Review: CROPSEY

Being a fan of both documentaries and horror films, I was eager to see what Cropsey had to offer. With a poster tagline that reads “the truth is terrifying” and a trailer that speaks of an urban legend come to life, it promised to be raw, haunting, and right up my alley. However, I left the theater feeling like the truth is bland rather than terrifying.

Cropsey, written and directed by Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman, focuses on a popular urban legend in their hometown of Staten Island, NY. Cropsey was believed to be an escaped mental patient who roamed the tunnel systems and forests of the island at night, kidnapping children and murdering them with a number of rumored weapons. The story circulated as a way to keep the youth out of the abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution, but when children actually started disappearing, the line between legend and fact became blurred. The story itself has the potential to be interesting. The suspected killer, Andre Rand, is a fascinating character and the profiles of the victims-who were all disabled in some capacity-and the effects of their disappearances on the community are gripping. It’s a shame the filmmakers didn’t choose to hone in on what makes this case worth learning about.

Ultimately, Cropsey came off as being an extended Friday night special suited for MSNBC. Brancaccio and Zeman spent far too much time and energy on Rand’s second trial for a child’s murder that had finally turned up enough evidence to possibly have him convicted. The only elements that actually made this film a documentary rather than a television special were the overbearing soundtrack and poorly executed jump-scare attempts that occurred when the filmmakers roamed the dark, empty Willowbrook. If Cropsey had been more of a psychological profile on Andre Rand or paid more attention to the efforts of the Staten Island citizens still searching for the missing children’s bodies, it would have been far more compelling and coherent.

Unfortunately, this documentary failed to do the story of Cropsey justice. Wait until it actually does appear on MSNBC and hope that it’s given the feature film treatment with a stronger focus and more creative forces behind it.

Rating: 2.5/5