This Disturbing Found Footage Masterpiece is Now Streaming Free
Analog horror is all the rage these days. For the uninitiated, analog horror largely makes use of the aesthetics of analog technologies (e.g. radio, VHS tapes) for an uncanny and dread-inducing atmosphere, often filtered through found footage techniques. It’s often serendipitously low budget, what with distorted audio and footage and evocative, often disturbing, and incredulous visuals. Think Skinamarink and The Backrooms phenomenon as two of the most popular and recent examples.
Analog horror and liminal horror are inextricably linked, and if you’re a fan of one, you’ll no doubt be a fan of the other. One sterling example of analog horror has the added bonus of feeling like an urban legend, the kind of story you whisper about with a friend of a friend. After all, if you were in a movie theater back in 2007, you probably saw the trailer for John Erick Dowdle’s The Poughkeepsie Tapes, a faux-documentary horror film. If you were like me, it probably scared you to death, which meant you had to see it as soon as you could. Only, The Poughkeepsie Tapes disappeared, arriving on video-on-demand a staggering seven years later in 2014. It’s been a long road, but luckily, you can easily stream The Poughkeepsie Tapes free on Tubi now.
Per Tubi: Police discover hundreds of hours of videotaped murders, opening a nightmarish window into the mind of a monstrous and prolific serial killer.
John Erick Dowdle’s (Devil, As Above, So Below) feature is terrifying stuff. When you think of analog horror, The Poughkeepsie Tapes pretty much conceptualizes the best of what the subgenre has to offer. It’s eerie, disturbing, sadistic, unsettling, unpleasant, disarming, and just utterly, inconceivably captivating. You’ll want to turn away, but Dowdle keeps you fixated. It’s a treasure for analog horror and found footage fans, and if you somehow missed it through its rocky release history, you can check it out now.
Our own Tyler Doupé called The Poughkeepsie Tapes a “harrowing found footage experience,” later adding, “The first time I watched The Poughkeepsie Tapes, I was enraptured to the point where I would momentarily forget it wasn’t real. This flick stayed with me for several days after my inaugural viewing. And that is a true feat of filmmaking. Most seasoned horror fans can shake off a fright flick before heading to bed for the night. But that’s easier said than done with this chilling mockumentary.”
Seriously, the trailer alone remains one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen in my life. Analog horror forever.
What do you think? Any plans to check out The Poughkeepsie Tapes streaming free on Tubi? Don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you do check the film out, let me know what you think of this analog horror masterpiece over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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