The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

John Erick Dowdle

Writers:

Drew Dowdle (story)
John Erick Dowdle (writer)

Release Date:

2009 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The Terror is Real

Plot:

When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house...

Plot Keywords:

Videotape | Murder | Serial Killer | Masked Killer | Gore

Cast

Stacy Chbosky	...	Cheryl Dempsey
Ben Messmer	...	Ed
Samantha Robson	...	Samantha
Ivar Brogger	...	Leonard Schway
Lou George	...	Felton Lewis
Amy Lyndon	...	Alice Endrisart
Michael Lawson	...	Simon Alray
Ron Harper	...	Mike Moakes
Kim Kenny	...	Pam Frears
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Iris Bahr	...	Psychiatrist
Scott Beehner	...	Jason Ribling
Adarsha Benjamin	...	Victim 2
Kelli Bielema	...	Jane Gerber
Linda Bisesti	...	Sandra Willets
Lisa Black	...	Victoria Dempsey
Marissa Blanchard	...	Girl Scout 1
Bill Bookston	...	James Foley
Oto Brezina	...	Dr. Farhad Mansourian
Jules Bruff	...	Blinker
Paul Buxton	...	Walter Kunkler
Todd Cahoon	...	Ted Bundy
Blaire Chandler	...	Cynthia Gorman
Larry Clarke	...	Edgar Cummings
Donna Cooper	...	Prostitute 2
Bruce Cronander	...	Harvey Scroggs
Meredith Cross	...	Jeanette Anderson
Henry Dittman	...	Frank Anderson
Bobby Eskandari	...	Dr. Arnold Montufar (as Bobby Alexander)
Dennis Garber	...	Joseph Danvers
Chip Godwin	...	Hank Foley
Jennifer Griswold	...	Jennifer Griswold
David Haack	...	Tim Surrey
Tom Hauser	...	News Anchor
Keisuke Hoashi	...	Dai Loung
Sean Huze	...	Hector Gomez (scenes deleted)
Michael Hyland	...	Profiling Student 1 (as Mike Hyland)
David James	...	Tim Surrey
Ceciley Jenkins	...	Traci Looner
Zale Kessler	...	Frederick Miller
Morgan Lariah	...	Profiling Student 2
Fiona Lincke	...	Reporter
Bobbi Sue Luther	...	Josephine
Sierra Marcoux	...	Jennifer Gorman
James Mathers	...	Bernard Golinko
Paulah May	...	Investigator
Leah McLean	...	News Anchor
Tracy Miller	...	TV Reporter
Naveen	...	Dr. Arjay Vintopeej
Philip Newby	...	Irwin Griffard (as Phil Newby)
Bruno Oliver	...	Joel Gorman
Steven M. Porter	...	Albert Cromley
Adrian Roberts	...	Warden
Brad Satin	...	Himself
Brooke Sikkema	...	Girl Scout 2
Heather Snell	...	Jennifer Henshaw
Erin Stutland	...	Victim 1
Beth Tapper	...	Karen Tyler
David Wilcox	...	Jacob Polinski
Mark McClain Wilson	...	Mark Rongitch

MPAA:

Rated R for sadistic violence and torture, including terror and graphic descriptions.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Brothers Dowdle Productions

The Profile Doesn't Fit The Tapes

I was patiently waiting for this film to be released for some time now, and I had overall fairly high expectations. In the end I wasn't overly impressed, but I cannot say it comes as a surprise to me. Basically the movie is a mock documentary about the career of a serial killer, and I would like to start off by saying to those of you who rate this as "bad movie" simply because it's not violent, explicit or gory enough, you should at least figure out what you're rating before making an ass out of yourself. This cannot be rated as a standard horror movie, because it's not. Basically what you're rating is fake snuff, packaged into a fake crime documentary envelope the likes of which you don't get to see on "american justice" with the supposed snuff footage attached. So therefore, if you say it's a BAD movie because it's boring, then what the hell are you watching a mock documentary for in the first place?? Simply, if you find shows like "American Justice" or "Cold Case Files" boring or uninteresting, and enjoy pure gorefests and slasher flicks rather than real life crime, you will NOT like this movie. However if you are interested in crime profiling, and actually research criminal cases, you will probably find this interesting and it would be worthwhile to see.

The main problem I have however, is the whole profile of the killer. To me, "The Brothers Dowdle" made the mistake of trying to make the serial killer out to be an exceptional ultra meticulous serial killer, (unlike any the world has seen BEFORE!) rather than just an average serial killer. The biggest problem with this premise is that every time we see the killer on camera, he is usually ding extremely high risk things, which a clever killer wouldn't do, and in the end he seems extremely LUCKY half the time, rather than being aided by meticulous planning. Examples: The way he stalks Sheryl Dempsey for so long, putting himself in plain view before finally abducting her. Showing up and confronting Sheryl Dempsey's mother at her house while an ongoing crime investigation is taking place. And the worst is how he invites the 2 girls who live on his block into his house, while Sheryl Dempsey is hiding under the table. If they knew she was under there, or the neighbours had heard any screams coming from the house at any time, it would have meant instant death, much like when the neighbours of Jeoffrey Dahmer were concerned with the peculiar odours coming from his basement. Also the way he abducts young girls on their own property in broad daylight is very high risk, and he would have clearly had some failed attempts, thus having witnesses. I also really did not like how the crime investigators supposedly consulted Ted Bundy for advice on the case (He was in fact consulted for advice about The Green River Killer).

In the end after watching this movie, I came away with the impression of having watched an overall sloppy premise, and though it was an interesting attempt, these Brohers Dowdle clearly take themselves for something much more impressive than they actually are. Had they had consultation from real crime investigators when writing the script, which is what Msrtin Scorcese did, when directing his extremely impressive true crime based dramas, this film would have definitely been more impressive. In the end the ultimate point is, if you ARE interesting in crime documentaries, why even bother with this fake contrived junk when you can watch the real thing in documentaries about real life killers? As mentioned before, you certainly won't be watching this movie for violence or gore.