How The Poughkeepsie Tapes could have been much better

Spanish Harlem

I had heard a lot about this film as it always comes up in conversations about the most disturbing film you've ever seen. Well, I watched it last night to see what all the fuss was about. I deliberately didn't read any reviews or plot summaries beforehand so as not to bias my view of the film. All I knew was that it was based on a real-life serial killer.

My opinion: it was average. Not a terrible film, not great, just "meh". Here's where they went wrong:

• Music: During some of the murder/torture scenes, drums were used to build up the tension and along with other "suspense" sounds effects. This shatters the illusion that you're watching a psychopath's home-made snuff videos. The Blair Witch Project pulled off the documentary feel perfectly.
  
  
• Poor colour/lighting: During the murder scenes, the picture would be fuzzy and blurry to give the effect that it was shot on a handheld camera. The colours would fluctuate between green and greyish and the lighting was often poor for the same reasons. I understand the eerie effect that the director was going for but it made hug chunks of the film unwatchable and impossible to know what was going on. Even handheld cameras from the early 90s weren't that bad. Again, see the BWP for how to this correctly.
  
  
• Not based on a true story: Although I originally thought the contrary, 20 minutes into the film I knew that these "home-made" tapes weren't authentic due to the reasons above. I even doubted there ever was a Poughkeepsie killer. A quick google proved me to be right.
  Kendall Francois was a serial killer of prostitutes from Poughkeepsie but the film had nothing to do with his story and he never recorded any of his murders.
  .

This was the biggest disappointment for me. One of my all-time favourite films is Zodaic (2007). Although it was a Hollywood thriller and not a documentary, it was based on a true story and was thus infinitely more spine-chilling. It's fascinating watching the police investigation evolve and how it becomes an obsession for the cops. Unlike, Poughkeepsie Tapes, it doesn't rely on obscene gore scenes to keep the audience hooked and has you guessing until the end.

All comments welcome. Does anybody have other recommendations for gripping serial killer films?

IamMetaldave

Spanish Harlem wrote: »

I had heard a lot about this film as it always comes up in conversations about the most disturbing film you've ever seen. Well, I watched it last night to see what all the fuss was about. I deliberately didn't read any reviews or plot summaries beforehand so as not to bias my view of the film. All I knew was that it was based on a real-life serial killer.

My opinion: it was average. Not a terrible film, not great, just "meh". Here's where they went wrong:

• Music: During some of the murder/torture scenes, drums were used to build up the tension and along with other "suspense" sounds effects. This shatters the illusion that you're watching a psychopath's home-made snuff videos. The Blair Witch Project pulled off the documentary feel perfectly.
  
  
• Poor colour/lighting: During the murder scenes, the picture would be fuzzy and blurry to give the effect that it was shot on a handheld camera. The colours would fluctuate between green and greyish and the lighting was often poor for the same reasons. I understand the eerie effect that the director was going for but it made hug chunks of the film unwatchable and impossible to know what was going on. Even handheld cameras from the early 90s weren't that bad. Again, see the BWP for how to this correctly.
  
  
• Not based on a true story: Although I originally thought the contrary, 20 minutes into the film I knew that these "home-made" tapes weren't authentic due to the reasons above. I even doubted there ever was a Poughkeepsie killer. A quick google proved me to be right.
  Kendall Francois was a serial killer of prostitutes from Poughkeepsie but the film had nothing to do with his story and he never recorded any of his murders.
  .

This was the biggest disappointment for me. One of my all-time favourite films is Zodaic (2007). Although it was a Hollywood thriller and not a documentary, it was based on a true story and was thus infinitely more spine-chilling. It's fascinating watching the police investigation evolve and how it becomes an obsession for the cops. Unlike, Poughkeepsie Tapes, it doesn't rely on obscene gore scenes to keep the audience hooked and has you guessing until the end.

All comments welcome. Does anybody have other recommendations for gripping serial killer films?

Fair points! I thoroughly enjoyed it myself.

Liam McPoyle

Its been a couple of years since I watched it but I dont remember any "obscene" gore scenes in TPT?

I loved it anyway, its my favourite "found footage" genre movie.I knew it wasnt based on real events but the ending really stuck with me.