Beware The Slenderman (2016) | A SXSW Documentary Review

For as long as humans have existed, stories of terrors in the dark have been told. The origins of these stories are as varied as the monsters that inhabit them. Some come to kill, some come to enslave, and some come to take what is most precious to us. It’s easy to understand why these horrific tales were believed in before the Enlightenment, before humanity turned more to science to explain the evils of our world and not superstition. We simply didn’t know any better. But now, when all of human knowledge is available at the press of a button and mankind has risen into the stars, it’s harder to understand why these folktales still exist. In fact, as we learn in the upcoming HBO documentary BEWARE THE SLENDERMAN directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky, all new terrors are being created, and the campfire has been replaced by the flickering light of computer monitors the world over. The Slenderman, however, has moved beyond the internet and moves amongst us at this very moment, even if only in the minds of young people whose belief in him is so powerful it can drive to do the most terrible things.

On May 31st 2014, in the woods outside Waukesha, Wisconsin, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier – both of the girls 12-years-old at the time – stabbed their best friend, Payton “Bella” Leutner, nineteen times before leaving her for dead. When later questioned by the police and asked why she did it, Morgan answered, “Because it was necessary.” The lack of any hint of emotion or human empathy in a voice so young was chilling to say the least.

Further probing revealed that the girls attempted to murder their friend because they believed a being called Slenderman wanted them to, and if they didn’t their friends and family would be in danger. They also believed that murdering their friend would grant them access to Slender Mansion, where they would serve as “proxies” to the Slenderman and live with him forever. They came to this belief through the internet website Creepypasta, a place where stories were shared and collected. For Morgan and Anissa, what was on their computer and tablet screens was the truth. It was as real as everything else around them.

Just who is Slenderman, though? The answer to that question is hard to pin down, but such is the way of fairytales. Most images created by Slenderman’s believers show him to be a tall man with pale skin, no face or hair, and dressed in a black suit. His height varies from 6 to 14 feet, his arms and legs can stretch, and dark tentacles lash out from his back. To most children he is a figure of horror, but to some – usually the outcasts – he can be a source of hope, of love and community. For Morgan and Anissa, he was very much the later to them.

In an attempt to understand the horrific events of that late Fall day in 2014, director Irene Taylor Brodsky points her lens in a variety of directions. The first and foremost are the girls themselves. There are no direct interviews with either Morgan or Anissa, but we do get to watch the police interrogation footage, as well as some of the court proceedings. Because of the vile nature of their crime, Wisconsin law demands the 12-year-old girls be tried as adults, a demand their lawyers and family try to overturn. At the time the documentary was filmed and put together, the judge ruled against the girls. That ruling is currently under appeal.

The film also explores the mental and emotional problems that could lead someone to commit such heinous acts. Was it a result of depression? Was it loneliness? Or was something more serious at play, a condition that not only made believing in Slenderman easier, but also removed the simple human connection that keeps most of us from harming each other? Were they, in fact, born to it?

And then we briefly explore the worlds of fantasy that have been with us from the beginning, the fairytales that kept children frightened in their beds. We have a long history of projecting our worst fears outward, and the internet has enabled us to share these fears at the speed of light, turning the entire planet into one big cave that all can gather in to tell their tales, whispering into the dark.

Had Ms. Brodsky chosen one of these avenues and explored it more fully, I think it would have made for a more compelling documentary. And truly, all three aspects are worthy of our singularly focused attention. But, by trying to cram all of it into one narrative, I think it weakened the overall film. That isn’t to say BEWARE THE SLENDERMAN isn’t good and informative. It certainly is. Even though the fates of Morgan and Anissa are still to be determined, I came out of my screening feeling a strange combination of sadness and wonder. I recommend viewing it, if only to get a better understanding of the shadowy corners that exist within the internet.

Justin Macumber
The Hollywood Outsider

Directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky