The Poughkeepsie Tapes

Through horror YouTubers and articles, I’d heard about this movie. It was described as a mockumentary-meets-found footage movie about a series of videotapes left behind by a serial killer; on the videotapes were the worst, most heinous, torturous, depraved content ever. The kind of stuff that would make Saw and Hostel fans squirm in their seats. I was intrigued for a couple reasons: one, I wanted to see if reality lived up to the hype. Two, as someone who hates found footage for the way the premise negates immersion, the idea of the killer being the one holding the camera looked to finally solve my biggest pet peeve about the genre. Alas, it fails on both fronts for a couple reasons. First, this movie is a crushing bore. It never really builds a sense of dread about the killer. Oh, sure, he switches MO’s on the reg, but the concept of the mockumentary, and the fact the keep talking about him in a non-final past tense, sucks out all the suspense. Besides, we keep seeing the videos, so we know the people we see will die. There’s no suspense to be had. And then there’s the format. I like the mockumentary style, but it’s way out of balance here. The talking head interviews aren’t in depth enough to really set a stage; this movie is dependent on the titular videotapes, a gruesome series of home movies made by the killer. This brings up two problems: 1) why on earth would law enforcement allow these tapes out of the evidence locker they were buried in to be included in a movie? This is never answered, and totally breaks immersion. But worse yet is how much of the movie is made up of these tapes, which get repetitive and dull very quickly. 2) We know that, since this is a documentary in a fictional universe, law enforcement isn’t going to allow the more gruesome aspects of the tapes to be released to be public, not even for a documentary. So what you see is hardly as gruesome or disgusting as the rumors say. A few victims get kicked or punched. There’s a few moments of water torture. You’ve seen the same stuff in action movies like Lethal Weapon and Tango & Cash, or in the show 24. In fact, 24 is WAY darker than this when it comes to torture So, with the explicitness of the videotapes neutered, you’re left with the movie hinting at you what could be so foul and cruel and inhumane. That would be fine — the imagination is often worse than what the screen can offer. But when the movie is built on the premise of SHOWING the depravity, and all you get are hints, then what’s the point of any of this? The movie is a restaurant that says “we’re known for steaks, come eat our steaks”, and you get there, and they’re out of steak, but they have pasta, and while you like pasta, you were sold on steak. What you’re left with is a movie that can’t deliver on its promise, doesn’t deliver on the fear, and slowly wears you down with a format that never makes enough sense.