The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)

In the the late 90s and early 2000s, a serial killer known as the Water Street Butcher terrorized a community in New York and the surrounding areas. He would abduct, torment, murder, and dismember his victims in such a way that the police couldn't come up with a profile of this new breed of killer. The full extent of his crimes was only put together when the police discovered what came to be known as The Poughkeepsie Tapes - more than 800 video tapes documenting every detail of the atrocities he committed, but never revealing his identity.

The Poughkeepsie Tapes is a found footage horror film from the director of the excellent Quarantine and the ah-ight Devil. It purports to show interviews with police, victims' family members, forensics experts, FBI profilers, and all manner of people involved in tracking down the killer behind the tapes. But the main sick draw is the footage claimed to be from the tapes themselves. These segments show hideous abuses and cold-blooded murder visited on a variety of victims in a (usually) distressingly realistic fashion. This isn't about gleefully relishing in over-the-top gore or the creativity of a Jason Voorhees-type character. Rather, it is a descent into the depths of all-too-human depravity. Not much "fun" to be found here.

Of course, as a horror fan, that's what I'm after sometimes. That brush with real horror and the darkness of the worst of humanity that, in the safety of a fictional narrative that is only presented as true, helps to inoculate me against fear. 

Interestingly, The Poughkeepsie Tapes had a limited theatrical release and is not available on DVD, and there is no plan to release it as such even today. Some would say that's a good thing. I say, if you are a horror veteran and can handle a rough go, track it down (there are ways). It's very well-made and effective. And now I want to watch cartoons.