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Donna Cutugno, Karen Schweiger, David Novarro, Ralph Aquino

Staten Island filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio reveal how an urban legend conjured up to keep kids from exploring abandoned buildings became a horrifying reality when a mysterious drifte... read more read more...r began abducting children in their tight-knit urban neighborhood. Growing up, Zeman and Brancaccio were deluged with terrifying tales of Cropsy, a murderous mental patient prone to snatching children off the streets and taking them to the derelict buildings that were once part of the Willowbrook Mental Institution. Some claimed Crospey had a hook for a hand; others claimed his weapon of choice was a large axe. In 1987, that legend crossed the boundary into reality when 13-year-old Jennifer Schweiger vanished without a trace. Her disappearance sent shockwaves of fear through the community, but it was only the first. Before long Crospey had a name: Andre Rand. When a photo of a handcuffed Rand was released in the press, the public didn't need a conviction to know he was the man who had been preying on their children. In this film, Zeman and Brancaccio go back to the scene of the crimes to search for clues, and speak with the locals about how the case has haunted them for decades. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

61% liked it

1,261 ratings

Critics

87% liked it

31 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 24 min.

Directed by: Barbara Brancaccio, Joshua Zeman

Release Date: June 4, 2010

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DVD Release Date: May 10, 2011

 

Stats: 205 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (205)

  • superclerk25
    June 20, 2011
    superclerk25
    This was a chilling doc about a series of child murders. It's scary to see all of the history behind it. The location is eerie and the people we meet are just as off putting sometimes. Well shot and well put together.
  • flixsterman
    December 12, 2010
    flixsterman
    Noncommittal presentation of the events surrounding the disappearance of several children in Staten Island, New York. Cropsey doesn't pretend to know all the answers, but it certainly asks all the right questions. Creepy and compelling.
  • Tomassgringo
    November 29, 2010
    Tomassgringo
    I was expecting more of urban legends in general and this movie is more of a story that narrows in on one suspect for crimes committed over two decades. It is still ok....but the descriptions were misleading.
  • creepfreak
    September 9, 2010
    creepfreak
    I highly recommend this real-life documentary!

    Actual Story:
    "Growing up on Staten Island, filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio had often heard the urban legend of "Cropsey." It was a cautionary tale invented to keep them out of the abandoned buildings that remained... read more of the Willowbrook Mental Institution. Cropsey was supposedly an escaped patient who would come out late at night and snatch children off the streets sometimes with a hook for a hand, other times with a bloody ax. But in 1987, Jennifer Schweiger, a 13-year-old with Down syndrome, disappeared from their community. For Zeman, Brancaccio, and the other kids of Staten Island, their urban legend became real.

    Even as adults, this real-life boogeyman hasn't escaped the minds of the filmmakers. The eeriness of the mystery pulsates through the film as they journey into the underbelly of their borough to investigate not just Schweiger's disappearance but four other missing children linked to a shadowy drifter named Andre Rand. As more information and clues unravel, Zeman and Brancaccio become more immersed in shocking surprises and revelations. The reality they uncover in this uniquely hair-raising documentary is more terrifying than any urban legend."

    Photobucket

    My Review:
    I finally watched this. It's very creepy, and it's all real. Andre Rand is one sick, scary bastard. He brings true meaning to the word insanity. Don't watch this documentary expecting any answers, because there aren't any. When you dwell into the mind of a "truly" insane psychopath you get lost in the mist of irrationally incomprehensible non-actualities and are left with nothing but bewilderment. The ending may leave you pissed off, like it did to me. Not because it's bad, because it's not, but because I so desperately needed answers that just weren't there. There never will be any (at least I believe). It's a mystery that'll haunt the community (and viewers) for life. And Andre Rand being imprisoned is just a security blanket for our worst fears and let's us sleep better at night, looking past the truth which is much darker than any movie monster we can imagine. There are still the darkest of souls walking the night, and the tunnels of the Willowbrook Mental Institution, with blood on their hands and a sinister smirk on their mischievous shuddersome faces for getting away with child murder. There's another world aside from ours, a replica of Hell - but just as uncompromisingly evil. Andre Rand, and others like him, live in that hell. And although we may not know them and are oblivious to their true form, they still reside amongst us - barely out of reach so don't feel too safe. Not only are they passing you by in the street...they're also breathing down your neck!

    And this is the truth. We learn that here, in a chill-inducing scary documentary that goes by the name of a real life boogeyman - one who's legend was never proven by fact, but has in fact proven to be frighteningly deadly...

    His name is "Cropsey".

    Photobucket
  • Beefy
    July 15, 2010
    Beefy
    Creepy documentary isn't quite what you think it will be. Instead of an exploration of childhood urban legends and how they may have been affected or created by actual crimes, the film singularly turns to one particular criminal and his horrible acts. Still creepy, just not wha... read moret I thought it would be. The two leads behind the film sure seem to enjoy being on camera.
  • fb1468220308
    May 15, 2011
    fb1468220308
    Very memorable documentary that is worth seeking out.
  • shitfaced8
    June 21, 2011
    shitfaced8
    If the name Cropsey sounds familiar to you, you've probably seen the classic Slasher the Burning about a madman who lives in the woods and likes to hack up young horny teenagers. This isn't about that, but about the real life urban legend of Staten Island New York. This film star... read moreted out about the urban legend at least but then switched focus to a convicted child killer named Andre Rand, whos parallels with the Urban Legend are uncanny. He lived in the woods, and was convicted of killing at least one mentally disabled child (based on shoddy evidence) and is suspected of at least 4 more. He was a former attendee at a school/instituion for the mentally handicapped that has since been shut down called Willowbrook, and him and a number of former employees and patients were known to live in the abandoned building as well as in the underground tunnel systems of the building. Willowbrook was also quite the controversial instituion in it's day due to it's unhumanitarian treatment of it's patients. Some footage is shown of the place in it's heyday and it is disturbing and sickening to say the least. The film goes on to explore the case, a look at Andre Rand (both from former friends and some of his main accusors), the going on's of Willowbrook, and some of the crossover with the Cropsey Urban Legend. All in all a very good and intresting True Crime documentary. I liked that the filmmakers wanted to explore this case and compare it to the Urban Legend, but I think as the movie developed they lost interest in exploring the urban legend and focused more on the case itself which was a little dissappointing for me as this was the most intresting thing about the film for me. Still though a very good Doc that is worth seeing for people intrested in true crime.
  • fb25827189
    January 27, 2011
    fb25827189
    Very in-depth and personal look at an urban legend that became all to real for two filmmakers as they documented the real-life disappearances of several Staten Island youths and the man that is believed to have been responsible for the horrible crimes.

    Very well researched and ... read moreput together. The film is very gripping and disturbing all at the same time.

    It is scary to think what is lurking around your hometown and unfortunately for the people in this community they found out the hard way.

    Definitely check this one out!
  • dukeakasmudge
    December 26, 2011
    dukeakasmudge
    Cropsey is a documentary that was more scarier then some of the horror flicks out there.There are so many stories going around about who or what Cropsey really is.In my opinion, I think it's Andre Rand.When they 1st showed him in custody he put on a crazy act.It's funny how now h... read moree's all normal.I can't remember who said it but I agree that Rand is a criminal genius who likes to toy with people & hold a secret over somebody's head.I would consider Cropsey to be a must see documentary
  • BlackRichie
    December 4, 2011
    BlackRichie
    Cropsey is a very thrilling and compelling Documentary about the unexpected murders of kids that takes place in Staten Island from the early seventies, to the late eighties. What I love about this film is that, even in a documentary, creeps you out about all the disturbing footag... read moree and the actual thought of devil worshipers attempting to sacrifice people in the forest. We follow directors Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio to figure out all mysteries behind suspected killer, Andre Rand. A real satisfying movie, shows how an urban legend can turn into reality.

View All Cropsey Reviews

Critic Reviews

Bill Goodykoontz
July 29, 2010
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

A documentary that delves into what happens when the ghost stories you told as kids, the stuff of urban legends, seem to come true. Full Review

Mark Olsen
July 8, 2010
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times

The story of the unsolved abductions and the man who might have become the scapegoat for a community is troubling enough. No big-screen trickery is required. Full Review

John Anderson
July 6, 2010
John Anderson, Variety

Cropsey has all the trappings of a true-crime TV special, but with an undercurrent of cultural exposition that is intelligent, profound and unsettling. Full Review

Wesley Morris
June 10, 2010
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

Modern horror films rarely capture that pit-of-the-stomach feeling the way this movie does. Full Review

Steve Dollar
June 4, 2010
Steve Dollar, Wall Street Journal

Perhaps most chilling is that the movie leaves the mysteries unresolved. Full Review

Richard Brody
June 4, 2010
Richard Brody, New Yorker

The core of the story is standard TV fare (and the techniques aren't exactly original), but the filmmakers tell it with wit, verve, and compassion. Full Review

Jeannette Catsoulis
June 4, 2010
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

Perched at the intersection of psychological survey and serial-killer exposé, "Cropsey" loosens the girdle of the documentary form to accommodate much more than facts.

Bob Mondello
June 4, 2010
Bob Mondello, NPR

...they've gone to great lengths to raise questions in the audience's mind about the [Rand] case. The answers they've found are questions, their conclusion, inconclusive. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
June 4, 2010
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

On several levels, this film is a real-life horror story that puts most Hollywood movies to shame. Full Review

Nicolas Rapold
June 1, 2010
Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice

The latest Cinema Purgatorio release is really a scary story told in the dark, in the get-this whisper of documentary. Full Review

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  • summer camp caretaker burned beyond recognition, Cropsey returns to wreak bloody vengeance with a lethal pair of shears. Can the likes of Fisher Stevens and Jason Alexander stop him?T  Answer »
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