HBO's Slender Man Project Is the Latest True Crime Saga Everyone Will Be Talking About

And it will be a must-watch for fans of Making a Murderer or The Jinx.

Slender Man is a character born from the Internet, a fictional creature that preys on children. Although the legend first appeared online around 2009—the result of fan fiction and (terrifying) Photoshopped images—the American public learned of Slender Man in 2014, when two 12-year-old girls in a small Wisconsin town stabbed their friend 19 times as a blood sacrifice they claimed Slender Man demanded. If they carried it out, the girls could go live with him in his mansion deep in the woods. 

It's creepy stuff that was very well documented in this excellent New York magazine article about the girls. And now their story is getting the HBO treatment. Academy Award nominated director Irene Taylor Brodsky got exclusive access to the families over 18 months to create Beware the Slenderman for HBO. According to Indiewire

Brodsky uses the (fictional) disturbing figure to explore not only the effect that Internet lore has on real-life actions, but also how the digital age is saturating the imagination and actions of children. The director reportedly got exclusive access to the families of both girls charged with the crime, and her documentary will likely stir up fierce debate (and perhaps even a touch more terror).

The film premieres at the South By Southwest film festival this Friday. No one word yet on when it comes to HBO. 

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