The Poughkeepsie Tapes

THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES

By Jimmy Squarejaw

*WARNING*

All movies reviewed for SUNDAY SNUFF contain graphic depictions that may include rape, live animals being murdered, and extreme gore.  None of the writers condone such acts we just watch this shit.

Well here we are again kids, on a Monday instead of a Sunday for Sunday Snuff.  The last time something in my life was late two weeks in a row she got thrown down a flight of stairs wearing a pair of panties made of coat hangers……but I digress.  For week number two I chose to review POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES, a found footage type of movie that never gained a wide release, or a small release, or any release because the movie is still unreleased and I don’t understand why.  Good thing I have a worthless piece of shit hacker friend who burned a copy for me between stealing credit card numbers and cracking into sorority girl’s cell phones so here we go.

POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES is setup as a documentary surrounding the discovery of a serial killer’s homemade video collection.  The movie is a highlight reel from the 800 or so tapes found by police in his home mixed with interviews with criminologists and federal authorities weighing in on the tape’s content and their own theories about the killer’s criminal profile.  One of the main linear elements throughout POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES is the story of Cheryl Dempsey.  She is one of the killer’s victims who is abducted instead of viciously murdered.  The killer brings her back to his nice suburban home where she spends some time, a DECADE, locked up in the killers basement being tortured.  During this time the killer starts dressing Cheryl up and makes her kill his victims for him.  To say the least this girl gets royally fucked up mentally and when she gets rediscovered still alive she has one hell of case of Stockholm Syndrome.  Another linear storyline during the POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES is about police officer James Foley.  Foley gets framed as the killer but after he is executed a map is sent to authorities with the note, “missed one.”  Unfortunately the officer gets exonerated of the crimes on September 12, 2001.  So that wasn’t necessarily front-page news.

The movie is pretty disturbing and sets itself apart from a lot of the other major studio releases in the found footage genre.  Trust me I have seen a few that are A LOT more disturbing than the POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES but those will be discussed at a later date.  The filmmakers do a good job of setting up the story by stating the videos were all numbered when they were found so they can trace basically how the killer got started and how he evolved from tape to tape.  The killer himself is totally horrifying and the filmmakers tread on a lot of taboo subject matter like child abductions and murders, necrophilia, insane role-playing, and all around brutal torture.  But I think thePOUGHKEEPSIE TAPES wouldn’t be as effective of a movie if the actors who portray all of the interviewed experts throughout weren’t convincing.  The pace and editing between the killer’s tapes and interview segments make the POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES very convincing as a documentary. 

Another element I liked about the POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES is the focus on some of the victims’ family members.  Members of Cheryl Dempsey’s family, Officer Foley’s family and scores of other people weigh in on how horribly their lives have been affected by the Poughkeepsie murders. I feel this side to the story usually gets overlooked in conventional horror movies and adds a whole other disturbing element while watching POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES. 

The POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES is definitely not your average, pleasurable viewing experience.  The killer’s videos are all disturbing.  Couple that with the realistic portrayal of what a community would go through with a serial killer running loose creates a very powerful atmosphere.  The POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES doesn’t have a lot of exploitive elements like dicks being cut off or kittens being smashed by a shovel, but it does have a lot of people being tortured and an all around dreadful feeling during the whole movie without any resolve or upside.

****Update, our good friends at The Uneasy Archive did a release of this a few months ago. It's super rare, but if you find it BUY IT.  Or tell me and I'll buy it!

Blake and Jimmy's Extreme-O-Gauge!

This is no stroll though the park!

Rape:  2 out of 5 – There are not specific scenes of rape, but enough details to know it occurs multiple times!

Realistic Gore:  1 out of 5 – Not a lot of murder on camera and one scene where Cheryl murders a victim is not done very well......but sound effects and camera tricks make it quite unsettling!
Necrophilia:  2 out of 5 -suggested but not exploited.

Animal Death:  0 out of 5 – Not an element to this movie.

Torture:  5 out of 5 – Mental, physical, and sexual torture are RAMPANT in this movie!

Overall Movie:  5 out of 5, great flick that I'll re-watch over and over.