Cropsey

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Halloween 666

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SUPERNATURAL SATURDAY

I suppose one could consider this one a bit of a cheat, as it's actually more of a lean toward a true crime documentary. However, with that said, the idea for this title being included here is the underlying concept of a real Boogeyman type who was used to form an urban legend of sorts, basically as simple as "be good or this mystery man will take you away". Growing up, most of us have something like this - a deterrent to any sort of bad behaviour. For many, it's something like the Bible, or even some kind of educational children's programming where we'll get our ideas of what's inherently good or bad. But for some, the actual fear is needed, and therefore urban legends are formed. The legend of Cropsey is made so much scarier upon finding out that this child-snatcher was real.

Among those who learned the truth were filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio, who grew up with the Cropsey legend while living on Staten Island, NY. The tale was used on them in order to keep them away from exploring the abandoned buildings that were once the Willowbrook Mental Institution - a truly terrifying place when it's talked about in the doc. Cropsey was said to be an escaped patient who was also a child-snatcher, often depicted as having a hook for a hand or wielding a bloody ax. In 1987, the legend became real when Jennifer Schweiger, a 13-year-old girl with down syndrome tragically went missing and never was found.

Now, as adults, Josh and Barb are still somewhat haunted by these memories, thus creating this documentary in order to uncover what they can behind this great mystery. This not only has to do with whatever happened to Jennifer but four other missing children as well. As things unravel, it all soon points toward one man, Andre Rand, who earned the apt, albeit truly disturbing nickname of "The Pied Piper of Staten Island". As the film unfolds, what really ends up striking you is how disturbing a lot of this gets. Some really creepy yet real footage is used to illustrate a few things, but what really stands out is the imagery of the old psychiatric hospital and its ways - especially when you hear descriptions of the place.

Beyond that, the two filmmakers do some pretty deep digging and unveil a lot of truth that's actually much scarier than anything the Cropsey urban legend had to offer. I've seen a few true crime docs in my day, but what makes this one so unique is the urban legend aspect of it. When I was too young to know any better, I was once told by a babysitter that I'd be taken away to the "Funny Farm" just because I made her laugh. But the idea of being shipped away and separated from my family terrified me, even if I did think that it was just a big farm with animals. Years later, I discovered that the term "funny farm" could (but probably shouldn't) be used as harsh slang for the psychiatric hospital. So relating to these two filmmakers, I also one day discovered that something that scared me as a kid ended up being a pretty scary place that really exists.

So, if you're into the whole true crime thing, I can recommend a whole whack of great true crime documentaries that cover famous "heavy hitters" (credit to 'Last Podcast on the Left' for that terminology). But I'd really highly recommend checking this one out for the spooky season, due to the concept of this being an urban legend that was actually very real, and there are few things in life creepier than that. The film is thorough, eerie, and atmospheric, and will really open your mind to thoughts like "maybe some things aren't as crazy as they seem"... because nine times out of ten, in the world of true crime, they're actually quite a bit worse. This is one I'd highly recommend to true crime fans, but if you can handle things, I might just recommend this as a general doc for the Halloween season above most other true crime docs that exist out there. This one's just plain special in its own way, and there's no other way to put it.

4/5

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