A Gory Enfant Terrible: The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2009)

The 2009 production of The Poughkeepsie Tapes by John Eric Dawdle is a found-footage and faux documentary film that narrates the serial killings and gory tortures of a fictional killer operating in Poughkeepsie, New York. The film has been, since its release, subjected to heavy criticism regarding its massive representation of controversial topics such as rape, torture, and cold-blooded homicide which are presented to the audience with gory scenes. Even though the entirety of the film is a work of fiction, the sheer amount of violence, natural acting and pacing, and the narration of the film make it hard to deduce—for first timers—whether the implied message is of true origins.

Resembling Dawdle’s signature in As Above So Below (2014) in terms of the narration and cinematic technique, The Poughkeepsie Tapes begins with several law enforcers and police officials claiming that they have collected and watched hundreds of videotapes and footage—although 27 of them are surprisingly missing from the collection—which sheds light into the psychology of the killer as well as revealing how he kidnapped, tortured, and killed his victims. The killer has never revealed himself or his face in the tapes—though he has given the information pertaining to the whereabouts of the videotapes in hopes of getting caught by the police—even though his voice and interactions with his victims can be observed. In order to continue his killing spree, at times we see him impersonating many personas so as to look more appealing and trusting toward his victims—for example, a man whose car has been broken down who needs help and a police officer who is slowly dragging his victim toward the site of murder.

Coined as the “Water Street Butcher,” the killer’s style and course of action, as the killings and tapes continue forward, gets much more careful, attentive, and meticulous which captures the attention of law enforcers. He has, not surprisingly, improved a lot during his reign of terror. Water Street Butcher’s probably the most shocking, revolting, and wretched act was directed upon a young girl named Cheryl Dempsey. Dempsey, through her stay with the killer, has been subjected to both physical and psychological torture: she has been raped, mutilated, beaten, degraded, enslaved (both physically and mentally), and has been forced to murder another victim. Under the wing (!) of the killer, Dempsey’s exhaustive stay represents a case study for Stockholm syndrome—even after everything she has been subjected to throughout her long-lived reprieve, she still claims that the pair are in love with each other. Sadly, after having been rescued by police officers, Dempsey commits suicide within weeks because she misses her “lover” and cannot do it without him. 

Initially, a police officer named James Foley was suspected, convicted, and given the death penalty because of significant evidence pointing to him as the sick murderer. One matching sperm sample—which was taken by the serial killer from a fertility clinic so as to frame Foley—brought in the course of action and caused the death of an innocent police officer. This demonstrates yet another meticulous study and analysis by the serial killer, in going as far as framing an entirely innocent person. Another saddening thing regarding James Foley was that when he was acquitted of his conviction—he was acquitted because the killings continued aligning with the serial killer’s modus operandi—September 11 attacks had taken place. No one really had the chance to see the news regarding his innocence because he was, as his son claims, pushed to the sixth page of the newspaper.

In brief, The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2009) is not for everyone to watch, which is not inherently a bad quality for a work of art to possess since not every art is for the general public. This is a similar case although the reasoning behind it lies in the semi-extreme violence and torture scenes present in the film. Regardless, this faux documentary is a decent film with its good actors, unique cinematic techniques, and its pacing.