THE POUGHKEEPSIE TAPES (2007) | MY UNPOPULAR OPINION | Spookyastronauts
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 21. 01. 2021
- I've been avoiding this for a while... here are my thoughts on The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)
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The scariest part of this movie is at the end when Cheryl does not know what to do or say without being told..
Exactly! The best scene. The actress really haunted me.
That was certainly the memorable part. Personally i couldnt find it believable enough i think she wasnt "broken down" for long enough for that sort of outcome.
@@smashleymcbashley6250 she was imprisoned for years... how long do you think it takes?
@@ajfite1277 1) it's a movie and it's fake. 2) rewatch it, it was like 2 years. That's hardly any time at all. Someone stuck with their abusive family for twenty years can still come out of it with a personality. Someone with a normal life having just two years of Bad Life won't just crumble to pieces.. she already had an established personality at that age. The brain doesn't just deflate like that. People are way more resilient than they get credit for.
@@smashleymcbashley6250 first of all, it being fake doesnât mean anything. Second of all, the âreign of terrorâ was around a decade, and even if it was âonlyâ two years, every single day getting beaten and tortured and forced to do horrible things for 730 days... that will break more people than you think. Plus, if we are going by fake standards, Ramsey Bolton only took a few months to absolutely break Theon. Cheryl was broken, in every sense of the word, so bad she ended up killing herself.
"There's a killer... And he's quite smart." said in a voice perfectly portraying your sarcasm and disdain. Love it. đ
I always love your âhot takesâ. I personally love this film, but I can absolutely understand the criticisms. Great video as always, Emma đ»
I love your channel,!!! đâ ïžđ
@@derekedwards5390 thanks dude!
I saw you reviewed it too!!! Thanks for being so kind in your comment
Butterfly Kisses is a way better found footage movie
The movie was...decent enough. Not really scary tho. The most disturbing part to me was the Cheryl interview at the end. She was a great actress.
I agree that Cherylâs story was the most interesting part, but I think having to fill in the gaps ourselves is a big part of what makes it effective.
Yeah thatâs true I can only imagine the psychological damage Cheryl endured while in the killer clutches.
I've never seen The Poughkeepsie Tapes. I always thought it was about aliens. đđ
Same here. No idea why though.
@@WTLeroux Poughkeepsie kinda sounds alienish
đđđ
Haha. I did too
@JustCallMeMeghan, Let's send you to be with the aliens.
Well it's better than Megan Is Missing! Glad you are reviewing found footage movies. One of my favourite horrors of all time is a found footage one - The Blair Witch Project.
I liked Megan is missing haha
@@spookyastronauts do you plan do review it anytime soon
megan is missing just use cheap rape shock scene to well, shock the viewer, in this one we know the sadist does it, but it doesn't show any of it, makes it more deprave to me
â@@royalecrafts6252How does anyone even make it far enough into the movie to see the shock value? The acting, editing, script are all so abhorrent and unwatchable
I hated this movie. It wasnât scary. It was just dumb and too many plot holes. Predictable.
ditto
Finally sat down and watched this last night after having it in my queue forever. Definitely jarring but I got the feeling of it shocking for the sake of shocking. I agree with your point of having Cheryl be the protagonist. That final interview was the creepiest part IMHO.
Thank you for finally addressing this! I couldn't get my finger on what made this movie unenjoyable for me.
I'm still surprised you liked Megan is Missing though, it basically has the same problems.
THANK YOU FOR THIS!!! I think itâs great that people love this movie! But itâs refreshing to see that Iâm not so alone in my opinions about it
I actually hate this movie. There's no plot, and it's just violence with no substance. It was incredibly disturbing, but I was left annoyed by the end and bored throughout. You put exactly how I felt perfectly.
Love your hot takes ! Always appreciate your perspective
So glad you made this video!!! Itâs one Iâve been waiting to hear your opinion on.
Thank you
Another great video Emma! đ
I'm so glad you reviewed it, I felt like I tried so hard to like it, but it wasn't the type of "found footage" films I like, it also kind of reminded me of The Last Broadcast, which was a movie I kinda couldn't watch in one sitting.
Awesome video as always!!
It does well in being unsettling and bizarre. Yeah the acting wasn't the greatest but I can accept it. This is what happens when Billy from Black Christmas goes up to 11. Plus I hate the remake of REC, waste of time. Didn't need a remake. Just like the Hitcher never needed a remake.
Rec needed a remake for the people who donât wanna watch foreign films or read subtitles. I love the original but I see why they remade it
A lot of people talk great things about this films but in my perspective it wasn't anything special, I never noticed that you didn't have a review for this film haha.
Haha I get requests all the time! Sorry everyone. đ
Iâm so glad this happened Iâve always thought this was overrated after hearing about it so long but my gripes were the pacing the fact the horror was masked and not highlight much throughout this film
I lied this better than Megan is missing, the low quality of the footage made it scarier for me
Iâm so glad you feel that way about the movie because every time I say that I couldnât finish it and fell asleep the two times I tried, people tell me that they canât believe it because itâs great but... I donât like it. Itâs cheesy in a bad way, the effects of the camera just pissed me off. I didnât know that he had made Devil, As Above So Below and Quarantine!! I like all three movies Iâm surprised!
Unfortunately the best part IS the end! I agree that most of the movie was a bore & pretty unrealistic, but any part with Cheryl Dempsey actually made my skin crawl
@@princessadrigirl6774 I may have to give it another chance then! :)
Agreed with everything you said. I like that you shared your thoughts on the entire movie maybe more of these videos. Well done
I agree with your opinion. Cheryl's story is horrifying, it grabs you and squeezes. Then the interviews and "documentary" segments comes on and you're pulled from the horror. A good movie of any genre keeps you engaged, but Poughkeepsie Tapes is just on and off horror. A remake focusing on Cheryl's story would be amazing.
I love you Emma! I really liked the movie when I saw it a few years ago, but this makes me want to revisit it and see if my opinion has changed. Always appreciate your honest reviews!
I always love this original intro to every video
Hard agree. I saw a screening of this in 2007 and there was a good bit of laughter in the audience at things that clearly werenât meant to be funny. I would be very interested in a movie focused on Cheryl, though. That last scene with her is the best part of the movie. A waste of a good performance.
I actually loved this movie, to be honest I never put the level of attention to this small details as you did but I can see where you coming from, love the video!
Sweet review đŒ
Iâve never seen this film but enjoyed hearing your thoughts
Amazing vid!
Yes yes yessss!! The reason I love this film is because of Cherylâs story, itâs so eerie
Iâm glad Iâm not the only one who didnât love this film! I put off watching it for so long but after hearing people say how crazy and disturbing it was, I finally gave. I think thatâs where it went wrong for me. I was so scared to even start watching it because of everything I heard. It was just built up so much that it couldnât possibly live up to what I was expecting. I was really bummed too because I live for a good found footage horror!
I could not agree with you more! Iâm so glad to see this. Cheryl was done so dirty. Sheâs the part of the story that matters. She deserved to either recover or get enough story to help us understand her psyche. This movie makes me so angry.
Yep
Great take! I haven't seen this one yet, really want to some day. Thanks for providing a balancing viewpoint compared to the overly positive ones I've seen from others. Makes it easier to go in with a clear and open mind, you know? Cheers!
I loved this video, completely agree with your idea for a cheryl-focused remake!
this is the most disturbing movie ever to me
Iâve never watched it fully, but just seeing a specific creepy gif online from the movie gave me mega anxiety at 1 am lol.
Totally respect that
This is one I haven't seen - two parts "Is it something I REALLY should see?", and one part "I hear it's kinda sketch."
Maybe one day in the future I'll just throw my hands in the air and finally see it.
Telly update:. I finished 'The Third Day' (+ a condensed 'Autumn').
Wow!!! This is truly a very fine piece of work. Yes, many mysteries are revealed - but each reveal creates MORE unknowns.
I loved this show. 'Autumn' certainly obfuscates, yet proudly reveals, a big, BIG mystery on the island. This is necessary viewing (try the condensed version if the 12 hour-long version is too much) as we see quite well what the island is capable of.
Now that I'm finished the series, I have sack full of questions...and it's okay if they're never answered.
The running line in The Great film The French Connection is when Gene Hackman catches a bad guy he asks him " Do you pick your feet in Poughkeepsie ? " As for the film , it looks entertaining.
Great video Emma. Shout out from tassie hope Covid hasnât hit you to hard where you are
Great video Emma. More hot takes!
Went and watched the film after this vid, its been on my watchlist for ages. Totally agree w you on this one, would have liked more from this one.
You hit the nail on the head with this review.
Iâd love to hear more about your experiences working in media!
I just watched this on Tubi. I was really hoping that the end would have a good reveal⊠like perhaps that he was making the doc (fixated on documenting his crimes and trying to celebrate his own âclevernessâ). They did have a bit of it with the officer misdirect, but it didnât quite come together. The mask part was interesting too, but I would have loved to see that expanded on. Hard to do though if he remains unknown though. It would be really interesting to see a variety of remakes of this (even if as shorts) to see how different creators might highlight different parts of the story.
I actually grew up and lived in poughkeepsie NY until last year and itâs so crazy to see people talk about this film . I still havenât watched it because hearing about it disturbed me but Iâve heard the stories and the house where this occurred is across the street from my daughters pediatricians office. After watching your review Iâm gonna go ahead and just watch it and see what I think đ€
They just take the name of the place but itâs not based on a real crime. Itâs just inspired by people like Ted bundy and another killer
I think you're right to say the gap in time between the film being shot in 2004 and its release a decade later massively hurt it. Even putting aside how it makes the "he could be in the theater" stuff fall flat, the fact is there was a larger level of naivety among the general population about how film, editing and police procedure actually work back in 04 that wasn't there when the film finally was released.
For me, The film is a passable horror premise largely ruined by just how ridiculous what the killer gets away with, inconsistent execution and some bad acting.
It is a flawed film, but I thought it was decent enough. As you indicated, there are components that are genuinely tragic and creepy. I don't feel like it is the hidden gem people often categorize it as, but I have certainly seen movies that are far worse.
Yes! Lord of people call it a hidden gem :/
I've never seen it because I actively avoid watching anything that involves cruelty and torture and I've never been able to understand the appeal of these kind of movies. Just out of interest though, was Cheryl Dempsey a real person or a fictional character?
Totally agreed. This one couldnât hold my interest and in fact itâs one of those rare times I think I didnât make it to the end. The suspension of disbelief didnât hold up with the FBI guys helping the video, the tapes were so cliche. I started feeling like I needed a shower to wash off the grime and the bad acting finally pushed my indifference to shutting it off.
I feel like the bad acting made it better by making it more realistic because it was like they were awkward in front of the camera which made it more like real-life
I remember seeing the trailer for this in the theater. My ex and I were really pumped up about it and we made a decision right then and there that we were going to see it. But it nothing happened, it didn't show up, and we never heard about it again. After I broke up with her, I remembered that it was supposed to have been released so I went looking to see if it had been and if I could see it. But it was never released either. So the interest I had in it was gone. Until it popped up some where on some sketchy website in its entirety. I didn't make it three minutes into the film before I stopped watching it.
Never seen you this revved up đ
I have never seen this but I am curious now I think your previous work experience always adds a lot to anything you comment on and is why I enjoy your videos more than most
I totally agree. The interviews were unbelievable, but it had potential and a good idea is in there somewhere. A remake would be a good idea.
I love how your title card looks looks a million times better than the original one đ
I actually really enjoyed this movie.
So, full disclosure, I watched this when I saw you were talking about it, because I didn't want to be spoiled on it, but I wanted to see your video. And my thoughts were the exact same. The first 40 minutes or so, where there's more focus on Cheryl and what she went through, is pretty good. I could forgive the "killer too smart" angle, despite the fact that it is ridiculous, due to Cheryl's performance and the disturbing nature of her dehumanization. But my God, the second focus shifted to how great this guy was, how everyone was in awe of his ability to be so gosh darn conniving, I was done with it.
I would also like to address that there is no way in hell they didn't see him standing behind Cheryl's bookshelf, or notice his random camera on her bookshelf when he was hiding in the closet. The killer did so many things wrong, so many bumps and mistakes and lucky shots, that for the film to ultimately praise him like some sort of killer messiah was beyond aggravating.
i was disturbed by this movie completely... it felt boring at first but rly terrified me in the end when they showed what happened to cheryl...
Similar to Lake Mungo, you either love it or hate it. I love both.
I loved lake mungo sad and scary
The part of this movie that got under my skin was the scene near the end with the brunette woman who gets in Ed's car - the slow realization and then panic and utter terror of what she sees is in store for her is disturbing. Hearing her crying and screaming for help as she sees another women's mutilated corpse, knowing there's no escape, really got to me.
So I was always scared to watch this film because of that one really creepy scene when the dudes crawling on all fours- after this review I watched it. I completely agree with you!! Cheryl was hardly in the film and I agree they missed a great opportunity. Thanks for the review!
You should talk about horror musicals since thatâs the only thing I can watch knowing that I donât like horror films that much. Iâm just here because I keep getting intrigued.
Haven't seen this one, but as someone from the real Poughkeepsie I think it's cool that it exists.
I haven't got to see this đ„ just yet.I mean I do kinda like the style of it. But I do see what you mean about it.Thanks for the review post đ
Honestly, the characters were...kinda dumb. Getting into a stranger's car, not locking your door, picking up a random stranger on the street...
Well, I am happy to say that you were not the only one who found The Poughkeepsie Tapes to be kind of ho-hum. I gave it a score of 4/10. I remember seeing it twice and I still didn't find it intriguing. I guess it felt like so many other found footage films out there. Now, I do remember seeing both a movie poster and a trailer for the film back in 2007, then the film disappeared under the headline of "too intense and violent for test audiences". The only reason why I was curious to see it years later was because of the filmmaker's connection to Devil (2010), which I really liked.
Ive gotta agree with you. This deserves a remake, focused solely on Cheryl's story. If they made it in the vein of the third act of Martyrs, this could be truly haunting cinema.
it's so rare to see you rip a film apart like this, and i kinda dig it lololol
If you watch enough actual FBI and law enforcement interviews on shows like âForensic Filesâ these âinterviewsâ feel so baked and acted, it takes you out of any chance of taking them seriously. And then you have all these people âso affectedâ by watching it. Emotional intelligence is reaching new lows every day. And thatâs how The PoCRAPski Tapes gets notice.
I think you raise some excellent points about the overall believability and perhaps, technical accuracy of this movie. I've got mixed feelings on it personally, there is something I find perhaps, disturbingly enjoyable (oxymoron?) About how nasty, bleak and malicious it ultimately becomes, though it does become REALLY over the top in the process, and it sure isn't a fun watch.
Something I want to touch on, though, is the complaint of Cheryl Dempsey and the other victims. This is a complaint I hear a lot, and for good reason. But tragically, I think it may be one of the most realistic things about the movie. In my experience, when it comes to true crime cases and how they're covered, victims and their stories often disappear, almost completely, in favor of feeding the macabre curiosity of the audience. I mean for that, I feel we perhaps need look no further than Sharon Tate, and who ultimately stole the fame she had pursued. It is grotesque, tragic and unfair, yet somehow this is the fate of serial killers. They become rockstars, while the stories that should be explored are swept away, these people become footnotes in the larger story of human monsters and their exploits.
I don't want to give the film makers TOO much credit here, but I believe their goal may have been to make the audience question their role in the voyeuristic aspect, and how their fascination often turns deviants into celebrities. Hence, perhaps, the massive ego of this films antagonist.
Would there be a movie, if the makers didn't believe there'd be an audience?
Just my two cents, GREAT video!
I agree, Cheryl's story is the most haunting part of the movie.
Also Iâd love to see thoughts on Hell House LLC and any of the sequels! If you havenât already done a video on that
I agree! This movie was pretty much a piece of crap with a lot of unrealized potential. All your observations about the inaccuracies are spot-on and the fake VHS effect annoyed me too. I'm with you on this hot take. Cheryl deserved better. đ€
Totally agree. My sister and I watched this for the first time not long ago and by the end we were both just like "wut". The acting is so unconvincing too, especially when compared with something like Lake Mungo
You definitely have valid points. Although i liked the film, I really found Cheryl's part,especially that interview, tge best part.
So yeah. Make that film. Do it. I would watch it.
Oh, and PS. I just watched Cell the other day and you know what? I'm not mad. It was fun and strange.
All your points seem totally fair. As someone as a hard to please horror fan though, this movie chilled me to the bone. It probably helped that I saw a bootleg years before it came out though, so there was no hype around it for me.
I just find it so funny, I didnt realise this was a popular or well known film, it was just some shit I saw a couple years ago when I was on a found footage bindge and I thought it was crap and never thought about it again. Never would have guessed this was a frequently asked review.
My own unpopular opinion: Lake Mungo was so boring, that I actually fell asleep while watching it. It's literally the first horror movie in my life that has ever made me doze off. I really wanted to like it, but I think all of the hype raised my expectations WAY too high.
I completely agree with all your points but have watched it more than once, not sure what that says about me.
You make a lot of good points
Late to this video but I recently watched TPT for the first time and afterward read and watched reviews. I love the theory that the person making the "documentary" is actually the killer himself which would explain why the interviews are weird and why he'd be "allowed" to show the graphic clips (it would be disrespectful to the victims in real docs). I personally think Ed edited the tapes like that for himself, as you can clearly see that certain frames become clear and then go back to being distorted. In the home videos of Cheryl, the clips are clearly old but not distorted like the snuff ones are. I can understand the criticisms and dislike for this film but I thought it was good and I appreciate hearing your opinion on it. đ
Remaking this film would, in my opinion, ruin it ~ though there would be no shame in making a different but similar film! The first time I watched it, my roommate wandered in and stood mid-stride for a half-hour then verified 'this is fiction, right?' as he was teetering on it being a bad documentary or a good mockumentary. That, to me, is the power of this in that it is emulating the poor documentaries and not the star-studded or big-budget ones - in real life I have seen serious documentaries with bad guests, worse 'acting', and rushed production. There is a short story by Brian Kirk called Picking Splinters from a Sex Slave that tells a similar story from the POV of the father of the victim. That may be the film some want :) Well planned video as ever, all the same!
I agree with your sentiments on The Poughkeepsie Tapes. Never really understood the love for it and Yes letâs have a do over!
I havenât seen this but always been interested. This doesnât sway me either way, Iâm still gonna have it on the back burner haha
I think check it out for sure! Make up your own mind!
Never saw this film, mainly because i stopped watching any kind of found footage, maybe if something is apperantly really good, i'd be open to it, but overall beautiful cinematography is just too important to me to fully enjoy a movie. Glad to see i seemingly didn't miss anything by skipping on this one :)
I enjoy this movie for what it is, but I totally agree, especially about the remakes part. It definitely has the potential to be so much more than what they did with it
The one part I agree with you about is the same gripe I have with a lot of found footage movies; the lame camera distortion effects. It never looks organic, and is almost always completely unnecessary.
Iâm curious! Why havenât you spoken about Salo? Since you mentioned it. Love this vid btw we needed a diff opinion on this movieâșïž
I think this was a really well done movie. That shot when the killer lifts his head to reveal a second mask is horror gold IMO.
This movie scared the hell out of me
I can't blame you for getting out of the media biz. I'm still in it and wish I wasn't, in part at least for the reason you mention. I had a co-worker once almost freak after seeing an unedited ISIS beheading scene. Police body cam also presents some wonderful material you wish you'd never seen.
I've got VHS tapes that date from the 80s that still look fine. Was this guy supposedly storing his tapes on top of a giant magnet? That's not what bad VHS looks like. Just as well I don't go in for found footage.
A convincing mocumentary seems it was made with great commitment.
The lack of a compact camera was really noticeable to me. I asked my friend when the movie took place and both of us had missed the year was about 1992? And then the guy hid the camera on the shelf in Cheryl's room and everything I was like: how does she not notice the camera? But even then this movie disturbed me to an immense degree. No movie has ever triggered a phobia of mine like this one did, with the needle-death scene. It was so horrible and I had to pause the movie to calm down.
I do like breakdowns like this, though, shedding some light on all the 'goofs' as Imdb would call them.
I thought it was pretty good, though an uncomfortable watch, like 'Megan is missing.'
I'm glad much of the sadistic stuff was left to the imagination, and it was pretty effective,
when you see that poor kid as a target, outside her house.
The killer was effective too, his words & impatient yelling, sounded really unhinged and matched
his cruelty.
I do not need to see it again, kinda like Man bites Dog, but it was interesting and disturbing.
Great movie,very dark and shows you inside the mind of a serial killer,loved it!
The thought of some serial killer coming into my house and whatever isn't frightening to me.
Not because I'm brave or tough or anything, but it's just impossible because it would mean that someone would have to come to my house and want to come inside and that never happens, ever.
This film feels very exploitative. Plus, (#SPOILER) the second the 911 operative started talking when the little girl was taken, I could no longer suspend my disbelief. Nothing she said was correct and it wasn't even her place to say any of them. TBH I couldn't even finish the film. I got about halfway through and realized I just kept fast forwarding through most of the scenes.
I really like your hot takes on movies . Now, you must do a review on Salo ! Pretty please....
I did really like / fear this film, but I totally agree the threshold for suspension of disbelief is too damn high lol.
I have 30 year old VHS tapes,thay dont look that bad. :D :D
Agreed. I've got some on 6-hour speed that still look as good as when they were recorded. Would it have been so hard for them just to recopy those tapes a few times to get actual image degradation, instead of those obvious filters?