Mr. Rand had, after all, become the real-life Cropsey of nightmares the fictional drooling, child-napping maniac on the grounds of Willowbrook, the institution where he once worked.

Everyone had a story about Andre Rand and the bogeyman." "The film hopefully will raise some questions," said Ms. Brancaccio, 38, a New Springville native who grew up a stone's throw from Willowbrook.

When a group of friends from Staten Island went to Manhattan to watch a hard-hitting crime documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, most had no idea just how gutwrenching it would be.

Andre Rand, a man described as a drifter, was arrested and convicted of killing a mentally handicapped girl. ... CROPSEY 1B I used to teach the Andre Rand story in my journalism class, ...

Part personal history remembrance, part time capsule of a place, part true crime thriller, Cropsey is an absorbing and terrifying piece of filmmaking. A rough hewn, nine years in the making feature ...

Andre Rand is taken into custody in “Cropsey,” a film directed by Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman. ... CROPSEY. Opens on Friday in Manhattan.

Cropsey continues what’s been a welcome trend this year toward documentaries with strong, surprising narratives.Expertly paced and assembled, the doc uses the second trial of Rand as a window ...

Before I go into Rand’s backstory, allow me to provide a brief primer on Cropsey for the uninducted: Cropsey is an urban legend that originated in New York State. His story seems to change ...

In the 2009 true-crime documentary, Cropsey, filmmakers Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman revisit the local story that shaped their upbringing. Part meditation on fear, ...

MANY COMMUNITIES have some physical place that focalizes its residents’ fears and anxieties, an untended wooded lot or an empty building that’s fallen into disrepair. In one Staten Island ...