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The Poughkeepsie Tapes is an eerie found footage movie that is largely fictionalized, but drew influence from several real-life serial killers and murders, so only some of the movie is real. Director John Erick Dowdle marketed The Poughkeepsie Tapes as being based entirely on real events in order to captivate audiences with the horrifying snuff movies, news reports, and interviews that encapsulate everything that took place in a basement in Poughkeepsie, New York.
The film starts out with a police raid on a house in Poughkeepsie, New York, during which the police find over 800 videotapes filmed by a Poughkeepsie serial killer named Edward Carver. The horrifying mementos document everything from his abduction process to the post-mortem mutilation in excruciating detail. This leads the police to open an investigation on Carver, but the problem, is, he never shows himself. As horrific as The Poughkeepsie Tapes is, what’s even worse is that it draws from real-life events like other horror movies based on real true crime events.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes: Separating The Facts From The Myths
So, is The Poughkeepsie Tapes real? John Erick Dowdle is best known for his horror movies, especially in the found footage sub-genre. His best-known movie is 2014’s As Above, So Below, but he’s also been recognized for Devil (2010) and Quarantine (2018). While his filmography is not as lengthy as other directors, Dowdle’s movies have made a lasting impact on the use of found footage horror as it has continued to develop from its roots in The Blair Witch Project. Found footage movies are some of the most captivating stories due to their ability to hint at some form of truth behind them and add elements of realism.
Recently, Michael Goi’s Megan Is Missing went viral on TikTok and, along with it, so have The Poughkeepsie Tapes. Both found footage horror movies offer disturbing depictions of kidnapping, assault on women and children, as well as murder. While marketing for found footage movies informs audiences that what they are about to witness is almost entirely real, The Poughkeepsie Tapes is all fabricated, with only a few shreds of truth used to create one of horror’s most terrifying, the Poughkeepsie serial killer. The movie follows a team of investigators as they discuss the videotape recordings the killer kept as a keepsake; they served as a reminder of each murder.
The investigation uncovered 800 videotapes hidden in the basement of a house he rented. As the detectives dive into the unknown killer’s mind, it leads them down a path more disturbing than they could have ever predicted. Despite the claim that The Poughkeepsie Tapes was based on a real-life event, it wasn’t. Instead, it was influenced entirely by past serial killers and their crimes, rather than a Poughkeepsie tapes killer, as well as the exploitative contents of snuff films. Snuff films commonly depict obscene content, normally acts of real homicide.
Are the Poughkeepsie Tapes Real?
There is heavy debate in the film industry on which movies are depicting actual murders and acts of self-mutilation versus those that are staged. Filmed murders and executions do exist, but they weren’t made with the intent to entertain. The only real-life murders and criminal acts that The Poughkeepsie Tapes can be tied to are Kendall Francois’s ten murders, which took place from 1996 to 1998. Francois killed ten sex workers. Despite the influence his crimes may have had on the movie, he never recorded them, which adds a further level of separation between the true story and what the film depicts.
The notorious and heavily documented serial killer Ted Bundy (who is the subject of many movies) also influenced the found footage horror movie. In The Poughkeepsie Tapes, detectives interview Bundy in hopes of garnering some kind of insight or a pattern to help solve the crime. Surprisingly, the serial killer is complicit, and even attempts to help them find a motive by asking when he sexually assaults his victims. Bundy was executed in 1989 for the brutal murders of 30 known victims, but it’s estimated that he killed many more.
He primarily targeted women, much like the killer in The Poughkeepsie Tapes. Ultimately, the answer to “is The Poughkeepsie Tapes real?” is a blend of yes and no. The movie is somewhat based on real events, but only takes portions of them rather than adapting their full stories, as other horror movies have done. There were no actual snuff movies tied to any serial killer, and the Poughkeepsie serial killer in the movie is original to the story.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes Were Ahead Of Their Time
The cult classic The Poughkeepsie Tapes and the spine-chilling story of the Poughkeepsie serial killer is arguably ahead of its time. Unfortunately, thanks to the sheer number of every Paranormal Activity film and a found footage renaissance in the 2000s, audiences have become fatigued with the found footage horror genre. In addition, The Poughkeepsie Tapes‘ staggered release and the fact that its premiere coincided with the first Paranormal Activity film meant that the movie’s premiere went by largely unnoticed. However, these things aren’t why one of the best horror films from the 2000s was ahead of its time.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes, first and foremost, reads like a true-crime documentary chronicling the horrific reign of the Poughkeepsie serial killer. One of the unique things that the movie highlights is the sheer media circus that accompanies these kinds of crimes and is openly critical of the spectacle. Popular serial killer documentaries today, like Netflix’s Dont F*** With Cats, lampoon the media and the public’s fascination bordering on obsession with serial killers. The Poughkeepsie Tapes subtly underlines this fact, proving that the horror film may have done better if it were released in the 2020s, rather than 2007.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes: Where To Watch
For many years, The Poughkeepsie Tapes was extremely hard to find a legal copy of. That’s due to The Poughkeepsie Tapes being pulled from release for almost a decade. A Blu-ray was released in 2017, and The Poughkeepsie Tapes can also currently be streamed on several different services, including Redbox and Tubi. Oddly though, it’s only available to subscribers of those particular services, and not to rent or buy at general digital retailers. Despite that discrepancy in viewing options, it’s a true victory for horror fans that The Poughkeepsie Tapes is now widely available after being sought after for so long.
Other Disturbing Movies Censors Thought Were Real And Banned
The Poughkeepsie Tapes isn’t the only horror movie so disturbing it fell foul of the censors. Many horror flicks err too far into the Uncanny Valley, creating uncertainty around whether audiences were taking in real horror or adept storytelling. That’s if they didn’t use the controversy to promote the movie, however – and several films that were banned in America wore their censored status proudly, especially when the bootleg and underground VHS market was strong. While it’s hard to believe nowadays, at one point in the 1980s, a VHS of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1976) was a collector’s item for horror movie aficionados.
Censors in many countries, including the US, fell for the movie’s “disclaimer” that the events it portrayed were true. Today, however, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2021) is streamable by anyone with a Netflix subscription. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1976) still enjoyed a theatrical release and yearly screenings, though. Some movies were, much like The Poughkeepsie Tapes, too realistic to even make it to the big screen (there used to be more independent movie theaters with the freedom to choose their billings, and they weren’t always new releases, so getting a movie into big-screen matinee showings was easier than landing a VHS release).
The controversial Cannibal Holocaust (1980) is perhaps the most infamous. The scenes of impalement, sexual violence, and the titular cannibalism fooled censors so effectively that the movie’s still banned in several countries over four decades since its release. Faces of Death (1978) was another headline-maker, with the original proudly boasting its banning in “over 46 countries” due to the debatability of its death and violent scenes being wholly fictional. Despite being produced in the 1970s, Faces of Death still had to be heavily edited before it got its first unrestricted release in 2003.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes is actually one of the more recent examples of found-footage and horror controversy, despite its initial 2007 release being over a decade ago. The 70s and 80s were the golden age for this type of media. Just as True Crime shows have captured the cultural fascination with the macabre for 2020s audiences, “banned” movies were a regular talking point and made news headlines frequently during the era that the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Cannibal Holocaust, and Faces of Death were released.
Making a movie so disturbing the censors banned it was almost a point of pride, and creators definitely used it as a subversive marketing tactic to drive sales. Fortunately, horror fans in the 21st century don’t have to scour bootleg VHS stalls or have hushed back-room conversations at Blockbuster to get their hands on movies like The Poughkeepsie Tapes, and even though they remain controversial talking points, these movies have found a new, less restricted, lease of life thanks to modern streaming platforms.
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