Picked randomly on Netflix i found the content directly relating to each incident quit fascinating. Problem is the film comes off amateurish due to the fact that the documentarian(s) find it necessary to insert themselves with filmed commentary, including the two of them bumbling around on location attempting to identify murder sites and rather pretentiously speculating on the case circumstances and the killers motives. Most superfluous and unnecessary are the occasional, random personal reaction shots during interviews or in hotels rooms while conducting research. Wish i could give more positive feedback. The filmmaker's just seem to be stretching this a bit, most likely due limited resources on the chosen subjects.

Man, I wanted this to be good. The study of urban legends is so fascinating, and the right approach would dig into all their social underpinnings and (the point of this movie, apparently) how they might have evolved from true-life events.But this ego-driven mess (I won't call it a "documentary", which would dishonor the craft) isn't really about urban legends. It's about two wanna-be sociologists throwing every horror movie trope they can think of onto the screen.Eerie lighting: check.Contrived, faux-spontaneous conversations: check.Heavy-handed, non-professional narration: check."Oh oh the monster is creeping up!" music under EVERY scene: check.Meanwhile they do their best to look like serious researchers, but the avalanche of illogical leaps and unsubstantiated conclusions keeps giving them away.It's only mockable up to a point, then it turns truly ugly. When you're going to linger on explicit photographs of actual torture and murder victims, respect is essential. But because this is merely the cartoon of an "investigation", these shots come off as lascivious exploitation. I feel for any family members who come upon this movie.Unwatchable. I turned it off.

Joshua Zeman's KILLER LEGENDS is a worthy follow-up to his highly-acclaimed horror doc CROPSEY. KILLER LEGENDS features chills, laughs, and 85 minutes of pure entertainment. Having been a horror fan for my entire life, I've always loved being scared by serial killers created by the craziest minds working in the horror genre. However, I never considered that many of these serial killers and insane stories were rooted in reality. Zeman and Rachel Mills clearly did an enormous amount of research to make this film simultaneously stimulating intellectually and wickedly entertaining. Each segment of KILLER LEGENDS is engaging, chilling, and more compelling than the one preceding it. My personal favorite was the "Candy Man" segment because it hits the closest to home and features the biggest twist. It's also the most disturbing. This segment is so horrifying and relatable (if that's even the right word) because most of us have been trick-or-treating and had heard about tainted candy. The fact that tainted candy killed a kid under the circumstances that it did is really horrible (you'll see what I mean).Mills and Zeman's passion for the material really shines through and makes this film a winner. They obviously love this material and Zeman seems to love the kinds of films he makes - he has now explored the true-life roots of urban legends in two documentaries. This makes watching them incredibly entertaining. We feel his passion as we watch. I would highly recommend this to fans of horror, documentaries, and, of course, CROPSEY. This is a documentary for those who don't like documentaries.

This was a screener that I was really looking forward to. If there's something I love, it's a good horror-based documentary. I love learning, and there's nothing better to learn about then anything horror. In this case, Killer Legends, takes you all over the place, from Texas to Missouri, to Chicago investigating and finding the truth behind some of the cruelest urban legends. I've seen a lot of narratives before, but never one that dug to find the ugly truth that inspired some of the most chilling stories ever told. So this was a treat, and it's incredibly well made.Joshua Zeman (Cropsey 2009) and Rachel Mills (American Pickers 2012) take you on a journey that makes you face the harsh reality that real life is far worse than any scary story made up. Also, that any tall tale is always based on some truth, which is always more horrifying. When watching, I couldn't help but reflect how screwed up we are as a species to do the things we do. Killer Legends shows you that you don't have to be scared of the monster in your closet, or the creepy clown doll under your bed, because human beings and what they're capable of, trump all else.We learn about The Hookman, and the danger of sex amongst teens. In 1946, a killer known as The Phantom murders four couples on Lover's Lane, claiming five victims. He was never caught, and the incidents have been dubbed the Moonlight Murders. These killings are what inspired the motion picture, The Town that Dreaded Sundown, because The Phantom always wore a mask.Then we get schooled about the Candyman urban legend, where a man gives poison to children in Halloween candy. The sickening truth behind this involves a father poisoning his son's pixie stick, in order to claim the child's insurance policy. Though some still believe him to be innocent, he was given the death penalty via lethal injection.The Baby-Sitter is one of the most disturbing urban legends by far, as this documentary will teach you that in Columbia Missouri 1950, Jannet Christman was strangled to death with an iron cord. We learn there was a similar strangulation in 1946, only two blocks over from where Chistman would be killed just four years later. Both are said to have probably known the antagonist, because there aren't signs that there was a struggle.The clowns are possibly the most unsettling of all the stories told. We delve into the psyche of why clowns are so creepy, and how it's the perversion of innocence. I didn't even know there was a name for those afraid of clowns, but now I do. It's called coulrophobia. We learn about random kidnappings and sightings all involving men dressed as clowns, to lore children in. And of course, John Wayne Gacy, and his 29 victims are mentioned.There's no point in me ruining all the specific details, so I'll stop there. But, I sincerely liked this feature. The time and effort that went into making it is undeniable. Joshua and Rachel did their homework in this eye-opening docudrama. If you like finding the grit and dirt behind scary stories, there's no reason not to watch it. It's very knowledgeable and informative, as well as unsettling.Killer Legends hits DVD July 1st, so check it out. And beware of the truth.