Cropsey (2009) review by: Ted "Ritualistic" Brown

Staten Island natives, Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio had often heard the urban legend of "Cropsey." It was a cautionary tale invented to keep them out of the abandoned buildings that remained of the Willowbrook Mental Institution. Cropsey was supposedly an escaped patient who would come out late at night and snatch children off the streets sometimes with a hook for a hand, other times with a bloody ax. But in 1987, Jennifer Schweiger, a 13-year-old with Down syndrome, disappeared from their community. For Zeman, Brancaccio, and the other kids of Staten Island, their urban legend became real and the reality they would uncover in "Cropsey" a truly uniquely hair-raising documentary that proves fact is more terrifying than any urban legend.

I watch a lot of true crime documentaries and also read a lot of books on the subject; I have always found myself fascinated with not only horror films but also the source material many of their writers gain their ideas from. Real life fears and tension are always more terrifying to a viewer than anything made up and too over the top to be real.

"Cropsey" will leave you with an inner chill for hours after its runtime is completed, the thought that someone would be so cold and heartless as to murder several children with mental disabilities is one that makes it hard to sleep at night knowing that such evil exists, not only on our television screens but also in our own backyards.

This documentary will force you to think and to form your own opinion on Andre Rand, is he a sick and depraved child murderer? Or was he simply a misunderstood soul whose only crime was looking scary and being the victim of his very own mental disorder? In a day and age when such horrible crimes occur and the pressure on police to find out who is responsible mounts, it is not uncommon for an innocent soul to find themselves in a prison cell based on looks and how easy it will be to push a negative image of the person into the minds of the general public. This may very well be the case with one Andre Rand, but at the same time he makes it hard on himself to believe he is innocent with his cryptic behavior and unwillingness to be helpful in anyway, this creates a truly thought inducing documentary that will leave you going over the evidence provided for months to come trying to solve the mystery of "Cropsey."

One of the things that most impressed me about this documentary was the success of the film makers when it came to showing both sides of the fence using interviews of those close to the children and also friends of Andre Rand. This is not a one sided story by any means when it comes to the evidence that is given to you as the viewer to process. I believe that this is the films greatest achievement, it never feels like an attack against Andre Rand, but instead just the facts given honestly and from many different sources who are on both sides of the fence, when it comes to his guilt or innocence.

The most haunting segments for me personally has to be the footage of the hospital back when it was still active and how horribly its patients were treated, it honestly reminded me of a giant internal mass grave where you were only there to wait until you took your final pain filled breath.

If you enjoy true crime and are in the mood for a very in-depth and riveting look into one of the most infamous crimes in New York's history then I highly recommend you view "Cropsey" as soon as possible. Available both on DVD and also currently on Netflix instaview this is a must see documentary.

On behalf of The Liberal Dead I give "Cropsey" a 10 out of 10 and award for honestly and accurately telling both sides of a very tragic and hard to believe story, film-making at its finest.

10/10

- Ted "Ritualistic" Brown