Drew On Movies #28: The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)

The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)

A few years ago, I read an article on a movie site that talked about movies that were not slated for release in the future regardless of extremely positive reviews. Since then, all three films have found their way onto the Internet, and one has actually received a home video release. The three films were the horror anthology Trick R Treat, the slasher All The Boys Love Mandy Lane, and the mockumentary The Poughkeepsie Tapes. The former is the one that was eventually released, and I can honestly say that it more then lived up to the hype and was well deserving of all the positive reviews it received. Mandy Lane was actually released theatrically in the United Kingdom, and more then made up it's budget.

However this review is not about either of those films, but instead the last one listed and the one that seems increasingly difficult to find even online. I was able to procure a copy from a streaming site awhile back but had not watched it until tonight. Now I have made it clear in the past that found footage films are not my cup of tea, and while this film is similar in style, it is much more a documentary exploring events then a found footage film with a loose plot. This of course makes my style of reviewing somewhat difficult to pull off, but I'll try my best. These are The Poughkeepsie Tapes.

Summary

The film begins with a reporter outside a house in the city of Poughkeepsie, north of New York, where hundreds of videotapes have been found, each part of the visual record of horrifying murders. Along with them are dozens of bodies buried around the abandoned house, and from here, the 'story' begins. Interviews are shown with various members of law enforcement, from police to Federal agents to profilers to morticians, each exploring the contents of the tapes and the man who made then. We also see some of the scenes of the killer's activities, from his first abduction of a young girl and her murder, to much more thorough and premeditated kills. We learn the killer is quite intelligent, as he seems to de-evolve in some kills, going from more advanced weapons to simpler ones as to keep the police unaware that the various murders are the acts of one man. His acts come to a head when he stalks and abducts teenager Cheryl Dempsey from her home after brutally mutilating and killing her boyfriend. On film we see sexual, physically and psychological abuse of Cheryl, reducing her to little more then his 'slave'. In a further effort to throw off the police, he changes his modus operandi and focuses exclusively on prostitutes, which, one psychologist explains, makes the population at large let their guard down- if the victims are a certain group, those outside the group feel safe. This sets in motion an even greater part of his plan, one that leaves law enforcement stunned and the public even more fearful then they were, and it is all on tape for the world to see.
 
Thoughts

It is extremely rare for a movie to present something that makes me want to turn it off. I have a very high tolerance for sick and twisted imagery on film and over years of movies like the Saw series and shows like Dexter and Criminal Minds, I like to believe I have a very strong stomach where serial killers and their actions are concerned. If this film is any indication, I have a long ways to go. There were a number of scenes, many involving the killers interactions with Cheryl after her abduction, that I had to mute or fast forward through because I could not watch without feeling ill at ease. This is the kind of mockumentary where after the fact you really need to confirm that it was all fake, because some aspects seemed way too real to have been done by actors.

There is a form of realism here that many of this kind of film seem to lack- when the actors in the law enforcement roles talk, you believe they are real police and Federal agents; when you see the families of the victims in mourning, you believe they truly lost someone. Most importantly, when you see and hear the killer on the tapes, you not only believe he is truly a serial killer keeping a video log of his crimes, but you also try to tell yourself that no one could be this twisted, even though in reality there are plenty of examples of it. To hear of events is one thing, to see such realistic reenactments is a whole other one.

That said, I think this may be the films biggest problem and the reason it has yet to be released- it works too well. I have read in the past how when it was originally released, the film Cannibal Holocaust (which is on my watch list) was so realistic that it was thought a snuff film and the director was jailed until the cast appeared to tell the world it was just a movie. I think this can be seen in a similar vein- I know now that it is just a movie, but the realism may be too much for the general public, and thus it may be difficult to secure a release that would be cost effective- i.e how big is the market that would buy the movie.

Conclusion

Essentially, this movie works as a mockumentary in that you truly do believe it to be a real documentary, but perhaps that is the problem. A little less realism may have secured it a release, but we may never know. I can honestly say that while I was disturbed by the film I appreciated what it was able to accomplish- it disturbed me, and that is rare. I can't say if I would recommend this film to anyone except the hardcore horror fans or those who have an interest in serial killers. Anyone else would likely not enjoy this film in the least, and even those groups may require a harder stomach then I to get through certain scenes. It is a dark, realistic, and disturbing film reel, but if it peaks your interest and you can find a copy, check it out- but don't say I didn't warn you.

2.5 Crates of Murder Memory Movies out of 5

That's all out of me, until next time I'm the Drew, and I need a shower or a Disney movie to make me feel better..

Drew On Movies #14: Rec (2007) and Victim (2010)

REC (2007) 
Victim (2010)

Two movies and not enough for one review- seems kind of strange doesn't it? Not when you look at the movies.

See the problem with these movies is they don't lend themselves to traditional reviews, and thus I can't really dig too far into either of them without spoiling them completely, albeit for different reasons. In the case of the first one, it's a found footage film that doesn't lend itself too well to an analysis, and the latter is done in such a way that anything beyond the very basic plot outline would reveal too much. Still, I'll do what I can.

Plots

Let's start with the 2007 Spanish found footage film REC, which was remade in the United States in 2008 as Quarantine. I have been informed by the friend who recommended both these films that I should not bother with the remake, which works for me as I tend to hate remakes on principle. The movie follows a reporter and her cameraman who work for a late night news show. The two are doing a feature on firefighters and are allowed to tag along with the crew as they are called to what sounds like a very basic emergency: an old woman trapped in her apartment. However upon arrival at the scene, both they and the firefighters discover the call and the woman are not what they seen. Soon they, along with police who were also called in and the apartment's inhabitants find themselves locked in for reasons they do not know, as well as the woman who they were called to 'help'.  To say much more would ruin the film, but suffice to say given the name of the remake you should be able to get a good grasp on what will occur.

While chatting with the same friend who told me about Rec a  few days back, she mentioned she was watching a film on Netflix she described as weird, sick, and fucked up- which coming from this person, intrigues me, so I figured I'd watch it. Now unlike her, I figured out where the film was going early on, but only because I am familiar with another movie that is based on the same source material as this one. Not to say it's not fucked up though. The film, Victim, is a revenge story taken to a whole different level. The film begins with a young woman being filmed in a hotel room, where she is viciously attacked and seemingly killed by the cameraman. We then cut to a bar, where a good looking young man is having a drink while being watched by a man in a hood. As the younger man goes for his car, he is attacked by the mysterious watcher and another man and knocked out. He awakens in a cellar turned dungeon/ laboratory, where is confronted by a large mute man and a strange scientist, who begin to torture him in increasingly bizarre ways. That's all I can say because anymore would ruin the film.

Thoughts

I'm not a big fan of found footage films, both because they tend to give me a headache and because I feel that especially nowadays the genre is becoming over saturated. Still, like any genre that fills up quickly, there are a few good ones floating around, and REC is one of them. Even knowing a good amount of what to expect based on knowing my horror films, it's still well set up and tension is built quite well. You don't really get to care about any of the characters but in this kind of film that's not really the point. Emotional investment in not required because the movie does not treat itself as fiction- kind of the whole point of the 'found footage' tag. They have an element of reality based solely on the fact that they are not filmed like normal movies but instead as if they are being shot by regular people, and that is supposed to make us feel like this could be real and we could be one of those people.The effects are decent, and the use of the shaky camera is good- you see just enough to worry but not enough to remember that this is a fictional film. There's also some decent kills and a genuine scare or two, which admittedly is getting to be quite rare in modern horror films.

As for Victim, seeing as I was privy to the film's goal, the tension that could have existed was thus gone. However, even knowing where it was going, getting there was pretty disturbing. Again, I can't go into any detail as to why, but what I can say is if you are looking for a very gory torture related film this is not it. The blood is minimal, but that's fine, because it's the more 'clean' torture that really gets under your skin in a film like this. As this is not found footage we actually get characters, but they are portrayed in such a way that really there are no heroes or villains- the three leads are all despicable to one degree or another, so really you aren't rooting for anyone as much as waiting for them to do what you know they are going to do. That said the acting is quite good- Bob Bancroft is quite disturbing as the mysterious scientist who is doing all of this, and while you understand why he does what he does it doesn't change the fact that he is disturbed, and Bancroft plays the role well, being calm and collected one moment and creepy the next.

However both films are not without their flaws- in REC's case, the film, like plenty of horror films before it, has plenty of "why are they doing that" scenes, which, while it adds to the realism, gets pretty damn annoying.  In Victim's case, the ending really spoils the entire film. Again I can't say much but really, with the build up it has, the ending just does not feel right. It's kind of like Law-Abiding Citizen, where the ending just seemed like a tacked on Hollywood ending where the 'good' character won... Except just like that film, the 'bad guy' in this film is very much justified in his actions and by the end you feel more for them then you do the 'good guy'. Let's just say that in a film where all the leads are pretty bad people, the one who is really the worst doesn't get what he deserves in my opinion.

Conclusion

Both films are flawed in one way or another, but they are still pretty good in their own ways. REC is a pretty well done found footage film that has some missteps along the way but also have enough positive elements that you can forgive the rest. Victim is a disturbing piece of work that looses some of it's edge if you catch on early like I did, and is pretty much pointless come the ending. Still it does its job of messing with you and by the end your skin will have crawled a little. Of the two I'd recommend REC first and foremost, especially if you didn't see Quarantine or just like the genre. Victim I only recommend if you are looking for a very sick revenge flick with very little blood and sub-par ending.

3 Infected Neigbours our of 5 for REC
2.5 Mindfucked Assholes out of 5 for Victim

That's all out of me for this time, until the next movie, I'm The Drew and I Be Awesome.