Some Quick Thoughts on The Poughkeepsie Tapes

I’m not sure I have it in me for a full review of this film. Part of it is the content, but the larger issue is how I viewed the film-on a laptop, streamed through MySpace (hey they’re still around?) with about four total inches of screen (blowing it to full screen caused way too much pixilation for anything to be considered a passable image).

The Poughkeepsie Tapes is presented as a documentary with two main components. Interspersed with the talking head FBI interviews is footage from the eight hundred hours worth of videotapes the killer left in his wake.

The footage on the tapes is the draw of the film. We bear witness to the systematic kidnapping, physical and psychological torture and eventual dismemberment of victims. What sets the Poughkeepsie Tapes apart is it breaks one of the cardinal rules of most modern horror-that little kids are untouchable. “Ed’s” first victim is a young girl he snatches right from her front lawn. While we don’t see what happens after he throws her in the car, we see crime scene photos and learn her barbaric fate. This sets up one of the more unnerving scenes later on, when a pair of girl scouts knocks on his door. Knowing that killing kids is on the table, every second of the later scene becomes a nail biting experience. The footage works, and while the grainy, often out of focus VHS footage can be frustrating to watch at times, it adds a definite sense of realism to the proceedings.  

The film focuses on the abduction a young woman Cheryl Dempsey, who was beaten and kidnapped by Ed. For whatever unknown reason, Ed takes a shine to Cheryl, and decides not to immediately dispose of her. Instead, he verbally, mentally and physically breaks her will, all in front of the camera. It’s cringe worthy viewing (he goes as far as to taunt the girl’s grief stricken mother outside her home). He continuously dehumanizes her, eventually turning her into a walking talking anime doll, and forces her to become a participant in his crimes.

Thankfully, all the acting outside of Ed’s home video collection is so atrocious; it gave me a respite from the nearly overwhelming grimness of the film. In particular, I’d like to thank Ron Harper for his portrayal of the stodgy FBI professor. He delivers his lines about wanting to become a profiler in order to “take the bastards out” with such ham fisted earnestness that if you listen very closely, you can hear Charlton Heston clapping his approval from the other side. 

The film did something very few films do nowadays. It unnerved me to no end. I did something I hadn’t done since I first watched Inside just about a year ago. I turned the deadbolt to the front door of our condo.  I can take a fair amount o blood, guts and gore. Movies like Hostel and the Fulci eye gouging stuff have no effect on me. But there’s something about the added layer of realism, and the relentless toying with helpless victims excruciating to get through. I’m not surprised the planned theatrical run was scrapped (the trailer ran before Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) as there’s nothing further removed from a popcorn film. I am a bit perplexed as to the lack of any sort of home video release plans, especially since writer/director had a small hit with Quarantine (hey it did make some box office bucks) and the intriguing looking Devil. Search this one out streaming online if you’re looking for something outside the norm.