Cropsey (Film)
Encyclopedia
Cropsey is a 2009 American investigative-crime horror
-documentary
film, written and directed by Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio. The film and its title uses the urban legend
of "Cropsey", akin to the various incarnations of the Boogeyman, as an introduction to what eventually leads the film to its intended subject: Andre Rand, a convicted child kidnapper from Staten Island
, New York
.
As Tribeca Film Festival
(Cropsey premiered there in 2009) programmer David Kwok stated: “The eeriness of the mystery pulsates through the film as they journey into the underbelly… As more information and clues unravel, Zeman and Brancaccio become more immersed in shocking surprises and revelations. The reality they uncover in this uniquely hair-raising documentary is more terrifying than any urban legend.”
experts, there were several urban legend
s in the late 19th century that dealt with a person named Cropsey.
. On the day they were going to Rikers, they received the reply. After a series of letter exchanges, Rand agreed to an interview. However, when the filmmakers arrived to the prison, Rand had changed his mind and declined the interview.
Andre Rand’s court case did not start for four years after his indictment
– one of the longest pre-trial motions in New York State history. The culmination of the film alludes to indicting Rand, which became controversial.
gave the film a score of 73 which is considered "generally favorable".
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
-documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
film, written and directed by Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio. The film and its title uses the urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
of "Cropsey", akin to the various incarnations of the Boogeyman, as an introduction to what eventually leads the film to its intended subject: Andre Rand, a convicted child kidnapper from Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
As Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
(Cropsey premiered there in 2009) programmer David Kwok stated: “The eeriness of the mystery pulsates through the film as they journey into the underbelly… As more information and clues unravel, Zeman and Brancaccio become more immersed in shocking surprises and revelations. The reality they uncover in this uniquely hair-raising documentary is more terrifying than any urban legend.”
Cropsey Origins
The name “Cropsey”, has nebulous origins. According to folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
experts, there were several urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s in the late 19th century that dealt with a person named Cropsey.
Contact with Andre Rand
When filming began, Zeman and Brancaccio sent Andre Rand a letter. After not receiving a response for approximately a month, they decided to visit him directly at Rikers IslandRikers Island
Rikers Island is New York City's main jail complex, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of...
. On the day they were going to Rikers, they received the reply. After a series of letter exchanges, Rand agreed to an interview. However, when the filmmakers arrived to the prison, Rand had changed his mind and declined the interview.
Production
Upon shooting their research of the origins of the missing kids’ stories, Zeman and Brancaccio realized that the truth did not dwindle into something concrete; instead, it expanded into something large and convoluted. What began as Jennifer’s missing story became an in depth investigation of five missing children’s stories. The objective was to bring the distinct elements into one overarching narrative: the oral tradition of urban legends; the mystery of the missing children; the courtroom drama; the search for the roots of Staten Island’s obsession with the case, the community’s need for catharsis.Andre Rand’s court case did not start for four years after his indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
– one of the longest pre-trial motions in New York State history. The culmination of the film alludes to indicting Rand, which became controversial.
Community’s Reaction
There were conflicting reactions from the close-knit Staten Island community during the making of Cropsey.Reception
Cropsey received an 87% rating from RottenTomatoes. MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the film a score of 73 which is considered "generally favorable".
Awards
- Hammer to Nail: 2009 Tribeca’s Grand Jury Prize.
- IndieWIRE’s 2009 Best Undistributed Film list, Annual Critics Survey.
- Closing Night Film, SF Documentary Festival.
- Audience Award Winner, Staten Island Film Festival