Alicia I love this movie so much

Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Steineded How sad is this?

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

DogFilmCritic I saw this on TV, on of those nights were you just can't sleep and found this...let's not call it a hidden gem, but man it kept you on your seat.This movie took a lot of effort and research, at times it actually felt like a real documentary, the acting was pretty good as well. You actually feel disturb in some scenes specially the ones with kids. As the FAQs says they made a lot or research on actual serial killers and their bizarre behavior with the victims, it's very shocking.I don't understand why this movie is so "hidden" it's one of the few found footage (some of it) that's feels accurate to why it's tape the way it is. With a few plot holes involving a suspect,this movie is very gripping and shocking. I say give it a watch

CinemaClown Definitely amongst the better examples of found footage horror, The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a downright shocking, extremely disturbing & profoundly scarring experience that offers an unnerving insight into the psyche of a sadistic serial killer, is filmed in a manner that makes its images look highly gruesome & realistic, and contains segments that's going to make its viewers flinch multiple times throughout its runtime.Shot in a faux-documentary style, The Poughkeepsie Tapes follows police investigators who recover around 800 videotapes after raiding an abandoned house in a city just north of New York. Within these tapes are recordings that unveil a sadistic killer's decades-long reign of terror during which he abducted, killed & mutilated nearly as many victims and recorded his crimes on camera. As they go through the tapes one by one, they find themselves severely affected by these horrific images.Co-written & directed by John Erick Dowdle, The Poughkeepsie Tapes is based on the real- life crimes committed by the notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy, and captures his crimes in a very grainy, messed-up & low-resolution style which does conceal the gruesome details of those recorded footages to an extent but in turn also allows the viewers' imagination fill in those gaps, thus leaving its audience utterly disturbed by the inhuman nature of it all. But it isn't just one brutal sequence after another for there is more to this film.It attempts to shape up the psychological profile of the serial killer although that part isn't very refined. The documentary style of shooting, interspersed with those tinted recordings bring a discomforting layer of its own, its 86 minutes of runtime is steadily paced, and even its cheap looking production ends up working in its favour. There's one particular scene in the story where we meet the killer's only surviving victim and to witness the entire effect of the prolonged torture on her psyche is not only troubling but equally heartbreaking as well.On an overall scale, The Poughkeepsie Tapes is undeniably a difficult film to sit through but it also left me pleasantly surprised with its interesting plot, captivating narration, menacing tone, relatively fine performances from its amateur cast and its uncanny ability to instil fear without showing everything on the screen. The tension is palpable at times and although it isn't devoid of its shortcomings, The Poughkeepsie Tapes ends up faring much better than my initial expectations and is one chiller I don't mind recommending to every horror fan out there. Definitely not for the squeamish!

Jess C Look, this movie is definitely disturbing on many levels and that is exactly why I gave it 2 stars even though I wanted to give it none. "Found footage" style is the new go-to for every hack in Hollywood and I'm tired of it. It was barely good back in 1999 when Blair Witch was released. Every moronic filmmaker with a flimsy idea and no money wants to use this method. So why is this one worse than most? Because it used something real. Something this was a REAL tragedy that ruined quite a few families. And I'm not being a moralist here; I would not have had any problem with this film, had it only been artistic, original, or inventive in any way. But it wasn't. It was just another gross-out ripoff trying to suck from the teat of the Saw franchise, but even worse because actual women were murdered by this guy. So I was bothered and disgusted for NO reason, because I could have watched a legitimate documentary about this case. Or, even better, a well-made movie based on characters that weren't either victims of actual, serious crimes or fat pieces of psychotic s*** that died in their prison cells. Do we really want to appreciate anything made by sick, non-imaginative a-holes who spent this much time trying to emulate a snuff film? I sure as hell don't. This was an abomination and I regret every minute I spent watching it.

begob Well paced, but it reminds me of some real-crime US documentaries from the '70s, so not an original.It is unpleasant, but no jump scares and no tension. So it's not a horror either - although there is a disturbing murder at 1:09.The interviews to camera aren't convincing - I guess that's difficult to get right, to balance script and improv with good editing. The two main characters are interesting. I think they showed too much of the killer in his mask and ruff - gave the impression of a dramatic bloviator, which ruined the deliberate mystery for me. The interview with Cheryl was a chance to make a great story, to show how she was in love yet doomed, show us the real killer. But it was just a bit sad.The decision to use "authentic" '80s sound & vid quality for the first half was a bad call - although it had some effect, I found it irritating. The soundtrack relies on discord at scary moments, elsewhere a soft xylophone rhythm.Well worth a watch, but it me no horror makey.