Slender Man movie first of its kind but not one of a kind
By Jason Burke
Sony’s Slender Man tries to capitalize in the new golden age of horror but misses the beat and the scares.
The Slender Man might be the first viral urban myth of the internet age, akin to the old campfire stories we’d pass around dancing orange flames. Its popularity sparked from a 2009 meme, soon becoming a web-based collaborative effort with mysterious motives and an easily adaptive story not tied down to the usual horror tropes. So, leave it to Sony to smother its mythos for a quick money grab.
In Slender Man, we follow four high school teens who, for giggles, accidentally summon the world’s scariest photo bomber straight out of their laptops. Watching a video that plays like a cheesy student film, the teens find their lives irrevocably changed as The Slender Man becomes a faceless virus spreading an unknown agenda of abduction, death and insanity.
The idea of the Slender Man is a fresh one, being the first boogey man of the Iphone era, but Sylvain White direction and David Birk’s screenplay fail, by and large, because there is no direction and no story. In an attempt to please fickle fandoms, Slender Man shows more interest in leaving breadcrumbs for fans and, in the process, screams off the table.
At times, Slender Man seems to be trying to callback The Ring, other times, its camera angles and uses harken back to The Blair Witch Project. The issue at hand is Slender Man roots itself in vague rules and without origin, leaving the passing and occasional viewer asking, “What’s the point?”
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In the new age of horror, where films like A quiet place and Get out have critics talking, and movies such as It are conquering the box office, Slender Man never takes the chance that is afforded to them in this golden age. We never know if this a tale about the ills of the internet or an allegory against the manifestation of powerful, larger than life beings driven by the social media construct. It never takes us there.
There are moments within the film, the kinship of the female quartet that’s torn apart and it’s use of sound and (some) visuals. It clearly hits a chord on its spooky vibe and the score drives home the fear. The problem is that there are just not enough beyond that to please anyone who isn’t more than a passing fan.