Cropsey 2009

     This film is a documentary about a legend that was originally started to keep kids from exploring abandoned buildings, especially the Willowbrook State School.  The school is abandoned now but it was for the mentally disabled.  Two filmmakers realize that the urban legend of their youth has actually come true??  They delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children.  Is there a real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances?  A man is arrested, tried and convicted but is he really guilty?  Later he is tied again for an earlier abduction and convicted again but the question is still, is he really guilty again?

     Many local people are interviewed and the known facts are presented but cameras are not allowed into the courtroom.  The defendant does not testify in the second trial because his criminal record could influence the jury.  This movie seems weak since there is only a partial resolution to the case plus the same scenes are shown multiple times?  It is a troubling story and the film doesn’t set your mind at ease or prove the arrested man is really guilty??  3* This movie is okay)  

84 min, Doc directed by Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman also written by Joshua Zeman with Bill Ellis, Dorothy D’Eletto, Joshua Zeman, Geraldo Rivera, Barbara Brancaccio, Karen Schweiger, David Navarro, Donna Cutugno, Ralph Aquino, Bobby Jensen, Ernie Anastos.

Note:  Imdb 6.3 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 91% with 44 critics 61% with 2,679 user ratings, Amazon 3.6* out of 5* with 265 reviews, Metacritic 73 out of 100 with 14 critics (13 positive 1 mixed) 6.3 out of 10 with 18 ratings (11 positive 5 mixed 2 negative), Roger Ebert 3*.

Special Note:  Filmed at Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA.  The film was awarded a Hammer to Nail’s Grand Jury Prize for best documentary at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.  Loosely structured around the criminal trials of Andre Rand.  He was convicted of kidnapping two of five children who disappeared on Staten Island between 1972 and 1987.  Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio both grew up on Statin Island and they remain neutral about the case.  They struggle to untangle folklore from forensics.  Geraldo Rivera presented a 1972 television special based on the Willowbrook State School.