Today, the much praised “horror doc” CROPSEY begins its limited theatrical run at New York City’s IFC Center. Co-director Joshua Zeman recently spoke to Fango about the film and its long road to completion. Check out the second part of the video interview (see the first here) and find out when you can see it after the jump!

CROPSEY is an examination of the horrifying consequences when urban legend and true crime converge into a string of child disappearances on Staten Island. Here’s the synopsis:

“Growing up on Staten Island, filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio had often heard the legend of ‘Cropsey.’ For the kids in their neighborhood, Cropsey was the escaped mental patient who lived in the old abandoned Willowbrook Mental Institution, who would come out late at night and snatch children off the streets. Sometimes Cropsey had a hook for a hand, other times he wielded a bloody ax, but it didn’t matter, Cropsey was always out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting to get them.

“Later as teenagers, the filmmakers assumed Cropsey was just an urban legend: a cautionary tale used to keep them out of those abandoned buildings and stop them from doing all those things that teenagers like to do. That all changed in the summer of 1987 when a 13-year-old girl with Down syndrome, named Jennifer Schweiger, disappeared from their community. That was the summer all the kids from Staten Island discovered that their urban legend was real.

“Now as adults Joshua and Barbara have returned to Staten Island to create CROPSEY, a feature documentary that delves into the mystery behind Jennifer and four additional missing children. The film also investigates Andre Rand, the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.

“Embarking on a mysterious journey into the underbelly of their forgotten borough, these filmmakers uncover a reality that is more terrifying than any urban legend.”

Below, Zeman discusses how the fear of Satan worshippers and Geraldo made the legend of Cropsey stronger and the varying audience reaction to the the documentary.

For the full schedule CROPSEY’s theatrical bookings, you can see our story here, and for more info on the film, check out its official site.

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