I found Cropsey by googling "scary documentaries". Not surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of good options. Most were political documentaries, which aren't 'scary' as much as just 'true'. The description said Cropsey was about two filmmakers investigating an serial killer urban legend in their home of Staten Island. Being the only option I found, I thought I'd give it a shot.
What the film is actually about is...well, harder to describe. Mainly because it was so all over the place. In an hour and a half the film covers a myriad of topics, from child abduction to ghosts to the mentally handicapped. A very thin narrative tries to tie it together.
The narrative follow the legal trials of Andre Rand, a homeless man accused of the kidnapping/murder of young children over numerous decades. Tall and skinny with sunken cheeks, Rand is a poster-boy for sexual perverts. He became something of an urban legend around Staten Island, with lots of theories as to the grisly details of his crimes.
We are introduced to the families of the victims; all young children with mental disabilities. Yeah, so if kidnapping kids wasn't evil enough this guy only targeted the handicapped. Through old news footage we follow the tense search parties for the kids, and eventually the discovery of one of the bodies. Rand is arrested and charged based on eye witness accounts, but no real evidence is ever found. He serves time, but never admits guilt or where the other bodies were hidden.
What I learned: Okay so if that was the whole plot, it'd be a semi-decent crime doc. But the directors decided to add in a handful of other subplots. We also learn about:
An abandoned childrens' institution for the mentally retarded that was famous for its abuse of its patients. Children were abused and neglected, left naked and unsupervised. Geraldo Riveria gained national attention for first reporting on it in 1972.
The urban legend of Cropsey, a Boogeyman like character that haunts the Staten Island area. Basically the Boogeyman but with a thick accent I guess.
How Staten Island is kind of the whipping boy for that region. It takes in thousands of pounds of other place's garbage for profit, and has severe environmental problems because of it.
An abandoned childrens' institution for the mentally retarded that was famous for its abuse of its patients. Children were abused and neglected, left naked and unsupervised. Geraldo Riveria gained national attention for first reporting on it in 1972.
The urban legend of Cropsey, a Boogeyman like character that haunts the Staten Island area. Basically the Boogeyman but with a thick accent I guess.
How Staten Island is kind of the whipping boy for that region. It takes in thousands of pounds of other place's garbage for profit, and has severe environmental problems because of it.
What I liked: What I liked is actually what brought me to tears. The film theorizes that urban legends are created to disguise the real truths in human nature, specifically that humans are capable of committing terrible crimes. The film has some gut wrenching interviews with the victims' families, as they ask point blank, "what kind of human being could do these terrible things?" The movie forces you to confront the worst of humanity: a sexual deviant preying on the mentally handicapped. Doesn't get much worse than that. It called into question my faith in humanity, and any kind of 'higher power' that would allow this to happen.
What I didn't like: This movie was all over the place. What were they trying to say? No concrete evidence was ever found against Rand. Was he a scapegoat, charged to put the community back at ease? That'd be a great theme for a doc. He has ties to the occult and the community is obsessed with the urban legends that surround him. Another good theme. The loss of a child and how a family deals with it. I could go on and on- they should have just picked one and ran with it for more than a minute.
The film hit its peak of ridiculousness when the filmmakers decided to enter the old children's institution. At night. By themselves. It was total Blair Witch, Ghost Hunters crap. You can't have suspenseful court room drama one minute then try to do terrifying ghost hunting the next.
The film hit its peak of ridiculousness when the filmmakers decided to enter the old children's institution. At night. By themselves. It was total Blair Witch, Ghost Hunters crap. You can't have suspenseful court room drama one minute then try to do terrifying ghost hunting the next.
Anyway, I shouldn't have written this much about a movie that left so little an impression on me. To sum it up; missing kids make me cry, Staten Island is a modern day Twin Peaks, and this guy creeps me out.
You could watch this on Netlfix streaming. But don't.
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