If you have seen "The Burning," you have heard one version of the catch-all legend of Cropsey, a man-thing who stalks the woods of New York state, ensuring children stay in their beds at night. "Cropsey," a 2010 documentary, begins as an exploration of the legend, but becomes an expose on the kidnappings and child-murders that haunted Staten Island, New York during the 1970s and 80s.

The documentary is well-assembled and imbued with an atmosphere of dread that serves its subject well. The current of sadness, anger, and loss that runs through the material is palpable. As compelling as the film is, not much separates it from what one might find on television's "Dateline" or "60 Minutes." Still, the experience is effective and memorable.

A very weak documentary based entirely on speculation, rumors, and urban legend. The facts are few and far between which is not good for a documentary.

A very interesting documentary which takes an admirably objective view to the case of a potential child killer which examines the motivations of people on all sides of the argument as well as the bare facts. The filmmakers show themselves on camera a little too much as they try to make themselves a part of the story, lending an air of artificiality which takes away from the material but its a riveting watch nonetheless.

Film #20 Of The December Project.

Well made netflix doco with a very interesting subject matter and a nice approach, but I just couldn't get into it. Still worth a watch if you're interested in when true crimes and urban legends come together.

I didn't really get into it, my main interest became the publicity around the trial and how he basically was a monster as soon as the paper said he was. Or the moment when the acquaintance says you can see his picture and say he saved 6 people from a burning building and you could totally believe it, it's all perception and that is very interesting, however the movie just barely touches on that, so maybe that just distracted me too much from the rest and I didn't really care for the myth/reality theme.

Felt more like a 20/20 special than a documentary.

A very weak documentary based entirely on speculation, rumors, and urban legend. The facts are few and far between which is not good for a documentary.

A maddening documentary that never really says anything. Starting with the legend of Cropsey, the film then moves to a series of killings for some of which a drifter has been found guilty.

What's frustrating is that there are so fascinating elements that are mentioned only in passing, and the filmmakers couldn't ever seem to pick one to explore at any depth. The abandonment of psychiatric facilities, the influx of patients back into the community, the homeless community living in the wilderness -- these are all dropped almost as soon as they're mentioned.

Documentary about how an urban legend used to scare kids from hanging out in an abandoned mental institution became a reality when children in the neighborhood began to disappear. Real good and pretty creepy.

A documentary about bogie men and the justice system, a little less artful than the "Paradise Lost" series. Still a good True Crime exploration, and some of the best creepy abandoned asylum footage yet. Some material is graphically upsetting -- in case you don't remember how Geraldo broke into investigative journalism, you might want to prepare yourself.

A decent documentary about an alleged serial killer and the mas hysteria that can arise from the desire to find a guilty person.

The documentary, follows the beginning of the urban legend of 'Cropsey' in Staten Island, followed by the very unsettling case of the Willowbrook State School all to the way to a trial with not enough evidence and a fishy investigation.

All the pieces of information fit good with one another (there's really a lot of information) and it makes it very interesting to watch.

If you are into police investigation, or looking for something that would make you feel unsafe, even if you are an AHS fan you should check this out.