“Because it was necessary.”

This is the haunting reply 12-year-old Morgan Geyser gives when she is asked why she and 12-year-old Anissa Weier stabbed their best friend, Payton “Bella” Leutner, 19 times and left her for dead in the woods of Waukesha, Wisconsin. This was done in an attempt to appease the internet meme and Creepypasta character Slenderman, an elusive Boogeyman who has no face, wears a black suit and can stand at an intimidating 14′ tall. Leutner survived, while Geyser and Weier were sent to prison after being found on the side of the road walking the 331-mile distance to Nicolet National Forest (the forest has since been cleared).

Director Irene Taylor Broddsky attempts to discover the reasoning behinds the attempted murder, and also study the influence that internet memes can have on society, specifically those of a younger age, in her new documentary Beware the Slenderman.  The film will be broadcast on HBO at some point in the near future, but one almost hopes they wait longer to continue documenting this fascinating story and the not-yet-concluded trial (the final verdict of the two girls is schedule to be determined next month). Shot over 18 months with heartbreaking access to the families of both Anissa and Morgan (but not Payton), the film plunges deep down the rabbit hole of their crime, a Boogeyman and our society’s most impressionable consumers of media: children.

Beware the Slenderman is best watched knowing as little as possible before going in. It will undoubtedly be more effective if you don’t know too much about the trial since the film hinges on the judgment as to whether Geyser and Weier will be tried as adults, so I will keep my review brief and to the point.

Broddsky delves into the childhoods of both Geyser and Weier, as well as the lives/opinions of their parents. It doesn’t take a stance on their abilities as parents, though even the most judgmental viewer will walk out with a glimmer of understanding. It is lamentable that Leutner’s parents are not included in the documentary. While it is understandable that they did not want their grief documented for 18 months, it would have been nice if the film had made a mention as to why they were not included as a part of the documentary.

At nearly two hours, the film does seem to be padding its runtime with certain digressions, though this may be a consequence of airing on HBO, which likely has runtime quotas that must be met. One almost wishes that the film had spent a little less time debating the morality of requiring children to have iPads as part of their school supplies, and more time into the influences of the internet and phenomenons/trends like Creepypastas. Even the fan art devoted to Geyser and Weier is shown quickly but never focused on, and

People may start watching Beware the Slenderman expecting a film that is more about Slenderman himself, but the film is a truly terrifying look at the influence the internet can have on today’s youth. It ends up posing more questions than it answers, but that is forgivable. Can one truly understand why these two girls believed in Slenderman to the point that they would kill for him? The film tries to answer this, but since the story is technically still happening, there are no concrete answers. That doesn’t diminish the impact of the film, but rather make it even more disturbing. It’s difficult to review the film without going into specifics about the case, so I will just leave you with this: watch Beware the Slenderman when it eventually airs on HBO. You won’t regret it.