The Poughkeepsie Tapes

USA 2007
produced by
Drew Dowdle, Ward Barnett (executive), Stephen Chbosky (executive), Patrick Lussier (executive), Michael Zoumas (executive) for Brothers Dowdle Productions, Poughkeepsie Films/MGM
directed by John Erick Dowdle
starring Stacy Chbosky, Ben Messmer, Samantha Robson, Ivar Brogger, Lou George, Amy Lyndon, Michael Lawson, Ron Harper, Kim Kenny, Iris Bahr, Scott Beehner, Adarsha Benjamin, Kelli Bielema, Linda Bisesti, Lisa Black, Marissa Blanchard, Bill Bookston, Oto Brezina, Jules Bruff, Paul Buxton, Todd Cahoon, Blaire Chandler, Larry Clarke, Donna Cooper, Bruce Cronander, Meredith Cross, Henry Dittman, Bobby Eskandari, Dennis Garber, Jennifer Griswold, Tom Hauser, Dennis Haack, Tom Hauser, Keisuke Hoashi, Michael Hyland, David James, Ceciley Jenkins, Zale Kessler, Morgan Lariah, Fiona Lincke, Bobbi Sue Luther, Sierra Marcoux, James Mathers, Paulah May, Leah McLean, Tracy Miller, Naveen, Philip Newby, Bruno Oliver, Steven M.Porter, Adrian Roberts, Brad Satin, Brooke Sikkema, Heather Snell, Erin Stutland, Beth Tapper, David Wilcox, Mark McClain Wilson
story by Drew Dowdle, screenplay by John Erick Dowdle, music by Keefus Ciancia

review by
Mike Haberfelner

First of all: This film is not based on true events, there was no Poughkeepsie Tape Killer, the character is entirely made up by the filmmakers ... and yet the film tries to come across as a (third rate) documentary, telling the yarn of a serialkiller (Ben Messmer) who changes his modus operandi repeatedly just to fool the authorities, and in one instant, he even kidnaps a girl, Cheryl (Stacy Chbosky) he makes his slave instead of killing her. Then a man (Bill Bookston) is captured , tried and convicted for the murders, and finally, he is executed, too ... and only a few days later do the police find out they have been fooled (once again) by the real killer.

Eventually, the FBI finds a clue leading to the killers house, where they find boxes full of tapes showing his killings, Cheryl hardly alive and in a terrible state yet totally entranced by her master, the killer (and she will later kill herself) ... but what the FBI doesn't find is a single clue (like fingerprints or DNA) leading to the killer ...

The Poughkeepsie Tapes no doubt wants to come across as an intelligent and serious film, with the pseudo-documentary approach seemingly only putting an emphasis on that ... yet the film is rather ludicruous, badly written, not completely thought through, and - perhaps worst of all - totally devoid of any suspense.

The main point of my critique is probably that the fake matter-of-fact approach allows the filmmakers to keep the film's central character, the killer, a void, a featureless being, and since he isn't caught in the film, there are no proper explanations to his actions, especially his highly unusual (and as a matter of fact improbable) deliberate and repeated change of modus operandi (serialkillers just don't do that, never). Instead of getting insight into the killer's mind, the audience is just presented with a series of talking heads, who - as in many actual documentaries - aren't really saying anything. Same goes for the master-slave relationship the killer had with Cheryl. And any tension the film tries to produce is destroyed by - you got it - more talking heads. Plus, while there are many excerpts of what is identified as the killer's actual tapes (which is therefore of intentionally bad quality), these tapes go out of their way to show as little bloodletting as possible, which poses the question: Why did the killer make these tapes then?

Which leads me to another question: Why was this movie made in the first place?

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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