Real-life Horror Story, CROPSEY, Heads to DVD this May

Though many would not necessarily expect a documentary to be as scary as a fictional film that has added sound effects, dramatic lighting, and blood and gore, many people would agree that Cropsey is not your typical documentary.  Telling the story of two filmmakers investigating the real-life disappearance of five young children in Staten Island, Cropsey shows us that dark secrets can lie under the surface of a seemingly “normal” town.  The film is not only a fascinating documentary, but it is one of my top ten favorite horror films of 2010.  Breaking Glass Pictures has announced the May 10 DVD release of Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio’s documentary Cropsey. Read on for more details on the DVD release.

For those not wanting to wait till the May 10 DVD release, Cropsey can currently be seen instantly over Netflix and Amazon (look below this post to easily add it).  Special features on the Cropsey DVD include 10 deleted scenes and press clippings from the events featured in the film.  The deleted scenes consist of  explanation of the origins of the “Cropsey” legend, mistakes made during the investigation of Rand, and chilling additional scenes of the filmmakers searching the Willowbrook grounds for evidence.

The official synopsis of the film is below.  If you haven’t discovered this hidden gem of 2010, I highly recommend you seek out!

Growing up on Staten Island, filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio had often heard the legend of ‘Cropsey.’ For the kids in their neighborhood, Cropsey was the escaped mental patient who lived in the old abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution, who would come out late at night and snatch children off the streets. Sometimes Cropsey had a hook for a hand, other times he wielded a bloody axe, but it didn’t matter, Cropsey was always out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting to get them.

Later as teenagers, the filmmakers assumed Cropsey was just an urban legend: a cautionary tale used to keep them out of those abandoned buildings and stop them from doing all those things that teenagers like to do. That all changed in the summer of 1987 when a 12-year-old girl with Down syndrome, named Jennifer Schweiger, disappeared from their community. That was the summer all the kids from Staten Island discovered that their urban legend was real.

Now as adults Joshua and Barbara have returned to Staten Island to create Cropsey, a feature documentary that delves into the mystery behind Jennifer and four additional missing children. The film also investigates Andre Rand, the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.

Embarking on a mysterious journey into the underbelly of their forgotten borough, these filmmakers uncover a reality that is more terrifying than any urban legend.

Cropsey on Netflix