The Poughkeepsie Tapes poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Amy Lyndon, Ben Messmer, Ivar Brogger, Kim Kenny, Lou George ... see more see more... , Michael Lawson , Ron Harper , Samantha Robson , Stacy Chbosky , Ivan Brogger

A serial killer obsessively documents his career in carnage in this pseudo-documentary thriller. When police raid a house in upstate New York, they discover a profoundly disturbing record of one man's... read more read more... ugly crimes. A psychotic serial killer once called the house his home, and along with the implements of his grisly pastime, investigators find over 240 hours of videotape shot by the killer which present a visual record of his murders in all their horrifying details. Both state and federal law enforcement teams sift through the gruesome images, looking for clues of the slayer's identity, the identity of his victims, and where he could possibly have gone. But repeated viewings of the material reveal little beyond the terrible facts of the crimes, and as the authorities comb through the madman's images, they find the tapes have had a disquieting effect on them. Written and directed by John Erick Dowdle, The Poughkeepsie Tapes was screened in competition at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

48% liked it

27,848 ratings

R, 1 hr. 26 min.

Directed by: John E. Dowdle, John Erick Dowdle

Release Date: February 2, 2009

Invite friends to see

Stats: 805 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

One Sheet - THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES The Poughkeepsie Tapes
Upload a Photo | View All The Poughkeepsie Tapes Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (805)

  • fb729949618
    October 2, 2011
    fb729949618
    A literally crazy film about a sadistic serial killer. I understand it is a mockumentary, but the filming and visuals could have been better. The acting was also poor, not the greatest of films.
  • MovieGeek13
    August 10, 2011
    MovieGeek13
    John Erick Dowdle's unjustly shelved The Poughkeepsie Tapes is not torture porn. It's a terrifying faux documentary that forces you to contemplate the mind of a serial killer.
    The found footage "genre" has been done. But this film takes it one step further. Instead of playing th... read moree found footage ala [Rec] or The Blair Witch Project, The Poughkeepsie Tapes brings in the reactions of FBI officials, relatives of the victims, psycho analysts, and the like who talk about how the found footage has affected them, and how much thought, patience, cunning, determination, and sheer joy the killer put into his murders.
    This is not a film for everyone. The way the interviewed describe what is on the found tapes is unsettling. But then, you're forced to watch parts of the tapes. While the build up is scarier than the pay off, both are effective nevertheless.
    My main complaint is that the script tries to make this serial killer like Jigsaw, which means he's too perfect at what he does. The man has thought out every angle and much to his own satisfaction, he toys with the police. This makes the movie quite predictable. But at the same time, I think the film isn't about how the movie ends. It's an experience that the filmmakers want you to go on, an experience into the most depraved human being civilized society could know.
  • thefog1331
    August 15, 2010
    thefog1331
    There's a few unsettling moments here and there but really this is nothing more than Forensic Files-The Movie except it's embarrassingly obvious that the whole thing is fake with horrible acting and worse dialogue.
  • briandeguelle
    June 15, 2010
    briandeguelle
    Nasty and unpleasant movie told in POV and documentary style not original but works all the same. Gore hounds will be disappointed as there not much blood or guts but its the violence and torture displayed and same out of camera view that makes it all to disturbing.My main proble... read morem is some of the acting was abit lame and spoiled the so called based on real events.Over all there a great 70/80's style to this with great use to the shoddy camera work that the killer used and the music used in the film give me the creeps.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 9, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    Well Some Movies based upon real events get mixed with the real evidence. I think here is the case. Long time ago I saw a Movie, later learned it wasnt a Movie it it was real. Well I dont know much about the PughKeepsie Tapes events but I know that stuff like this shouldnt be ex... read morepected with a "Happy End" like those movies based upon serial killers. Some times the Directors show the Audience authentic stuff just with different Faces.
  • creepfreak
    March 7, 2009
    creepfreak
    I believe if you were to give Ted Bundy a video camera at the age of 14 and tell him to direct a movie you'd have something like The Poughkeepsie Tapes. What we have here is a film(if you can even call it that) with a bunch of sick ideas, but it's put together in the works of a c... read morehild. There is no skill here, but simply just an idea as horrifying as Gary M. Heidnik's psyche results, but filmed by a man who seemingly never watched a documentary film in his life. Being that low attention spans can do this to you I'll try expressing some compassion for this hack and focus more on shitty casting directors. I mean someone needs to be blamed for this mess other than John E. Dowdle, director of Poughkeepsie Tapes, and since the actors were tolerant enough to put up with this atrocity I'll respectably lay off and center my accusations on the casting director, assuming he was on Nitrous Oxide at the time. I have seen better performances in a porno film. Oddly it sometimes takes one person to break the stride of a group related disaster, which is why I'm surprised no one on set told Dowdle he was in the middle of making a shit-bomb almost worse than a Disney version of August Underground's Mordum. But who's really to blame?

    Yes, at times The Poughkeepsie Tapes can be utterly disturbing, but only because there's a true idea of a psychopathic lifestyle on display here. It's too bad the killer seems too much like the actual actor failing to desperately play the killer. It's fu*king embarrassing to watch, and the sad part is it's mostly performed behind a camera. This pitiful display of overdramatized behavior shows the actor's talentless ability through his vocals alone! I really hope no one hires this guy to do the next voice over in Shrek, otherwise we'll have riots with hundreds of little disappointed children. Nothing in The Poughkeepsie Tapes is believable because of this. For those looking for something extreme, in fact even more extreme, I suggest reading from the crime library instead(www.trutv.com/library/crime/). It's much more in depth, and it's actually "true", without any shitty acting or dialogue(which is almost worse than the acting) to ruin your guilty pleasures. And for those looking for an actual Snuff film, well...good luck! You can start your journey by searching for the Paul and Karla Homolka film tapes.

    On a higher note, some visuals in The Poughkeepsie Tapes are truly effective and creepy, and it's followed by a chilling score throughout. The most standout out of spine tingling moments for me would be the killer's "spiderwalk" toward the ending, and the victim who's forced to slash another victim. The last interview in the movie(with the main victim) is also the film's high point. It's a deeply sad and heart shattering moment that sends a chill indeed. Yes, it had it's moments! BUT, it wasn't enough to save it from it's mess. Horrbile acting, an atrociously lame script, and plot holes up the ass. What could have truly been something turned out to be pretty much nothing. The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a film that has "potential" written all over it. As bad as it is though, there were quite some scenes that chilled me enough to give this 2 stars. Other than that there was nothing. Just an empty mess with the smell of a turd to weigh it down. Boo hoo.

    Hopefully "Quarantine" will change my image of John E. Dowdle. Sometimes we're entitled a second chance.
  • kiriyamakazou
    January 26, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    As a mockumentary it is an absolute failure. This is because it is never believable, killings would never be shown in such a film and the acting was poor and obviously scripted. Also why would a real documentary start with somebody asking "Are you filming?". The only reason this ... read morewould have to be done would be to establish that it WAS a documentary, which no documentary needs to do. Some of the scenes are disturbing and I think the film should have just been shot through the killers eyes. The cheapness also leads to some poorly handled and offensive digs at 9/11 and victims of such crimes. Obvious in its twists and turns which dampen the effects of the truly chilling moments, such as the weird double mask walk.
  • silentbob66
    February 23, 2009
    silentbob66
    When a bunch of boxes containing what seems to be a endless amount of video tapes is found inside a abandoned house little do cops know that on these tapes is the decade long reign of a very violent and sick serial killer thats the starting off point for this Mockumentary that fo... read morellows the story of a brutal killer that liked to violently torture his victims in many different ways. This was a hard movie to review cause it had alot of good points and also alot of bad i enjoyed it for the most part and would recommend it for a one time watch the story if interesting but the acting could have been more believeable for me.
  • cacutshaw
    January 8, 2009
    cacutshaw
    I didn't know whether audiences would ever see this one. I remember it being advertised over a year ago, then disappearing completely. Maybe it would have worked better back then, though I doubt it.
    A fake documentary on a brilliant serial killer who is always several steps ahe... read moread of the authorities is interesting, but not engrossing. I was waiting for some kind of revelation, some new development that would make it go beyond just a make believe serial killer, but it wasn't to come. It was rather disappointing that I had to view the torture and deaths and then in the end, there was really nothing to them. Just, "Boy is this serial killer ever smart". Whoop-de-do. Still, it's well made and as long as your hopes aren't high it's moderately entertaining, though not one of the better serial killer mockumentaries.
  • fb555928095
    November 28, 2011
    fb555928095
    In many ways, The Poughkeepsie Tapes is not an overly original film: the found footage genre has been time and time again, and serial killers filming their rimes can be traced back through other films like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and, more recently, The Last Horror Mov... read moreie. But The Poughkeepsie Tapes takes these aspects into new territory. Staged as a faux-documentary, The Poughkeepsie Tapes focuses upon both the agents who study the tapes now like textbooks as well as upon the tapes themselves images of the serial killer at work. As we proceed closer and closer to discovering the killer's motives, the film slowly weaves an unsettling spell over the audience. A creepy, stylish, and original piece of found footage horror, The Poughkeepsie Tapes takes the viewer on a journey into the twisted mind of a serial killer as well as the minds of those who study and catch such killers.

View All The Poughkeepsie Tapes Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jason Morgan
May 12, 2009
Jason Morgan, Filmcritic.com

it's the killer's bizarre motivations that truly terrify Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • 8MM
    8MM (100%)
  • Diary of the Dead
    Diary of the Dead (0%)
  • Maniac!
    Maniac! (100%)
  • Za ginipiggu 6: Peter no akuma no joi-san (Guinea Pig 6: Peter's Devil Woman Doctor)
    Za ginipiggu 6: Peter no akuma no joi-san (Gu... (0%)

More Movies like The Poughkeepsie Tapes

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

The Poughkeepsie ... : Watch Free on TV

The Poughkeepsie Tapes Trivia

  • In The Poughkeepsie Tapes, when do the officers eat doughnuts and drink too much, then throw up on the tapes, thereby destroying them completely?  Answer »
  • Who was the F B I field agent in The Poughkeepsie Tapes ?  Answer »
  • Who was the F B I audio visual specialist in The Poughkeepsie Tapes ?  Answer »
  • How many boxes of tapes were in the house in The Poughkeepsie Tapes ?  Answer »
More The Poughkeepsie Tapes Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for The Poughkeepsie Tapes. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add The Poughkeepsie Tapes to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?