Killer Legends (2014)

Director: Joshua Zeman

Writer: Joshua Zeman

Composer: ???

Starring: Joshua Zeman, Rachel Mills

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Be careful where the truth may lead ...

Plot: Delving into our collective nightmares, this horror-documentary investigates the origins of our most terrifying urban legends and the true stories that may have inspired them.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

For lovers of true crime, this documentary covers a handful of stories with the angle of their probability for inspiring murderous urban legends.  From that stance, this is interesting and informative.  But what annoyed me is the inclusion, in front of the camera, of Zeman and Mills.  I can see where Zeman (also the writer, director and narrator) thought this would be a good idea.  It fails because they come across as rather phony sensationalist journalists.  It's not like they're actually discovering anything that countless detectives and others that came before didn't.  Then you add that to the mere 84 minute running time and they're covering several different stories.  That doesn't give you much time to spend with any single case to warrant what Zennan and Mills were attempting with their being in front of the camera.  The film starts off with one asking the other if all urban legends are based on truth and the other answers yes.  Well, that's bullshit because it is possible.  Yeah, I'm getting really nit-picky but that's what got my attention first.  Later, while walking in a wooded area (at night for more effect) they come across a couple of trees next to each other that they compare with photos of a crime that was committed in the 1940s.  One of them says that this could be the spot where the crime took place.  Yeah, but it might not be.  It's bullshit like that that you'd expect in some ghost hunting show on cable.  It sounds like I'm really beating this up but I'm just disappointed at cheap techniques like this because it cheapens an otherwise interesting and enjoyable film.  I would have a higher rating without that nonsense AND I'd want to watch it again.  That's all.  I have heard good things about Zeman's earlier film, CROPSEY (2009), which is also streaming on Netflix.