The Poughkeepsie tapes came out in 2007 to mixed reviews.
It gained a cult following since.
Created as a fake serial killer documentary, it follows the police and the FBI as they detail the atrocities and show the videos of crimes committed by a serial killer.
Of course it is fully fictional.
Spoilers ahead and a trigger warning for violence seems necessary.
Never in a million years would the police provide evidence to a documentary of an active serial killer and admit their faults.
Never. Not once. Not in our universe.
The killer framed the wrong guy, got him charged and executed, and the police still agreed to participate in the documentary ? I am amazed.
Most of the rest is credible but this one thing stuck.
Getting them to admit fault in any case is a titan’s task. They are masters at swiping their mistakes under the rug.
The kidnappings, the weirdo vibes, the videos, the torture, the killings, everything has been done by real people before. The FBI going to a crime scene and showing where the bodies were found in a movie when the killer hasn’t been caught yet? Nope.
Aside perhaps from the Zodiac killer, but that’s because he’s not active anymore, and probably dead and buried.
This one is still alive, and teases them even.
I’m not going to go into the psychology of it all, it’s a low budget fake documentary… but just know that Stockholm syndrome doesn’t actually exist.
It was one case that was made up by a psychiatrist.
The victim went on to say that she never « fell in love » with her kidnapper, she just did everything she could to get out alive when a man was threatening her.
So Cheryl here being traumatized after years of torture : yes.
Claiming her undying devotion to her captor : no.
But again, this was in 2007, and feminism wasn’t where it is today. Elevated horror was still scarce.
All in all, The Poughkeepsie tapes is fairly enjoyable in the low budget found footage genre.
It’s a decent mix between snuff, procedural, documentary and fake true crime.
The acting is fine for the most part, the weirdness of the tapes makes the movie what it is.
It has its place in our little horror world.
My rating : 2,5/5 bats
🦇🦇📽📽📽
(Picture a half-eaten bat here, the emojis won’t let me do it)