The Poughkeepsie Tapes 2007
Directed by John Erick Dowdle · 81 mins · 1,585 views
Synopsis
Trailers
Reviews (177)
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E
Hoop-Tober, Film 4 of 31: Fuck this movie. I almost broke the rules of Hoop-Tober and decided not to review it. But here I am, talking about it, because I’m not going to let this film win. I’m not going to let it have that strong of an effect on me. Even though it did. In the words of Cheryl Dempsey: I don’t know what you want me to say. I really don’t. Never before has a found footage horror film seemed so real to me. I don’t know, and I don’t care, if you’ve seen this film too, and you’re laughing at me because you were able to withstand it better that I was, write it off as “just…
2,007 30 -
J
“They had about 100 hours of weird balloon stuff on those tapes” I would’ve rather watched that. Sorry, but video doesn’t decompose like that and why were these guys shooting 16×9 on VHS? FAKE NEWS.
928 5 -
J
This and Megan is Missing were made around the same time. Bush era really fucked people up, huh?
794 13 -
M
mfs be like yo check out this found footage movie and it’s just women being brutalised for an hour
2,115 5 -
J
Fucking terrible. Terribly shot, terribly acted, terribly written. Betrays its “documentary” conceit time and time again. Loud, obnoxious, uninteresting, unentertaining, and certainly not scary or creepy. The worst.
864 6 -
Bbasketcasejoel 8 月 25, 2026
Creepypasta edge lord dumped by internet girlfriend resulting in a murder spree with an anime cloak and a wish.com camera. Truly horrifying.
1,456 6 -
M
are u really gonna include lines like “here’s a killer who understands bureaucracy” and not expect me to see it as a comedy
1,416 6 -
H
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A
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H
Y’all need to stop recommending movies where the main horror element is just gratuitous violence against women.
6,089 1 -
M
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H
Not sure how this one acquired the reputation it has. This is the kind of heartbreak you set yourself up for when you have an ill-advised love for found footage films. It’s difficult to pinpoint the main problem with The Poughkeepsie Tapes. The first thing that comes to mind is the awful acting by the guy playing the killer (Ben Messmer). I’m not sure if anyone could have done much with the seventh-grader’s vision of a serial killer presented by John Erick Dowdle, complete with plague doctor mask. I’m pretty sure a lot of people could have managed something more threatening than “pissy dude in a mask,” though. No one else really acquits themselves well here, but Messmer is a…
1,217 14 -
C
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K
9/11 being so inconvenient to this story was really amusing to me in a way it probably shouldn’t have been
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L
cheap parody which is neither funny nor scary and just embarrassing
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E
Je conseille très bon film documentaire d’horreur
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P
1/10 horror 4/10 comedy “And then 9/11 happened and no one cared anymore” (annoyed expression)
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L
WTF? Was habe ich mir da angesehen ? Es war wie eine reale Doku über einen Serienkiller. Der Film ist spannend und zeigt einen zu welchen verstörenden Dingen ein Mensch möglich ist. Die Aufnahmen haben mir am besten „gefallen“ weil man so alles aus der Perspektive des Killers gesehen hat. Das Interview am Ende… einfach sprachlos wie heftig die Auswirkungen sind nach jahrelanger Entführung und Gewalt. Sehr gut gemacht. Die schauspielerischen Fähigkeiten der Wissenschaftler und des Jungen haben mich jetzt nicht sonderlich überzeugt weshalb die 4 Sterne gut gewählt sind.
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ℒ
que cagaço porra
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B
i remember hearing how scary this film was when i was younger. unfortunately, it didn’t even remotely live up to my expectations. what horror there is feels shallow. the distorted sounds and visuals of the handheld camera do most of the heavy lifting. we learn so little, if anything, about most of the killings, making them feel inconsequential, like they only died so that they could put more names on the screen at the end. there’s little here beyond shock value, and even that falls flat.
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L
So realistic it’s uncomphie
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D
burst out laughing at the mention of 9/11
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LLydia 8 月 24, 2026
The most intense part of this movie was my fight against sleep and it’s only 9pm , Spoiler: the sleep won
1 1 -
L
Je suis littéralement traumatisé à vie genre vraiment écouter jamais ça je suis pu la même depuis je vais pas dodo de la nuit c’est horrible ps:j’écoute les tête à claques pour me calmer.
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C
Crappy asf all I gotta say made you feel really uncomfortable this is something that keeps you awake at night
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SSawyer_L 8 月 24, 2026
Only movie i almost threw up watching
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J
Bizarro
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N
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L
eu estava colocando tanta expectativa nesse filme pra no final nada. realmente chocante as atrocidades que o assassino fazia, mas depois de sermos tão expostos à monstruosidade de casos como o epstein, o filme acaba não sendo tão impactante como deveria, e isso é preocupante. o final achei interessante mas meio raso sla, mas gostei da ideia.
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L
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M
Not as good on a rewatch but a lot still holds up.
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R
Maybe we shouldn’t make movies where the entire point of them was to show a couple of actresses reenacting traumatic torture scenes, but what do I know
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A
Not a film that would ever find itself in my top 5, or even top 10, but it’s one of my favorites to rewatch. Maybe just because it is very serious and grounding. It’s real without being real. Not sure why I picked this to watch with my dad.
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Mmmsolbrig 8 月 24, 2026
that made me feel icky
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X
terrifiant le lavage de cerveau g eu envie dme foutre en l’air tlmt ca m’a mis mal
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A
this movie is js pure abuse and torturing mostly women… def must be influenced by a notorious killer. It is pretty scary but in a terrible way.
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S
Watched with miller and mateo very interesting
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A
pocha de cojones, no merece ni que me explaye con la reseña. simplemente no perdáis el tiempo viéndola, aunque, por suerte para vosotros, no está disponible en españa.
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E
Water Street Butcher was definitely a part time discord mod..
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L
Fk vies
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Eecem 8 月 24, 2026
when that one fuckass scene of a gif showed up
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B
موقعهی دیدن این فیلم با اینکه میدونستم مستند نیست اما شدید عذاب کشیدم. خیلی وقت بود فیلمی آزارم نداده بود.
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V
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Ddelaina ‧︎✩︎⁎︎‧︎ 8 月 24, 2026
straight torture p*rn i hate this ew
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Z
i’m sorry to admit but i didn’t even finish, it’s bad all around
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M
Another disgusting creation made by men
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M
Poop from a butt
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K
I guess they’ll never continue their fbi agents track
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A
the way how it’s recorded is my fav style, camera recording type. It is a pretty gruesome movie but not at all what I expected to end up to?
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M
Ese Men muy raro COMO TE VAS A PONER EN CUATRO PATAS me mataste con eso amistad Uhh pero la entrevista a Cheryl…. sin comentarios ._.
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K
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S
Boring af but good
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M
Very disturbing. Usually i dont like documentals but thus movie was very intetesting. The tapes felt very realistic which made it very spooky. Cheryl character was so sad it felt so depressing seeing the interview, her fear and tension of needing pain to live made me veey sad for her. Most scariest part was that the murderer was very clever with using different methods and being pretty noticable without getting caught. Mask of plague matched him pretty well. Using tapes to show the murders was good. I really liked it.
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A
The ending and her face during the interview messed me up
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N
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M
de nenazo la había visto y m había parecido una genialidad. no es espantosa pero tmp es la gran cosa q recordaba, una lástima pq el uso del formato es más q decente
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C
idk what to say…
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A
Film git ale jest bardziej obrzydliwy niż straszny, ogólnie ciekawie wykonany. Nie mogłam się skupić bo probowalam znaleźć jakis waniliowy balsam którego miałam małą próbkę i bawiłam się moim gejowym dumplingiem i serem
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T
I watched this after megan is missing when it was making the rounds some years ago. Not very memorable, felt like it was really trying to be disturbing which I guess is the point but it feels foreboding in the same way black metal is if you’re scared of music
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R
i know this movie is supposed to be really scary, but to be honest this movie was like 4/10 scary for me. all the “disturbing scenes” would just make me feel off but not scared. the only part that REALLY concerned me was the fake ending where they acted like it was actually real. it got me there ngl.
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R
filme GROTESCO, a palavra que melhor descreve a sensação dessa bomba atômica, a gravação representando como se fosse uma produção caseira piora a sensação de desconforto, o filme em si não é tão ruim, mas o excesso de gore é COMPLETAMENTE DESNECESSÁRIO
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I
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J
Me perturbó y me entretuvo
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𝓔
Probably the best found footage movie I’ve see.
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T
filme de terror DE VDD, ele realmente chega a dar medo, um daqueles filmes que faz parecer real.
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I
Wenn man als Horrorfilmemacher keinen einzigen kreativen Gedanken zustandebekommt, muss halt der altbewährte Hass auf Frauen herhalten. Stumpfe Gewaltfantasien, die als Kunst verkauft werden sollen. Es ist einfach zum Kotzen. Spart euch die Zeit.
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C
Poorly made torture porn dreck.
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L
buena pelicula entretenida, le ponen color igual no da tanto miedo la wea pero es media grafica y te incomoda y que sea falso documental igual tiene su originalidad.
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M
Just watch it
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S
C’est tellement triste 💔 la meuf me fait de la peine mais film incroyable
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C
this movie is, broadly, shit from a butt. it’s torture porn, devoid of any real substance. i’ve known about this movie for almost 2 decades at this point and without ever really reading or watching anything about it, something told me that it wouldn’t be good and i was right. i’ve of course seen The Scene that it’s famous for so many times, and while it is unsettling, it lacks any real weight or punch by the time you see…
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A
zmarnowane 1,5h z mojego zycia pol gwiazdki dodaje za wzbudzenie we mnie niepokoju i za scenografie, ale na tym koncza sie zalety tego filmu przeciagany, niedociągnięcia, typu tak by nie zrobila policja, wiec film traci na rzetelnosci randomowe kadry i zbliżenia podczas ‚wywiadow’ (co to kurwa the office), do tego gra aktorska wola o pomste do nieba poza ukazaniem do csego zdolny jest czlowiek, nie widze sensu w pokazaniu tak duzej przemocy, jest to po prostu obrzydliwe i niekonieczne, skupilabym…
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B
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A
interesting concept but too much torture porn – skipped a lot of it
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L
me in t minus 10 hours
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W
Should we have a talk with whoever made this movie oooor
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D
llamen a dios
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L
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Z
one of the b3st documentary like movies
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L
It’s just a combination of bad mockumentary and bad found footage. The former works because it can feel a little satirical, at best, but I don’t think that’s the intention at all. Funny.
3 -
A
si me hizo tener paralisis en sueño pero menuda mierrr
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N
La D.A de ce film est exceptionnelle on en fais plus des Ovnis comme ça
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E
wow it has been years since i’ve seen this and it used to scare the shit out of me but jesus christ this sucks
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J
Right when u think it’s as bad as it can get it gets even worse
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J
OK so I watched this alone on family vacation because I wanted something that actually spooked me and this is one of the few found footage movies i actually wanted to watch. Found footage actually really gets to me so I wanted that vibe today I guess lol I was incredibly bored and a little confused as to why people online were saying this was one of the scariest, most brutal movies they’ve ever watched Until the last 20 to…
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≽
4 estrellas porque está súper bien grabada, parecía un puto documental de verdad, pero me ha dejado con tan mal cuerpo después de verla que no se la recomendaria a nadie
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M
Gross and boring. Not even scary just uncomfortable gore and sexual. The ending messed with my head a little but other than that eh.
1 -
M
the first time i ever saw this i was high asf and thought it was the scariest thing i had ever seen 😭 ummm omfg its actually just plain bad and near unwatchable
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A
I didn’t know too much about this movie so it was a hard watch to get through. But it did have a sort of relief from the tapes themselves when it cuts to news or FBI talking about trying to catch him. It was a crazy how clever he was and was one step ahead of the FBI. But the guy was fucked to say the least.
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V
Good God, I have to watch Paw Patrol or something now as a palette cleanser
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A
Meh – would not rewatch, not because its disturbing, but because its a bit boring.
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C
lame as shit
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D
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C
ts sucks so bad it’s like some person whose horny for true crime wrote a fan fiction at least martyrs had something interesting to say, this was the longest hour and fifteen minutes ever
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G
احسن فيلم دموي انا شوفته
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M
Woah dude come see my super edgy grimdark film about a messed up serial killer and get in his head. Yeah dude it is iust my fantasy of brutalizing women including the rape of a child. Dont worry dog im definitely not a creep. In all actuality, movie has very little substance besides graphic torture which I know is the point but like dog i was bored
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I
If this was shown in cinemas rather than having a very delayed disk release it would have been extremely viral. This movie is purely a mockumentry with only interview, news and found tape footage which makes it a lot more real and intimate feeling with almost little subtle to no use of music or common cinematic shots. It’s definitely a horror thriller film that honestly might be one of the best serial murder mystery films I’ve seen, it’s very gorey…
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F
Poniendole muchas ganas llega a ser inquietante, especialmente el final se me hizo lo más turbio/chocante. Como gran parte de estas películas, termina safando porque la duración no es muy extensa.
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I
i could say so much about this movie but i’m going to leave it as this. if your source of horror is a man raping and murdering women and you make the victims 1 dimensional and throw them away like old shoes, you don’t care for horror. you care for torture.
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M
Filme é bom mas D E S G R A Ç A puta que que pariu exu cabrunco ,que bagulho agoniante da desgraça, uma pessoa de mente/estômago fraco vomitaria fácil em algumas cenas , o filme não poupa violência ele mostra ela ao extremo. Desde o bar luva dourada eu nunca tinha visto um filme tão grotesco assim
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C
Like if someone who enjoys murder documentaries thought that an episode should go a certain way and decided “Bruh I could make this so much better” and made a shitty movie out of it. The least interesting movie I think I’ve ever seen. Cheryl’s actor was phenomenal but she couldn’t carry this dogshit.
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C
qué puto mal rollo tú
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N
e bom sim
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K
Keine Ahnung wie man “den Film” wirklich bewerten soll, immerhin ist es eine Art Offenbarung kranker Momente eines real existierten Serienmörders.
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V
this was so disgusting and shitty I don’t even consider it any film genre, this isn’t even a film, it’s just terrible in every way
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YYEYE AVIÑA 8 月 22, 2026
Es importante saber que lo que acabas de ver no es ficción, está pasando, todo el tiempo, y tristemente no hay nada que podamos hacer
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P
definitely the ” scariest ” movie i’ve ever seen. gritty uncomfortably fun for the whole family
1 -
C
No se ni que decir al respecto, es muy incomodo ver todo lo que hace el loco de mierda y da mucha pena y miedo saber que ahi fuera es muy probable que exista gente así.
2 -
V
this could’ve been easily a netflix documentary (without the torture parts of course)
1 -
A
shitshow
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C
terrifying, there were parts of the film that were convincing “documentary” things, but otherwise i think it was pretty clear that it was a fictional story. i do wonder though if a film like this SHOULD exist. i’m always skeptical of these torture-porn type movies, it’s the same reason i don’t like terrifyer. violence against women is always the punchline and it sucks
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S
Una película que funciona bastante bien como falso documental y consigue crear una sensación de incomodidad constante gracias a su formato y a la manera en que presenta el caso. Tiene una atmósfera muy inquietante y algunos momentos bastante perturbadores, pero el gore y la crueldad terminan siendo demasiado para mí y afectan bastante la experiencia. No es que me parezca una mala película, simplemente su contenido extremo hace que le baje la puntuación.
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A
i wish they showed more of the tapes as they made such a big deal of how many they were and how crazy they were
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L
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L
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S
resmen mizojinistik bir vahşet pornosu, katilin sırtını sıvazlayıp “aferin kanka ne kadar zekisin ya aşırı üstün zekalısın sana hayranız çünkü hepimizi ayakta siktin” demedikleri kalmış. neyse en azından çekim ve editlerin true crime türüne yakın olması güzel ama bu türde daha başarılı filmler (LAKE MUNGO) var bence
1 -
C
I believe that this found-footage mockumentary was made for a lot of people as a form of exposure therapy. Exposure therapy to see what women actually goes through when abducted, and for a lot of journalists, moderators, and the general public to see the abuse that males continue to inflict on their victims; not to be considered “edgy” or give it a sort of “entertaining” value but rather, face the reality and truth of the abuse. Why all men need…
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T
I remember it being scarier and it really wasn’t it was really just a boring with some scary moments kind mid.
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F
The Poughkeepsie Tapes is quite an interesting and inventive found footage film. There are some really strong horror and true crime elements here, my tolerance is very high and I still found some scenes genuinely scary to watch! Ultimately, it’s an elevated torture film, so my rating won’t be particularly high. But I kind of enjoyed the darkness and I respect the ambition.
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ʚ
very good found footage type movie but the bdsm undertones seemed a little too romanticized in my opinion
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S
I’m going to start trying to catch up rating all the movies I’ve watched over the passed few months, and this is one I’ve been mixed about for a while. I just can’t get behind the overdramatic theater kid growing up to a mastermind killer. At least it’s effective in its creepyness.
16 1 -
S
Disgusting
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A
Meh… the costumes the killer wears remind me of a local area theater’s production of The Phantom of the Opera.
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G
macho los fetiches de la gente
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V
you have to be mentally ill to create a killer like this
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C
это пиздец
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L
People like this are out there…
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G
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M
Hafif gore yüzüm buruşuk izledim
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O
I’ve been meaning to watch this movie for a long time cause of the recomendations, but after a tiring hour and a half i can say- this movie literally sucks. Normalizing unnesessary long scenes containing violence against women, acting skills of a fucking potato, whole thing seriously looks like it was made for some sicko to beat his meat to. It does look like they really wanted to try and make it all feel „deep”, but after a split second…
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P
I loved it, even though it was a bit intense.
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C
one of the better found footage movies
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L
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A
Esse filme eh horrível e meu ex ama ele, oq mais levaria eu a não odia-lo?
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I
Dafuq
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E
straight buns
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L
bad vibe demais
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R
Scary ash
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J
This movie made me so paranoid I got prescribed seditatives in 2022 #freakyweirdo!!!
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S
throw this one on the overhyped pile next to The Last Broadcast; you know a movie’s bad when it makes you wish you were watching Black Devil Doll From Hell instead
3 -
E
asked my bf hafway what if a serial killer makes a documentary about his own murders feeled like a real documentary
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C
BORINGGGG the problem with this documentary format is that it just tells you a about a bunch of scary stuff instead of actually showing you anything, and what it does show you is just lame
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E
Awful, absolutely awful. I was hoping Cheryl would’ve been able to move forward
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Y
I don’t know what to tell you. Saw this movie because a friend recommended it to me. I like edgy brutal movies but this was just over the top. Basically just violence against women. Was not really able to detect any kind of art besides making me uncomfortable.
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L
tbh i liked this! i enjoy the concept of removing all the unethical aspects of true crime documentaries by making a fictional story. i also enjoy the play on voyeurism in the true crime space. by making the killer record himself and seek validation through the tapes, i feel like they are criticizing the audience’s consumption of documentaries on real life tragedies. the general public has such a gross need to see « real » footage of crimes and interviews…
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𝓝
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C
Way too overhyped for the mid film it actually turns out to be once you watch it, disappointed in y’all who hyped this film up because it is not that good and i would not watch it again
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M
Brillant concept of a film, too bad it sucks. Do you think John Dowdle sat there in his director chair for the filming of the last eight minutes and beat off to the brilliance he thought he created? Because I do.
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V
because of 9/11 I would never willingly watch this again
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L
soi muy edgy y no me dio miedo ni incomodo, pero esta buena, el final es increible pq es una forma realista de mostrar el sindrome de estokolmo medio aburrida
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L
falso documentario é muito bom, em relaçao ao filme e simplesmente pertubador
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D
sem comentários pra essa obra prima
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M
film is ahh don’t watch it. it’s not even scary it’s just shock-value and stuff. the documentary bits were there to add realism but they ended up just being annoying. for the amount of “most disturbing films ever” lists this is on it’s surprisingly boring. if you want to watch something like this that isn’t ahh try Angst, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer or Benny’s Video. this film sucks and it’s not even scary.
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S
Unfortunately this was one of those movies I’ve waited years to see cause it was touted as terrifying The idea is cool as hell, with us watching something very clearly not meant for us. I’m leaning toward the idea that the crime photographer was our killer. but this falls to the trope once again as the root of this being just the torture of women and girls for the shock value with no takeaway I wasn’t scared, I was pissed off at this theater kid turned director
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V
pegado
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D
cringe
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J
chuds citizen kane
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E
Film gerçeklik hissini o kadar iyi veriyor ki bir an belgesel izliyormuş gibi hissettim. Özellikle işkence sahneleri ile sondaki röportaj sahnesi sayesinde iyi bir ürperdim.
19 -
V
mola y eso
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R
the pookie patootie tapes
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A
the peepeepoopoo tapes
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S
very terrifying. but great movie
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G
Genuine misogynist slop
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K
Disturbing, creepy and weird. Not something I’d watch again. But for a mockumentary it was okay. Acting 1/5, plot 2/5, filming 3.5/5
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D
filmes assim não mereciam visibilidade, é pura violência gratuita contra as mulheres. aqui no Brasil, ele tá banido e espero que continue assim
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K
Me hizo sentir incómodo. Tier A movie.
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Y
shock films arent my thing but this was well made
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B
Me and the girl I pulled to be my slаvе
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B
Un mal intento de snuff
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M
why do i watch movies that torture women like this for an hour
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S
why do i watch movies that torture women like this for an hour
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D
why do i watch movies that torture women like this for an hour
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O
why do i watch movies that torture women like this for an hour
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L
violence against woman isn’t a good plot guys come onnnnnn
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O
ugly little fake-doc goblin. half of it is acting from a haunted community theater, the other half genuinely made my spine leave the chat.
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R
Pooed my pant
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T
Messy, immediate, and way more convincing than it has any right to be. Not perfect, but it knows exactly how to get under your skin.
- Synopsis
- When hundreds of videotapes showing torture, murder and dismemberment are found in an abandoned house, they reveal a serial killer's decade-long reign of terror and become the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives have ever seen.
- Director
- John Erick Dowdle
- Writer
- John Erick Dowdle
- Studio
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Brothers Dowdle Productions, Poughkeepsie Films, Orion Pictures
- Country
- USA
- Language
- English
- Year
- 2007
- Runtime
- 81 mins
- USA27 Apr 2007
- Canada27 Apr 2007
- Venezuela30 Jan 2009
- USA10 Oct 2017
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