10 Documentaries More Terrifying Than Most Horror Films

If you were on the internet in the early 2010s, there’s a strong chance that you’ve heard of Slenderman. Whether your introduction to the sharply dressed, faceless monster was through internet ghost stories or viral video game Slender: The Eight Pages, it was impossible to go anywhere online without hearing about this ghoulish figure.

However, this fictional figure grabbed mainstream attention when two young girls in Wisconsin stabbed their friend and left her for dead in 2014, believing Slenderman would hurt their families if they didn't.

This tragic story is the basis of documentary Beware The Slenderman.

While filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky plays into the horror mythos surrounding the character to bone chilling effect, her film concerns itself more with exploring how this attempted murder happened. She does this by expanding the discussion to the ways in which digital media has permeated the lives of young people.

Moreover, Bronsky brings a genuine emotional weight to the more sensationalist events through raw dialogues about the difficulties of living with schizophrenia. By balancing the startling events of this real-life horror story with a meaningful exploration into th importance of mental health, Beware The Slenderman is as scary as it is poignant.