'Slender Man' Comes To Life In Screen Gems First Trailer
Screen Gems released the first trailer for the urban legend-turned horror story - Slender Man (courtesy IGN)
The trailer for Screen Gems newest horror plays out as a genre machination not seen since Gore Verbinski’s remake of The Ring. Only, instead of a video and a creepy girl, we’re invited into a world where a tall ghostly figure haunts a group of young teens investigating recent disappearances in their hometown. And much like Verbinski’s The Ring, Slender Man’s trailer induces a chilling dread through it’s effective use of silent shots and anamorphic imagery.
Ask any pre-teen, and they’ll tell you about the origins of the 8 ft tall, slightly contorted boogeyman whose voracious appetite has firmly affixed itself among 21st century's most compelling urban myths. Some might even tell you the Slender Man is real. But for those unfamiliar with the young urban legend, the Slender Man originated from a powerful photoshopped image that went viral in June 2009. The image quickly spiraled into numerous works, from various authors, each contributing to the paranormal figure’s mythos. And despite most people understanding that Slender Man is not real, two 12-year old girls from Waukesha Wisconsin made headlines by attempting to prove doubters wrong by viciously murdering a classmate during a sleepover during the spring of 2014.
If you want a more thorough entry into the origins of Slenderman, might I suggest HBO’s documentary Beware of the Slenderman released in 2017. For now, check out the trailer and decide if this urban legend will stand the test of time.
Slender Man is directed by Sylvain White (The Losers, Stomp the Yard) from a script by David Birke (Elle), the movie stars Jaz Sinclair, Joey King, Julia Goldani Telles, Annalise Basso, Alex Fitzalan and Kevin Chapman. Slender Man is scheduled for release on May 18.
