rawlinson
Posts: 40625
Joined: 13/6/2008
From: Timbuktu. Chinese or Fictional.
|
In the 1970s, Staten Island was home to the Willowbrook Institute for mentally handicapped children. Following reports of abuse and neglect at the institute (including a piece of investigative journalism that won a Peabody award for Geraldo Rivera) the institute was gradually shut down, the building left to decay and fester on the small island that acted as the rubbish dump for New York. Many of the former patients and guards, uncertain of what to do following the closures, came back to live in the ruins of the old institution. Andre Rand, a former orderly, was one of the many camping in the grounds in the late 80s when a young girl with Down Syndrome, Jennifer Schweiger, went missing. Following one of the largest civilian manhunts in history, Jennifer's body was found in a shallow grave near Rand's campsite. Rand had previous convictions for child molestation and was also the chief suspect in the disappearance of several other children in the area. For many he seemed to fit perfectly. The perp-walk photos of Rand were enough to seal his guilt in their mind. A drooling, Satanic mess, he looked like a killer of children. There was a lot of circumstantial evidence, but little actual physical evidence to tie him to the crimes. Was he actually guilty? He certainly seemed to be a physical manifestation of the Cropsey figure that plagued the nightmares of children in the tri-state area.
The directors, Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio, grew up in Staten Island but didn't meet until later in life, they bonded over memories of the Cropsey legend and of the Rand case. When they discovered that Rand was going to stand trial again for an old crime, Zeman and Brancaccio decided to revisit the case, and Staten Island's murky past. Through the eyes of the directors, Staten Island becomes the kind of world we're used to seeing through the pages of a pulp novel, where the land itself has become so neglected and corrupted that it seems to infect the people. Everytime we think we've hit the seedy bottom of Staten Island, we find another layer of dirt to claw through. That's not to say that the film is mere muck-raking, it's a sensitive and thought-provoking look at an area that had become a dumping ground, both for human waste and human beings. Society hid what it was ashamed of on Staten Island, from the secrets people throw away in their garbage, to the neglect of the vulnerable children in Willowbrook. Staten Island was becoming rotten. But then, a young girl disappears and 5000 residents turn out to search for her. The cynical side of me feels that it was a way of trying to release themselves from the guilt they felt over the neglect that went on under their noses. But part of me hopes it was a human instinct to do something good and right, to help someone who was lost and desperately needed that help. Unlike many documentaries where it becomes more about the director than the story, Zeman and Brancaccio know just how much to involve themselves. This is a story that needed to feel personal and pair inject enough of themselves to do that, but they also know when to stand back and let those who were involved first-hand to have their voices be heard.
One of the most interesting aspects of the film is the examination of how much of the trial of Rand was influenced by the need to solve the case as opposed to definitive evidence of Rand's guilt. There is a strong case to make that he was railroaded. The area where the body was discovered was searched once and nothing was found, only a second search found the girl, in ground so shallow that her hand was sticking out of the earth. It feels as if Rand may have been a convenient scapegoat, a mentally disturbed man with previous abuse convictions who they could lay the blame on and help calm a worried population, especially when America was at the height of the Satanic abuse panic. But then you see images of Rand, and he unsettles you. He reminds me of the insanity of a Manson, someone who crawls under your skin to the extent that you can never be comfortable in how you feel about the man.
I know some critics expressed disappointment that this was more about Rand than about the specific Cropsey legend. But I think that's part of the point, the legend attached itself to this man for the film-makers. In some ways it feels like the act of story-telling was used to cushion the harshness of the reality when they were children and this whole film is stripping away the scary story to see the truth and the tragedy of Staten Island.
Cropsey is an unsettling experience, atmospheric and disturbing, with the ability to haunt your dreams. It's often compared to a real-life Blair Witch Project, I can understand why and for fans of that kind of approach there will be much to appreciate here. In many ways the film feels like the camp-fire scary tale and it's great viewing for horror fans on that level. But, rightfully, you can never escape the real-life aspect, and the film doesn't want you to escape it. This was a tragedy that rocked a community, children did disappear, and lives were changed forever. The film is remarkably balanced when you consider how close both directors were to the events chronicled. It could easily have presented the belief that Rand was guilty, regardless of the lack of concrete evidence, or it could have presented the police and the residents of engaging in little more than a witch-hunt. It does neither, instead it allows you a unique insight into a community troubled by its sins and it gives everyone who takes part in the film a chance to have their voices heard. Cropsey may be a small film, but its importance is gigantic.
- Rawlinson
< Message edited by rawlinson -- 15/5/2012 1:50:31 PM >
_____________________________
quote:
ORIGINAL: matty_b
I would plough my way through MonsterCat 
quote:
ORIGINAL: matty_b
I desire MonsterCat to go down on me.
|
Printable Version
RE: Cult Countdown - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread