Audience Member
I’ve never seen a documentary sympathise so much with attempted murderers, and not bring up how this affected the victim and the victims family whatsoever.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
06/11/24
Full Review
Rae L
Documentary felt directionless and the through line was unclear. All at once, it attempted to be about internet trends, scary folklore, the stabbing case, and the parents' experience of their children stabbing a friend. Too many stories. Also random tonal changes, like the bit where the "experts" interviewed over Skype very quirkily cannot connect to the call. It was a weirdly written and directed doc.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
02/04/24
Full Review
Evan O
This documentary centered around the 2014 Slenderman Stabbing is very emotional, especially for the parents of Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier. Luckily, Payton Luetner, who was stabbed 19 times survived.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
12/04/22
Full Review
andy h
I went into it expecting a creepy pasta saga, but I got a more sympathetic yet realistic look at this unforgettable case of tween girl true crime near tragedy.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Beware the Slenderman, directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky, is a compelling look at the famous fictional boogeyman and it's influence on two 12 year old girls to attempt such a heinous crime, that mostly holds up, however is bogged down by a boring 2nd half.
Sunmary: The mythos of a faceless, digital-age bogeyman known as Slenderman was created on the Internet, but his influence was felt in the real world when two 12-year-old girls lured their friend into the woods for a brutal murder.
So what are the positives about this documentary? It provides an interesting look on a very compelling and horrific case with personal connections with the family you have never seen before on any news interview. And I really like how they touch base with these people and how much the tragedy affected them as much as the other people in Wisconsin. It's really sad that this family might not have been able to see their daughters for a while because they let a fictional creepypasta story take over their life and affect them in a very unhealthy way. And the theories presented about the famous legend itself are very interesting throughout. And the third half tells a tale of Schizophrenia and its effects for those on the receiving end well, and the trauma that can occur from such an awful disorder.
However, what I really didn't like was the really boring 2nd half throughout that almost should've probably been cut. Seriously, you could probably shave 30 minutes from this thing, and it could've most likely ended up way more compelling, and perhaps even replace it with the victim's family and their POV, and how they feel. Instead, it subjects us to mostly the family and how they couldn't see the signs, which is very hypocritical l, because in the first 10 minutes, we get insight of how Anissa Weier, one of the perpetrators of this awful crime, didn't react normally to situations like most other people do. Instead, what is presented is 80% fanfiction/art off of the internet that didn't get credit for some reason (along with the nostalgic appearances of webseries' like Marble Hornets and Tribetwelve among others), and, here we go, PUT THE BLAME ON THE IPADS instead, and the internet, and not LEGITIMATE MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS! It always irritates me that when something like this is shown, people tend to gravitate towards the internet being the problem entirely, and not a larger picture surrounding the person's life. Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser had mental issues that needed addressed and should've been addressed, and instead we blame the Ipads? Like, we are still doing this? These parents seem like kind that would say video game violence causes real world violence. And while the last 20 minutes held my attention much like the first 10 to maybe 35, the 50 to 80 minute mark dragged it down a bit for me to call this documentary 'amazing'.
So with all of this being said, I have seen worse documentaries (*coughs* Room 237), and this held my attention for a bit. I just wish it could have held it more.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Outrageous that the government allows minors that by undisputed scientific certainty don't have a fully developed brain and even a less developed decision-making part of the brain to waive their rights. Disgusting really. But good documentary
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
04/05/21
Full Review
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