, efficient backstory, and impeccable detail in its photography, execution, and realism.

Some of his first tapes show him praying on the innocuous and the vulnerable. One of those is Jennifer Gorman, an eight year old girl playing in her front yard with her dolls, who is beaten over the head and abducted by the killer. As time goes on, his killings expand to acts that had to have required planning, strategy, along with a touch of crazy. One of the victims we closely identify with goes by the name of Cheryl Dempsey, a teenage girl whom he kidnaps one night while she is alone with her boyfriend. She is abused sexually and physically, being kept in his basement, as well as being referred to as "slave," which he continuously hammers into her head as her new name.

As the film progresses, things become deeper, more intriguing, and inevitably, more and more consuming. Images and sequences increasingly become exceptionally haunting, some of them for some people could be scaring, and many are some of the finest work in the genre from the last decade. John Erik Dowdle has effectively created a brilliant horror gem, one of keen timing and direction, and one of style and detail that doesn't rely solely on loud, abrupt musical chords and cheap exploitative jump scares. It sets itself up to be an involving piece for those seeking one, and allows itself to be discussed long after the credits finish rolling. Stay after if you're interested in seeing one more terrifying shot.

NOTE: For those interested in seeing the film in its entirety, the full film has been posted on Youtube in one convenient part, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsuTTMiSScc Starring: Bobbi Sue Luther, Samantha Robson, Ivar Brogger, and Iris Bahr. Directed by: John Erik Dowdle.

Reviewed by Woodyanders 8 / 10

Stark portrait of one very bad man

New York homicide investigators undercover a slew of videocassettes at an old abandoned house in Poughkeepsie, New York. Said tapes depict the heinous exploits of cunning, evasive, and sadistic serial killer Edward Carver (a frighteningly convincing portrayal by Ben Messmer).

Writer/director John Eric Dowdle ingeniously utilizes a deliberately rough around the edges pseudo documentary style complete with interviews with various relatives and law enforcers, a few dramatic reenactments, and degraded VHS footage of the psycho's horrible acts that works like gangbusters when it comes to creating and sustaining a deeply creepy and disturbing mood.

Moreover, the unflinchingly dark, grim, and nihilistic tone along with the fact that the killer is till at large at the end gives this picture an extra chilling edge. Stacy Chbosky contributes a stand-out turn as abducted teen and lone survivor Cheryl Dempsey. A very potent and upsetting film.

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