The desperate search for a prolific serial killer leads police to a grisly discovery in upstate New York. A freshly abandoned home soon reveals a treasure trove of macabre horrors. The police are unable to find the killer, or any of his fingerprints. What they find instead is hundreds of hours worth of videotapes that document his appalling crimes in chilling detail. State and Federal law enforcement then sift through the many hours of grisly footage looking for clues. The Poughkeepsie Tapes, as they later come to be known, have a chilling effect on anyone who dares watch them and eventually become an effective training aid for aspiring FBI profilers. This film is a “documentary” about the killer, and it gives the viewer an up close and personal look into his twisted mind, and the savage horrors he unleashed upon his victims.
This is hands down, one of the very best horror films that I have seen in ages. There have been several horror films in the last few years that have used the classic Cannibal Holocaust “lost footage” method of storytelling, but co-writer and director John Erick Dowdle’s The Poughkeepsie Tapes stands head and shoulders above the rest. It’s also one of the best serial killer movies in recent memory, fake or otherwise. I was really impressed with how brutal and unforgiving this film is. It pulls no punches with the brutal subject matter, and it has more then a few genuinely creepy and un-nerving moments. The final interview with of the killer’s victims is absolutely chilling.
My only real complaint about this film is the fact that the writers go a bit too far in making the serial killer an untouchable super genius. There is a major plot point involving the framing of a former police officer that is a big stretch. The killer’s uncanny ability to trick seasoned FBI profilers into believing he’s twenty different people is also highly unlikely. If they had toned that somewhat ridiculous aspect of the story down a bit the film would have been perfect in my opinion.
That leads me to to my biggest complaint of all – the fact that this film has never been released! I originally saw the trailer for The Poughkeepsie Tapes in the theater before a screening of The Mist. That’s how long ago it was. After that, I have some vague recollections of seeing tv spots for the film. Apparently the film was shelved because the test screenings were a disaster. The audience slammed the film for being “impossible to watch” because of the high volume of hand held camera work and the grainy, washed out image quality. There were also many reports of the audience laughing at the film, which is never a good thing when the film isn’t intended as a comedy. As a result, the release was delayed…and delayed…and delayed.
Then the Dowdle brothers signed on to make Quarantine. Big mistake! I have grown to hate Quarantine because Sony killed off two fantastic films in order to pave way for it’s release. First, they put an American release of [REC] on the shelf. Then they did the same thing to The Poughkeepsie Tapes. Why? Because they were justifiably scared that people would like [REC] better than Quarantine. They were apparently equally scared that people would hate The Poughkeepsie Tapes. Any bad word of mouth at all would be a threat to Quarantine’s already very limited chances for success. So they killed two good movies to help out Quarantine, and guess what? It was still a bomb.
Now flash forward a few years later, and The Poughkeepsie Tapes is still lost in a vault somewhere. Not only do the stupid and greedy bastards at MGM refuse to release it themselves, even on dvd mind you, they also refuse to sell the rights for distribution. My best guess here is that they snapped up a cheap little camcorder horror movie they thought they could cash in with, and then got scared off by the threat of bad reviews and poor box office. At this point, they should just cut their losses and release it on dvd. Especially now that the film is making the rounds on the net.
Bottom line, you will have to go and find this one for yourself. Watch it online for free. Download it and make copies for your friends. It’s incredibly frustrating to me that a horror film as good as The Poughkeepsie Tapes is not available in stores, and complete and utter shit like Cabin Fever 2 can be easily found at Wal Mart for under $10. The only upside of this shitty situation is taking a bit of comfort in knowing that none of your hard earned money goes into the pockets of the imbeciles that are trying to keep the film from being seen.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes is 100% Brain Hammer approved and is well worth the effort it takes to track down a copy. Hopefully “the powers that be” will eventually wi$e up and make it easier for you.
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