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Cropsey

USA 2009
produced by
Barbara Brancaccio, Joshua Zeman, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte (executive), Zachary Mortensen (executive) for Antidote Films, Ghost Robot, Afterhours Productions, Off Hollywood Pictures
directed by Barbara Brancaccio, Joshua Zeman
written by Joshua Zeman, music by Alex Lasarenko

documentary

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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Filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio both grew up in Staten Island, and when they were kids they have both heard stories about Cropsey, who was supposed to be an escaped mental patient who lived in the abandoned, decaying Willowbrook Mental Institution and who loved to kill little children - in other words stories that were the typical mix of cautionary tales and urban legends that exist in every neighbourhood.

But when young Jennifer Schweiger disappeared in 1987, the stories about Cropsey suddenly got their belated grain of truth, and the stories totally came to life when Jennifer's body was found and a certain André Rand, a drifter who had found abode in the vast underground system of the Willowbrook Mental Institution about the time Jennifer had disappeared.

All the evidence was purely circumstantial, but Rand fitted the profile of Cropsey just so perfectly - he even was a resident of Willowbrook Mental Institution when it was still in operation, though as an employee, not a patient -, so he was tried and convicted ... though interestingly only for kidnapping Jennifer, not for murdering her, since there was insufficient evidence for that. Inm a way, it seems like the public needed their boogeyman after the death of Jennifer, and they got it, and one has to admit, André Rand looks rather creepy (which in itself of course is no crime).

Later, other, older cases of missing children surfaced, which all could be somehow linked to Rand (though mainly because he was living in the neighbourhood), but the bodies of these kids were never found, their whereabouts are unknown to this day. Still, Rand was eventually convicted for a second kidnapping, on at times questionable evidence - which is not to say he didn't do it, just that the conviction might have been premature.

Soon, tons of weird stories about Rand surfaced which made it almost impossible to remain objective about the case, stories that claim that Rand was either a loner, a leader of a gang of outcasts, someone who sold kids into slavery, or a footsoldier of a satanist cult.

Filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio decide the ony way to find something to even resemble the truth would be to try to get in touch with Rand directly, but at first he refuses to even answer their letters, then becomes a quite frequent letter writer though. He even invites them to visit him in prison, but then pretty much turns them away at the door. He continues to write letters though, even if they become more and more bizarre in tone.

Is this proof that he is the insane child killer everyone believes him to be? Or only due to the fact that he's an old man and former drifter who has spent almost two decades in prison and will spend several more?

 

If you thought you'd find the truith about André Rand and the child murders attributed to him in this movie, you'll probably be disappointed.

Instead though, this film gives you much more on another level, it actually gives you insight into the creation of an urban legend: During their investigations, the filmmakers have collected so many facts that claimed to be the truth that they have come to the conclusion the actual truth may be obscured forever (and the filmmakers themselves couldn't make up their mind whether Rand is a monster or a scapegoat). But they leave you with a puzzle which is quite fascinating to piece together, to say the least ...

 

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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Thanks for watching !!!

 

 

In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

Amazon

Amazon UK

Vimeo

 

 

 

Robots and rats,
demons and potholes,
cuddly toys and
shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

is all of that.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to
-
a collection of short stories and mini-plays
ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic
to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle, all thought up by
the twisted mind of
screenwriter and film reviewer
Michael Haberfelner.

 

Tales to Chill
Your Bones to

the new anthology by
Michael Haberfelner

 

Out now from
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