In May of 2014, two twelve year old girls lured their friend into the Wisconsin woods and attempted to sacrifice her to a being by the name of Slender Man. This event and the trial of the two girls brought the legend of Slender Man out from the depths of the internet and into the minds of nearly every American citizen.

I, a horror and true crime fanatic, became ecstatic when I heard that this infamous Urban Legend would be featured on the big screen. After attending the film nearly a year later, however, I was wholly disappointed.

Released in mid-August of 2018, Slender Man is a story about a group of teenage girls haunted by a mysterious entity after encountering a cryptic video online.

The plot was that of a generic horror movie, relying heavily on jump scares. The writers even attempted to introduce a love interest for the main role, Hallie (Julia Goldani Tells) and did not re-introduce him until the end of the film with a forced role that contributed nothing to the plot.

Aside from the atrocious characters, the dialogue was subpar. The movie included moments that the writers believed teenagers would find relatable, but that ultimately resulted in cringe-worthy lines and laughter from much of the crowd, including myself. The chances of any intense scene genuinely scaring an audience member were crushed by characters’ ridiculous shrieking and babbling.

The cinematography was similar to that of a generic horror movie: bluish tones with many shots of the woods and darkness. One unacceptable feature of this movie, however, was the use of CGI. In a scene when Hallie is talking to her love interest, she looks into the trees to spots Slender man’s tentacles slithering through the branches. Slender Man is not a visually frightening character and the low quality animation makes this scene laughable instead of horrifying.

The creators of Slender Man had an opportunity to make an interesting, relevant and terrifying film, but instead made a generic, low quality and stereotypical teenage horror film. I hope that a superior film premiere soon that will replace the bad taste left in my mouth by this film. Sony, you can do better.

Verdict: 1/10