CROPSEY

I don't know why but I truly and dearly love any film that is shot with that "Blair Witch" style POV. Maybe because to me it's like riding a dark ride at a state fair or walking through a haunted house attraction.

It just seems more spookier when you get that feeling that you are there with the filmmakers.  Case in point, here is a spooky film that I feel anyone should put on their must see list:



Snipped from the press release:

Realizing the urban legend of their youth has actually come true, two filmmakers delve into the mystery behind five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearance in their hometown of Staten Island, New York.

Growing up on Staten Island, filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio had often heard the legend of ‘Cropsey.’ For the kids in their neighborhood, Cropsey was the escaped mental patient who lived in the old abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution, who would come out late at night and snatch children off the streets. Sometimes Cropsey had a hook for a hand, other times he wielded a bloody axe, but it didn’t matter, Cropsey was always out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting to get them.

Later as teenagers, the filmmakers assumed Cropsey was just an urban legend: a cautionary tale used to keep them out of those abandoned buildings and stop them from doing all those things that teenagers like to do. That all changed in the summer of 1987 when a 13-year-old girl with Down syndrome, named Jennifer Schweiger, disappeared from their community.

That was the summer all the kids from Staten Island discovered that their urban legend was real.

Now as adults Joshua and Barbara have returned to Staten Island to create Cropsey, a feature documentary that delves into the mystery behind Jennifer and four additional missing children. The film also investigates Andre Rand, the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.


Embarking on a mysterious journey into the underbelly of their forgotten borough, these filmmakers uncover a reality that is more terrifying than any urban legend.

The film is making the screening rouns and you can now catch a sneak preview on Long Island at the Sag Harbor Cinema at 9PM on June 14th.  Details here.

Also be sure to catch these other screenings:

New York City: IFC Center, June 4-17 (at least)

Somerville, Massachusetts: Somerville Theatre, June 11-17 (at least)

Shreveport, Louisiana: Robinson Film Center, June 11-13

Charlotte, North Carolina: Carolina Cinemas Crownpoint Stadium 12, June 13 4:30pm

Sag Harbor, New York: Sag Harbor Cinema, June 16, 9pm SNEAK PREVIEW

Buffalo, New York: Market Arcade, June 18-24 (at least)

Denver, Colorado: Starz Film Center, June 25-July 1 (at least)

Bushnell, Illinois: Cornerstone Festival, June 28-July 3

Anchorage, Alaska: Bear Tooth Theatre, July 5

Austin, Texas: Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, July 5-7

Los Angeles, California: Downtown Independent, July 9-15 (at least)

New Haven, Connecticut: Criterion Cinema, July 23-29 (at least)

Seattle, Washington: Northwest Film Forum, July 23-24 (at least)

Ottawa, Ontario: Mayfair Theatre, July 23-24 (at least)

Albuquerque, New Mexico: The Guild, July 30-31

Chicago, Illinois: Music Box, August 2-5

Hartford, Connecticut: Real Art Ways, August 6-7, 13-14, 20-21

Tempe, Arizona: Madcap Theaters, August 27-28

Lake Placid, New York: Lake Placid Center for the Arts, September 10

Columbus, Ohio: Wexner Center, September 22 & 24

Detroit, Michigan: Detroit Film Center, September, dates TBD

Gloucester, Massachusetts: Cape Ann Community Cinema, October date TBD

Confirmed but date TBD:

Winchester, Virginia; Tucson, Arizona; Bloomfield, New Jersey; South Burlington, Vermont; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; many more…

For further details and critic reviews (including one from Roger Ebert) on the film and it's distributor go here.