The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)

The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)

Dir- John Erick Dowdle

This pseudo crime documentary details the events surrounding a fictional serial killer who operated in the New York town of Poughkeepsie in the 1990s. It begins when a police raid a house and find hundreds of videotapes inside, it is revealed that the tapes document untold numbers of abductions and murders committed by an unknown assailant all cataloged and numbered in order. The serial killer never allows himself to be seen unless he is disguised and in many of the tapes he tortures his victims physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Police and crime experts appear in numerous interviews trying to profile the killer and look for patterns that could aid in his capture. The serial killer is given a name, but not much else is learned about him due to the random nature of the crimes that he appears to plan in a deliberate attempt to confuse authorities. The few bits of footage shown detail a handful of some of his more notorious crimes offering a glimpse into the mind of a genuinely disturbed and evil mind. The Poughkeepsie Tapes was never released theatrically and until Oct 2017 was never released on video in any format except for VOD on DirecTV. This lack of release has added to the notoriety of the film as word of mouth has increased the desire of horror fans to watch and see if it is as disturbing as people say.