Movies
[SXSW Review] ‘Beware the Slenderman’ Will Terrify You, But Not In the Way You Might Expect…
“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.
The holiday weekend means a light week for new horror releases, but it does bring the return of Dark Castle Entertainment to select theaters. It’s being joined by 6 new horror movies.
Here’s all the new horror releasing June 29, 2026 – July 3, 2026!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
You wished for it. The highest-grossing horror movie of the year (so far), Curry Barker’s Obsession, arrived on Digital on June 30.
In Curry Barker’s theatrical debut Obsession, after breaking the mysterious One Wish Willow to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Michael Johnston (“Teen Wolf”), Inde Navarette (“Superman & Lois”), Cooper Tomlinson (“That’s a Bad Idea,” Milk & Serial), Megan Lawless (The Death That Awaits), and Emmy Award-nominee Andy Richter (“Conan,” Elf) star.
Based on a story by director James Kondelik (Behind The Walls) and a screenplay by Canadian writer Victor Rose, survival thriller Pitfall headed home to Digital on June 30. Family is murder in this Cineverse release.
In Pitfall, a young man becomes separated from his friends in the woods and plunges into a ten-foot pit lined with spikes, impaling his leg and leaving him helpless. As reality sinks in and his situation grows dire, he realizes the fall wasn’t an accident.
The film stars Richard Harmon (Final Destination: Bloodlines), Alexandra Essoe (The Pope’s Exorcist), and UFC champion Randy Couture (The Expendables) as the ruthless killer who stalks his prey in the woods. Marshall Williams (The Ice Road), Jordan Claire Robbins (The Umbrella Academy), and Matt Hamilton (Murder for Sale) also star.
The Amityville IP leans into Jaws with Amityville Shark House, just in time for the Fourth of July holiday too, as it released on Digital June 30.
Will Collazo Jr. (Amityville Thanksgiving) and Shawn C. Phillips (Amityville Karen) co-direct from a script they wrote with Julie Anne Prescott.
In the movie, after discovering an ominous shark idol hidden beneath the decaying floorboards, Richard unknowingly awakens an ancient and savage force. As the entity begins to merge with him, a quiet coastal town descends into blood-soaked chaos.
With each victim claimed, the monstrous predator grows stronger, fueling a cult’s belief that their dark god has been reborn. Now, the race is on to stop the carnage before evil consumes everything in its path.
Phillips and Prescott also star alongside Tasha Tacosa, Maritza Brikisak, Gigi Gustin (The Retaliators), Adam Marino, and Carl Solomon.
Available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD as of June 30 is Jacked, directed by John Fucile from a script he co-wrote with Simon Fraser.
The synopsis: “Set in the summer of 1987, JACKED follows two small-town teenagers whose day at the lake turns into a fight for survival after their car breaks down and they encounter a violent stalker.”
Marla Jean Robison, Tom Koch, Anthony Cipriani, Wynn Reichert, Kam Perez and Bella Marie star.
Get ready to work up a killer sweat and maybe spill some blood with Slashercise, a workout meets slasher hybrid that arrived exclusively on Bloodstream on July 1.
Written and directed by Ama Lea (Deathcember), the retro-styled feature follows “a masked killer known only as Meathead as he stalks the fitness clubs of Los Angeles, turning workout sessions into blood-soaked nightmares. As the city’s top trainers are picked off one by one, a group of determined fitness fanatics must fight back before they become the next bodies on the mat.”
Vanessa Decker (Stiletto), John Bloom (The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs), Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills), Sarah French (Blind), Kelli Maroney (Night of the Comet), Sarah Nicklin (V/H/S/Halloween), Diana Prince (The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs), Jared Rivet (The Once and Future Smash), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Tiffany Shepis (Victor Crowley), and Lisa Wilcox (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) star.
After a record-breaking box office run, A24 and director Kane Parsons’ feature debut is heading back to theaters with bonus footage. AMC Theatres is unleashing Backrooms: Everything Must Go Editiontoday, July 3.
In the film written by Will Soodik, the owner of Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire discovers a strange doorway in the basement of the furniture showroom. He sets out to explore the mysterious, liminal space, walking headfirst into a creepypasta nightmare.
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsvestar.
AMC describes this release as a “theatrically exclusive post-credit” with additional footage from Kane Parsons. Expect 16 minutes of bonus footage, with the new version clocking in at 2 hours and 6 minutes.
The Last Exorcism director Daniel Stamm and Dark Castle Entertainment are back with Lockbox, in select theaters July 3. It adapts Soren Narnia‘s Knifepoint Horror Podcast story “Winthrop” by Emmy-winning playwright Justin Yoffe.
In Lockbox, “Seeking peace after her mother’s death, Ellen retreats to a rural town and takes in her severely traumatized cousin Winthrop. Their fragile domestic balance shatters when an erratic neighbor warns that Winthrop is dangerous. As strange phenomena escalate, Ellen must put everything on the line to defend Winthrop from a dangerous otherworldly entity determined to track him down.”
Lou Taylor Pucci (Touch Me, Evil Dead), Carla Gugino (The Haunting of Hill House, Gerald’s Game, The Fall of the House of Usher) and Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Backrooms) star.
This week’s new release roundups are presented by Lockbox.
Be careful who you let in. Carla Gugino and Lou Taylor Pucci star in Lockbox, only in select theaters this Friday. Get tickets.
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