Cropsey

Zeman and Brancaccio add a personal touch (without overdoing it) as they knock on doors and wander the grounds of Willowbrook...

...a creepy documentary with all the elements of a horror film about a demented serial killer...

...Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman’s documentary—smart, self-reflexive, and aptly elusive—considers the story of “Cropsey,” a Candyman-style urban-legendary child killer.

Ultimately — and perhaps fittingly — Cropsey is most effective as a study of Staten Island and its inhabitants...

...deserve special recognition for artfully integrating old news reports with contemporary footage to create a melancholy mystery as gripping as any fictional tale...