WATCH: Netflix’s latest ‘creepy documentary with all the elements of a horror film’ is essential

Paul Moore

“Perhaps most chilling is that the true crime documentary leaves the mysteries unresolved.” Add it to your list.

Plenty of really strong titles have been added to the Netflix library recently, take a look at some of our favourites here, but there are three notable additions for anyone that loves true crime documentaries

A few weeks ago, we told you why The Keepers has all the ingredients to be the next Making A Murderer and it’s very likely that you’ll be getting stuck into that feature over the next few days.

If you’re looking for something else though, we’ve got just the thing for you, especially if you love occult-mysteries and horrific urban legends.

In Killer Legends, filmmaker Joshua Zeman attempts to explores our collective nightmares in a horror-documentary that investigates the origins of four terrifying urban legends and the true stories that may have inspired them.

Stories like the Hookman, the Candy Man, the Baby-Sitter murders, and the Killer Clown are all examined, however, that’s not the documentary that we’re going to recommend because another feature from the same director has also been added.

In Cropsey, Staten Island filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio reveal how an urban legend that was conjured up to keep kids from exploring abandoned buildings somehow became a horrifying reality when a mysterious drifter started to abduct children in their tight-knit urban neighborhood.

Growing up, Zeman and Brancaccio were bombarded with terrifying tales of Cropsey, a murderous mental patient that was prone to snatching children off the streets and taking them to the derelict buildings.

Some claimed that Cropsey had a hook for a hand; others claimed his weapon of choice was a large axe. In 1987, that legend tragically crossed into reality when 13-year-old Jennifer Schweiger vanished without a trace.

Her disappearance sent shockwaves of fear through the community, but tragically, this would only be the first disappearance,

Before long, the urban legend of Cropsey had a real name: Andre Rand.

When a photo of a handcuffed Rand was released in the press, the public didn’t need a conviction to know that was the man who had been preying on their children. In this film, Zeman and Brancaccio go back to the scene of the crimes to search for clues, and speak with the locals about how the case has haunted them for decade.

At present, the film has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it has earned some remarkable reviews. Variety stated that “Cropsey has all the trappings of a true-crime TV special, but with an undercurrent of cultural exposition that is intelligent, profound and unsettling” and the New York Post added that “this film is a real-life horror story that puts most Hollywood movies to shame.”

Elsewhere, Roger Ebert’s website stated that “Cropsey is a creepy documentary with all the elements of a horror film about a demented serial killer, and an extra ingredient: This one is real.”

Here’s the trailers for Cropsey, Killer Legends and The Keepers.