Cropsey (2010)
78%RT Audience Score: 61%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 1 nomination
Riveting and bone-chillingly creepy, Cropsey manages to be one of the best documentaries and one of the best horror movies of the year
Cropsey is a documentary that will make you question everything you thought you knew about urban legends. It’s like a horror movie come to life, but scarier because it’s all true. The filmmakers do a great job of weaving together different perspectives and leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions. Plus, it’s set on Staten Island, so you know it’s going to be creepy. If you’re looking for a spine-tingling documentary, Cropsey is definitely worth a watch. Just maybe don’t watch it alone in the dark.
Production Company(ies)
Backup Media, Big Farm Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2009
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): May 10, 2011
Genre(s)
Documentary/Horror
Keyword(s)
Cropsey, documentary, horror, 1h 24m, Joshua Zeman, Barbara Brancaccio, directed by Barbara Brancaccio, directed by Joshua Zeman, written by Joshua Zeman, reviewed by Richard Whittaker, reviewed by Roger Ebert, reviewed by J.R Jones, reviewed by Nick Schager, reviewed by Perri Nemiroff, reviewed by Brian Tallerico, reviewed by Richard Propes, reviewed by Thrillist Entertainment Staff, reviewed by Leonardo Faierman, reviewed by Stan Hall, reviewed by Rob Owen, produced by Barbara Brancaccio, produced by Joshua Zeman, starring Joshua Zeman, starring Barbara Brancaccio, executive producer Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, documentary film, horror film, true crime, urban legend, Staten Island, disappearance, boogeyman, bone-chilling, creepy, riveting, best documentaries, best horror movies, box office gross $35.5K, English language, MPAA rating N/A, streaming release date May 10, 2011, rent/buy from $2.99
Worldwide gross: $52,476
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $72,528
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,057
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 7,909
US/Canada gross: $52,476
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $72,528
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,709
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,306
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $8,716
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,730
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Barbara Brancaccio – self
Barbara Brancaccio – Director
Joshua Zeman – Director
Joshua Zeman – Writer
Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte – Executive Producer
Director(s)
Barbara Brancaccio, Joshua Zeman
Writer(s)
Joshua Zeman
Producer(s)
Barbara Brancaccio, Joshua Zeman
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (45) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (4)
Nothing is answered definitively here. But if there’s a real Cropsey to be found, it may be Staten Island itself.
March 3, 2014
Richard Whittaker
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Cropsey is a creepy documentary with all the elements of a horror film about a demented serial killer, and an extra ingredient: This one is real.
March 3, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Roger Ebert
RogerEbert.com
TOP CRITIC
This disturbing true-crime documentary takes its name from a local bogeyman that video makers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio were warned about when they were growing up on Staten Island.
March 3, 2014
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
A crude episode of 48 Hours.
January 21, 2011
Nick Schager
House Next Door
TOP CRITIC
Begins as the documentation of a terrible legend, but evolves into a true story of a monster, and that’s what makes Cropsey downright frightening.
August 13, 2010 | Rating: 3.5/5
Perri Nemiroff
CinemaBlend
TOP CRITIC
Brancaccio and Zeman don’t offer any easy answers, merely throwing all of the many issues of the story of Cropsey into a melting pot of danger, terror, and secrecy.
August 6, 2010
Brian Tallerico
Movie Retriever
TOP CRITIC
Most entertaining yet less convincing when exploring the urban legend.
September 5, 2020 | Rating: 3.0/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
One of the creepiest documentaries ever made, Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio’s film shows how some urban legends are based on true stories even more unsettling than the myths.
November 28, 2018
Thrillist Entertainment Staff
Thrillist
Cropsey is an interesting enough documentary patchwork, and while I do enjoy films of this type which pursue the story as it is found, I never fully trusted the filmmaker’s intents, here.
October 29, 2017 | Rating: 3.0/5
Leonardo Faierman
Black Girl Nerds
The filmmakers overreach trying to explain the meaning of a community’s revulsion and rush to judgment regarding the man convicted of one of the murders, but Cropsey still gets under your skin.
March 3, 2014
Stan Hall
Oregonian
The film is eerie and thought-provoking, raising worthwhile questions about the pursuit of justice without losing compassion for the victims or their families.
March 3, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Rob Owen
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Whether they’re interviewing so-called experts or casual observers — or even reading from Rand’s letters — Zeman and Brancaccio confront fear, disappointment, and hope, again and again.
March 3, 2014 | Rating: 7/10
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters…
Plot
Realizing the urban legend of their youth has actually come true; two filmmakers delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about the film Cropsey, but it does mention that the documentary was directed by Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman.
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