DBLurker This whole mockumentary has interviews with profilers, cops and detectives praising this killer as elusive and dangerously smart at evading and misleading the authorities.Except the tapes themselves show him as a careless individual who almost get's caught by two little girls selling cookies. Ignoring the unbelievably tame tapes themselves (I don't really find "gore" scary when it's overdone), the fact that the killer goes around recording everything, even at his own crime-scene with cops around, would get him caught REALLY fast. The killer is basically like one of those attention-seekers who keep recording themselves and posting it on Twitter and Instagram for the world to see. And what exactly was he recording on? That camera's battery lasts longer than most cameras these days.I got hyped up with people recommending this movie, and it's a dud with a LOT of "logic" (it is trying to present itself as a documentary) issues that can't even be ignored cause of "suspension of disbelief". That excuse doesn't work when you are making a documentary and pretending to have a story of a serial killer that is the smartest killer every born, while he's saved by camera cuts and fade-outs instead of a proper explanation/excuse.Waste of time.

jtindahouse There are only two things holding 'The Poughkeepsie Tapes' back from being a truly great movie. The first is the acting. My goodness it is shocking in some scenes. It's rare for a movie released as recently as 2007 to have acting this bad. The girl trying to pop the balloon is possibly the worst piece of acting I can remember seeing. The second thing is the inclusion of some scenes in the final cut. This is supposed to be a (fake obviously) documentary on a serial killer and yet there are a tremendous amount of things that would simply never be shown in any real documentary (explicit patient records spoken out loud by a doctor is a very obvious one that comes to mind). Apart from those two things though I have to say I quite liked this film.This is an exceedingly dark film, make no mistake about that. It was made without a conscious, and I quite like that quality in a film. There is also one element to the story (revolving around 9/11) that I found very innovative, creative and original. It's one of those things that keeps you thinking after the film is finished. This certainly isn't for the faint of heart, however if you're up to it you may just find yourself very much enjoying 'The Poughkeepsie Tapes'.

buenoschiches Honestly, the concept was interesting and it started off not TOO badly, but this movie is SO TRY HARD. It seems like a horrible, sad version of an edgy torture film that a bunch of bros stand around each other in a group and go, "Yo, you see The Poughkeepsie Tapes? Aw, man- it was ssiiiiccckkkk." Exactly that.It lacked ANY depth, nothing was a shock and everything was predictable. You didn't get to know any of the victims or many details of the crimes. Why wasn't the house where they found the tapes registered to anyone? They still have no idea how they got that guy's sperm and didn't really care to investigate how he did that or if he chose that guy specifically? Then, more than anything, the acting was HORRID. Especially Cheryl's mother, anyone in the medical profession and any police officer. It seemed so incredibly stereotypical and like they were literally instructed to "act like a doctor, act like a cop, act like a mom, etc." No one acts like that. Also, police forces never refer to cases/killers as the names chosen by the media. This was all based on a bizarre 80s fantasy to make an edgy (but not really that edgy) film that would be a cool and interesting thing to happen in real life- but it's like no one attached to this film has ever done any real investigation themselves or read up on any real crime stories- they've only ever watched movies that romanticize all of this. This movie is all artsy show without any actual grit or authenticity.Would not recommend. Don't waste your time. Also, the static transitions between every damn shot was annoying just 5 minutes in and it lasts the entire movie. Film school amateur move.

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.