| Cropsey | |
|---|---|
Theatrical Release Poster |
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| Directed by | Joshua Zeman Barbara Brancaccio |
| Produced by | Joshua Zeman Barbara Brancaccio Zachary Mortensen |
| Written by | Joshua Zeman |
| Music by | Alexander Lasarenko |
| Cinematography | Chad Davidson |
| Editing by | Tom Patterson |
| Release date(s) | June 4, 2009 |
| Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
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.”[1]
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The name “Cropsey”,[2] has nebulous origins. According to folklore experts, there were several urban legends in the late 19th century that dealt with a person named Cropsey.
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 Island. 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.
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 – one of the longest pre-trial motions in New York State history. The culmination of the film alludes to indicting Rand, which became controversial.
There were conflicting reactions from the close-knit Staten Island community during the making of Cropsey.
Cropsey received an 87% rating from RottenTomatoes. [3] Metacritic gave the film a score of 73 which is considered "generally favorable".[4]