I’m not sure why Hollywood is trying to turn an internet meme into a horror icon but try they are. Directed by French director Sylvain White (I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, 2006) and written by David Burke the “Slender Man” is at the heart of the disappearance of several people. The trailer throws a lot of funky imagery at you reminiscent of Gore Verbinski’s The Ring (2002) but not nearly as interesting or disturbing. We’ve also got some Jacob’s Ladder shaky-face action and a few other horror elements cobbled together from better films. I think my biggest problem with the trailer…and this movie’s concept in general is that it all seems so…secondhand. Rendering about as much thrill as inheriting an older siblings hand-me-downs.
Perhaps it will be better than it looks…stranger things have happened. Right now…I’m on the lesser side of meh.
Slender Man starring Joey King, Julia Goldani Telles, Jaz Sinclair, Annalise Basso, and Javier Botet creeps into theaters May 18, 2018.
