‘Cropsey’ looks at the bogeyman of Staten Island

By John Soltes

Cropsey, Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman’s engaging documentary about a host of missing-child cases on Staten Island in the late 1970s and 1980s, cleverly skirts the line between myth and truth. The filmmakers, two locals who were enraptured by the story of a supposed madman in the nearby woods when they were kids, are as much interested in the cold-hard facts of what happened to these children as they are in the legends that have been passed down from generation to generation among the neighbors of New York City’s “other” borough.

In many ways, the story of Cropsey begins with Geraldo Rivera. Strange, right? It was this intrepid, young reporter who first unveiled the deplorable conditions at the Willowbrook State School, a government-run facility for forgotten-about mentally-ill children located in a stretch of woods on Staten Island. Rivera’s expose, which shocked audiences when it originally aired on television, is the scariest part of Cropsey. His footage is downright horrifying, depicting groups of handicapped children suffering through inhumane and demeaning existences.

From this newscast and the subsequent reports of missing children in the area, the urban legends began. The kids of Staten Island, including the filmmakers, began to look at the section of woods in the middle of the borough as a haven for malicious malfeasance. Who lived in those woods? What happened at night? Now that Willowbrook was closed, does anyone still call the mental institution home?

For the missing-person cases, the neighborhood and police officials pointed a finger at Andre Rand, a former orderly at Willowbrook who lived in the woods around the institution in makeshift tents. Although no physical evidence tied him to the disappearances of the children (many of whom suffered from a handicap), the circumstantial evidence was compelling. But even more than the legal part, the legend was fueled when Rand materialized as the chief suspect. He looked the part (his perp walk, which was caught by cameras, featured Rand drooling from the mouth) and the rumors that circulated about satanic cults and secret passageways beneath Willowbrook fed the flames of people’s imagination.

The filmmakers smartly look at the unusual case of Rand with a holistic approach. They detail the events of his first trial for the disappearance of Jennifer Schweiger and also the more recent trial for the disappearance of Holly Anny Hughes. But they also explore the circumstances of Willowbrook and the strange vagabond existence of Rand; they track down old friends and family members of both the suspect and the victims. There’s also a great deal about the legend that still persists today, the stories of things that go bump in the night.

Cropsey, which derives its title from a common nickname used by Staten Island residents for the boogie man in the woods, is not a perfect movie. It always keeps its skepticism at arm’s length, choosing to present every theory, rather than focusing on the more promising clues. Although detailing both the myths and the facts is a novel approach, it also has its limitations. When do the myths end and the facts begin? Should a filmmaker present everything that is believed by the neighborhood? Is all rumor worth inclusion in a 84-minute film?

Cropsey handles these questions with a fair amount of dignity, giving ample time to both Rand and the unfortunate victims. Of particular note is the filmmakers’ correspondence with the suspect while he’s in jail, and the alleged confessions and oddities of Rand’s life all seem to point toward his involvement.

Although the proceedings lend themselves to much sensationalism, the director tries to ground the documentary in real people with real views; these are residents of a neighborhood, all of whom were shook to the core after the children seemed to fade away.

Perhaps it’s just frustrating to have even more questions at the end of a movie rather than at the beginning, or perhaps that’s the most believable type of truth.

Cropsey

2010

Directed by Joshua Zeman

Written by Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio

Running time: 84 minutes

Bubble score: 3 out of 4

Click here to purchase Cropsey on DVD.