Throughout the 1990s, a serial killer terrorized upstate New York. After a decade-long crime spree conducted largely under the radar of law enforcement, the killer left behind the most disturbing collection of evidence homicide detectives had ever seen –hundreds of homemade videotapes that chronicle the stalking, abduction, murder, and disposal of his victims.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes examines these horrific tapes at length: what they reveal about the killer, why they were made, and how FBI profilers have used them to better understand violent, psychopathic behavior. The Poughkeepsie Tapes combines interviews surrounding the devastating impact of the Water Street Butcher with shocking footage from the tapes themselves.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes documents the actual experience of encountering a deranged serial killer. Never before has an audience been exposed so directly to terror so real. For the first time, the public will see the horrifying images that FBI profilers have studied for years.
This horrifying new film surrounding the Water Street Butcher, aka James Foley, and his serial killing spree in Poughkeepsie, New York 10 years ago is now a part of the Tribeca Film Festival on April 27th and 28th. The Poughkeepsie Tapes became an invaluable tool for the FBI as they used the killer’s real tapes to cement and fine tune their profiling abilities and method of serial killing investigations for all future cases.
I can’t believe this is not a true documentary. It looks so real. Whether it’s a real story or not, I am scared to see this one. The footage looks so real and distubring. It almost looks like Saw but with some truth to it.
I doubt this is true. I used to live in the Poughkeepsie LaGrange area (1993-2000) and I never heard of any serial killer that terrorized us. When I first saw this trailer before watching I Am Legend, it scared the hell out of me because it claimed that it was based on a true story and that these tapes were found a year after I moved away. I thought something happened after I left and was lucky to escape it.
But the more I look at this stuff online, I highly doubt that it’s real and if it is, it is ridiculously over-dramatized.
i think this is real because i looked james foley up aka the water street killer and must of is films look pretty real to me
maybe the truth behind this was that there was a guy that did video tape his victims, but i dont think the footage shown in the movie is real. i mean …. i doubt the FBI would show these tapes to anyone that wasnt any a police authority. so, i doubt they’d give it to a bunch of directors and stuff to show it. & 2, you’d need authorization from the family if they want there kid or whoever to be seen on film on how they died. its unlawful to show it on tv & to the public.
September 2, 1998 is when Kendall Francois house was searched and they found the bodies of 8 women. I lived in Poughkeepsie from 1970- 1999. Had friends that lived in the apartment complex right behind his house on Fulton Ave. The stench was really bad. but untill the one girl escaped or the prolly wouldnt have cought him. They found body parts in the wall , under the floor , and in the back yard. NEVER FOUND ANY TAPES as far as I know. But still should be a good story though. if you wanna read more about him google him.
The Poughkeepsie tapes is set in newyork so the only smart thing to do is look it up on thenewyorktimes.com so i did there was nothing nadda not even one little thing about the poughkeepsie murders, the poughkeepsie tapes, water street killer, or the water street butcher i say its false
This is from the New York Times website….
Google Poughkeepsie killings. It is the first one on the page…
Admitted Killer of 8 Women Receives 8 Life Terms Without Parole
Published: August 8, 2000
Kendall L. Francois, who admitted murdering eight women here over a two-year period, was sentenced today to spend the rest of his life in prison.
The decision, which allowed Mr. Francois, a former school hall monitor, to escape a capital trial was made by Judge Thomas J. Dolan of County Court, who said such a proceeding would serve ”no good purpose.”
Instead, he sentenced Mr. Francois to eight consecutive life terms without the chance of parole.
Mr. Francois admitted strangling the eight women between 1996 and 1998. He stored their bodies in the home he shared with his family, but none of the relatives were ever charged in connection to his crimes.
In testimony at his sentencing hearing, family members of Mr. Francois’s victims made tearful statements about their losses, but the killer himself never looked up and his expression remained deadpan.
”I know you won’t look at me or look at any of us, because you are a damn coward,” Pat Hoffman, an aunt of Mr. Francois’s first victim, Wendy A. Meyers, said as she shook with rage.
Others mourned that Mr. Francois had taken away the chance for his victims, all of whom were involved with drugs or prostitution, to turn their lives around.
Christine Sala, a former drug addict who narrowly escaped becoming Mr. Francois’s ninth victim, stood up to ”confront the man who took innocent peoples’ lives and tried to take mine.”
Now free of drugs, Ms. Sala said she was living proof that ”people can turn their lives around for the better.”
Like the others, she had been attacked by Mr. Francois in his car. But while choking her, he inexplicably stopped and let her go. Ms. Sala ran to the police, who arrested him for assault and eventually charged him with the eight murders.
”I hope you remember me for the rest of your life. I hope you remember who put you away,” Ms. Sala said, sobbing. ”You will never be forgiven for what you have done. I hope they kill you in prison. Goodbye, Kendall.”
Mr. Francois, now 29, remained mute. One of his lawyers told the court that he was ”deeply sorry for his actions” but feared that anything he might say would be misconstrued.
The only member of his family to appear was a cousin, Mon-Ray Francois, who has aligned himself with members of the victims’ families. Several of them expressed disappointment that the killer would escape capital punishment.
”If ever there was an instance where the death penalty should have stood on solid ground, this was it,” said Heidi Cramer, the daughter of one victim, Sandra Jean French. Mr. Francois has tested positive for H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, and Ms. Cramer called it ”poetic justice” that he may have contracted the virus from one of the very women he hunted.
Ha.. Guess Kelly owned you guys.
Anyways, this film looks really interesting, especially since I am from around the Poughkeepsie area. I wouldn’t really call that upstate, but meh.
Anyone know when this opens?
this movie is gonna be awsome
i’ve lived in poughkeepsie fourteen years. this guy definitely did all this stuff. it was the real deal. but i doubt any of the actual footage from the house has been released to the public.
it really happened. but the movie is a movie
but it really happened
i made the video with my mates its a complete ripp the piss betcha u were scared tho ehhe
The tapes look real because of this new fangled notion called acting. They got experienced actors, not a kid fresh out of junior high drama class.
Also, they get actors that resemble the actual person. You couldn’t really expect Tiger Woods or Bret Hart to play the role, hmm??
For the people who can’t find any coverage on the actual event, try looking harder and more than one place. I hear the internet is a good tool. Just because you have lived in the same city/area, it doesn’t really mean that you’ll hear every bit of news that occurs unless you get all types of newspapers every day plus watch the news on tv. Then you can open your mouth.
the movie is based on kendall francois. there werent 800 tapes….. he had 8 victims (that were known of) that he had cut up and hid throughout his house and yard. the area smelt nasty. i was on the road when they were searching his house. but no, the movie isnt totally based on him. most of it is just made up to make it more interesting. francois is where the director got the idea from though.
I’ve wanted to see this movie. I’m always interested in movies that are based on true events. But has this movie been release beacause I saw the movie trailor in the theater last year and I’ve waited for the release date but its never dropped.
Has the movie came out and if not is there a site where I can purchase the movie?
Thanks
The movie isn’t out yet but my friend got a hold of a copy and we watched it the last month. I live about twenty minutes from Poughkeepsie and everyone always knew about what had happened. I never knew the extent of the crimes before the movie, nor did I know that this was national news. I was too young to have watched it on the news while it was actually happening.
I love scary movies but for some reason this one has really bothered me. it isnt necessarily “scary,” but it has stuck in my mind for weeks. Maybe because I live so close but also maybe because it has reassured me that there are indeed people out there that will do horrible things, everywhere, not just Poughkeepsie.
Anyway, this movie is one you should definitely see, don’t be distracted with is it real? is it real? is it real?
Because the killings did happen and the actual video footage cannot be real, would the FBI honestly release those private videos to some movie makers?
Enjoy
The movie is not real but the story is 100% true. There is a video on youtube of one ladys murder. She was the only victims whose family gave the FBI consent to let out the video. Thats how it ended up on youtube
omg im scared
Do some research…It’s NOT based on Kendall F. I read all that crap too.
It’s the true story of a COP named James Foley…aka…The Water Street Butcher. He…like Kendall F. murdered prostitutes. They executed him in 2001. They searched an abandoned house after he was executed & found 800 of his tapes of him kidnapping, murdering & disposing of his victims…the footage you will see in the movie is of the victims whose families gave consent & the victims whose families couldn’t be found…so don’t be scared…he’s dead.
first off this is very real… the reason why u never heard of it was because at the time they didnt have enough evidence to put all of these kidnappings and murderers together. second james foley was not the water street butcher he was found guilty and sentenced to death. After his execution he was then later on found innocent because the actual serial killer exposed the home in which all the “poughkeepsie tapes” were found. This means that this “poughkeepsie killer” or “water street butcher” is still around…
ya and james foley is not guitly according to the film and i hope they find that creep digging up the body of the chick he kidnapped for 8 years ya iv said enough. fuck the POlice
YO THIS IZ TRU EVERYTHING IN THA MOVIE IS TRU REAL FOOTAGE THA FBI WOULDNT EVA RELEASE A DOCUMENTARY THAT IS NOT REAL LIKE CMON YEA ND ALSO HE WAS NEVA CAUGHT AND THEY PROSECUTED THA WRONG GUY(JAMES FOLEY) 3 DAYS AFTER HE WAS KILLED THEY PROVE HE WAS INNOCENT
K first this is a real flim and second James Foley was not the waterstreet butcher
They proved that he was innocent but no one herd about it becaue of 9-11 happing. Everone got cought up in 9-11.So they just forgot about the hole waterstreet butcher thing, It was going to make front page but they moved it back to the 6 page Because of 9-11 so no one knew about James Foley being innocent. The water street but prob just set James Foley up to make it look like it was him that did
you guys r crazy every body knows that the poughkeepsie killer is real why would they make a lie this big
I am like Anna,
I saw it at a friends house, he found it online. (one of his B T Airlines sites he goes too,) I also like horror and scary movies, but do not watch them other than at his house due to Darcy.
I was bothered me as well, and may have put me off of these types of films. The story is true, as have been stated above. However this is a hollywood reenactment folks, not the real tapes. Couldn’t be for the reason Anna stated. Think, “the last broadcast” here or “Blair witch”. Same deal.
Was really sick and twisted and still haunts you afterward. Think i’ll stick to other films after this one.
Tim
this is definetly true becuase my cousins girlfriend lives in poughkeepsie and when she went to middle school, he was the janitor, some real stuff
ok well you can see all the tapes on youtube and no he has not been caught yet and yes it is real but the guys that say they did it….DIDNT HE IS OUT THERE IN PUBLIC SOMEWHERE…..
There was a real serial killer in Poughkeepsie but he was caught, only killed 8 people and never taped the murders.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a fake documentary about a fictitious serial killer. Here’s the IMDB page to prove it:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1010271/
I just can’t believe how gullible people are these days.
I have a hard time believing that the movie is true, First of all, if you read the IMDB page like Dan says, no where is the genre field does it say “Documentary” or “Non-Fiction”. Also do you think the FBI would really release the videos to the public? I mean really. If anything this movie is extremely loosely based on the Kendall Francois murders. The Francois murders don’t match up with the Water Street Butcher’s murders.
Yes, I know I am a few years late hearing about this.