by Chris Eaton-
I first heard about Cropsey during coverage of the Denver Film Festival. A wild documentary, that for once, wasn’t about the war, or fast food. Instead, I read about a film that is genuinely fucked up. Why? Because the shit that goes down in this film happened in real life.
So what is Cropsey? Here’s the synopsis from the site.
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.
A real life Boggyman. Don’t think so, just check out this pic of Andre Rand:
Rand, dubbed the “Pied Piper of Staten Island” was the real life Boogeyman that their parents warned them about. A horrible back fire on the parents part, as none of them actually believed that there was a real boogeyman they called “Cropsey” actually stalking their neighborhood.
Documentries are always reviting, but sometimes, they can be far scarier or griping than their scripted counterparts.
Check out the Facebook to get some more info on Cropsey
Cropsey is opening in June:
June 4-10, 2010
IFC Center
New York, NY
www.ifccenter.com/
June 5, 2010
Grounds of the former Willowbrook Mental Institution
Staten Island, NY
June 11-17, 2010
Somerville Theatre
Somerville, MA
www.somervilletheatreonline.com/
June 11-13
Robinson Film Center
Shreveport, LA
www.robinsonfilmcenter.org
June 25-July 1
Denver Film Society
Denver, CO
www.starzfilmcenter.com
July 5-7
Alamo Drafthouse Ritz
320 E 6th Street
Austin, TX
www.originalalamo.com
July 9-15
Downtown Independent
Los Angeles, CA
www.downtownindependent.com
July 30-31
The Guild
Albuquerque, NM
www.guildcinema.com
If this bad boy is playing near you, I can’t see any reason NOT to check it out. I know I will be.
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