We have always been engrossed by sinister myths, legends and fairytales and in this modern Internet culture, we often consider ourselves above such folklore but the legacy of The Slender Man suggests otherwise. First created in 2009 by ‘Something Awful’ forum user Eric Knudsen (aka Victor Surge) as a Creepypasta Internet meme, the character has since taken off and become a fearfully instantly recognisible symbol. This notoriety has come with consequences, most famously the 2014 attempted murder of a young girl by two of her friends in Waukesha, Wisconsin – an event that has meant a degree of controversy has surrounded this feature film production.
Sadly this accusation of bad taste is the least of problems for this most disappointing big screen debut for the horror character. This story focuses on four young female school friends in Massachusetts, who watch a scary video together one night in an attempt to raise the Slender Man only for their spooky game to turn into a waking nightmare that they desperately must try to escape.
The sad fact is that Slender Man has lots of potential and the character is undeniably chilling but this film fails to muster anything as frightening as the true events that have surrounded the characters pop cultural impact since 2009. There are some effective jolts of atmosphere here and there, and the viral virus concept – that takes more than a hint from The Ring (only for a YouTube generation) – is an interesting idea but the longer Slender Man lumbers forward the more it loses what little grasp it has on the viewer. What should have been an alarming and memorable horror comes to fall boringly flat, as the plot pushes the boundaries of idiotic character decision making and worse than that pads out the running time with drab shock tactic (often darkly lit) imagery that is either unmeaningful or unintentionally comical.
Indeed the most efficient parts of the film come in its use of real video clips or the bell tolling/tree cracking sounds but these atmospherics are lost on a narrative that fails to properly make use of them. While the untapped potential of Ramin Djawadi and Brandon Campbell’s score is frustratingly not capitalized upon. Some of the young cast tries but lines of clunky dialogue, illogical developments and predictable jumps hamper their efforts. As this film fades from memory very quickly and feels unworthy of its impactful antagonist.
Perhaps the reprted lack of studio faith in the production and the interference to get the film its PG-13 rating in America has a lot to do with it but all the same, in a year where Hereditary has left its lingeringly evil fingerprints on audiences, a film like this feels all the more disappointingly tame. More so considering its central figure’s notoriety. Maybe Slender Man just came a tad too late to properly exploit the character’s disturbing craze (both as a meme or the infamous online game or videos) but whatever the case may be, if you want a truly unnerving film featuring the Slender Man, you would be much better served giving this forgettable flick a miss and seeking out the infinitely superior and rather disturbing 2016 documentary Beware The Slenderman (which focuses on the events of the aforementioned Wisconsin incident).
After this messy introduction, chances are as slim as the lanky title monster that we’ll see the Slender Man get another chance at the big screen, unless they pull out a Ouija: Origin of Evil style unexpectedly great follow-up down the line – here’s hoping.
SLENDER MAN / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: SYLVAIN WHITE / SCREENPLAY: DAVID VIRKE / STARRING: JOEY KING, JULIA GOLDANI TELLES, JAZ SINCLAIR, ANNALISE BASSO, JAVIER BOTET / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Expected Rating:
6/10
