Respond to these rapid questions in our Slender Man quiz and we will tell you which Slender Man character you are. Play it now.
The myth of Slender Man is a fascinating modern urban legend that deserves to be explored further. In 2009, Eric Knudsen (also known as “Victor Surge”) created it as a “creepypasta” internet meme, which is essentially the technological equivalent of ghost stories told around a campfire. In the viral age, the best horror visions take on a life of their own, spreading through email, message boards, Reddit, and websites dedicated to stories designed to keep teenagers awake at night, among other means. The story of the Slender Man is little more than a modernized version of the boogeyman legend, with a dash of kidnapping thrown in to capitalize on reports of kidnappings. He is a humanoid, faceless, and frequently-suited figure who demands sacrifices and kidnaps children, sometimes promising them another plane of happiness with him, and other times causing pure horror in their lives. As a result, the legend of the Slender Man grew in popularity to the point where it was allegedly linked to a real-life attempted murder, which was documented in the documentary “Beware the Slenderman.”
A lot of other material about Slender Man, including the above introduction, is more interesting than the horror film, which was released today by Sony, which was inevitably made about him and is based on it. While the film “Slender Man” is not a disaster, those who are unfamiliar with the legend are likely to leave the theater scratching their heads and wondering what all the fuss is about. Sylvain White’s controversial film (one could argue that the film was made in bad taste from the start, given the real-life violence associated with the character) has some visual language that elevates it above some recent, hideously made horror films (looking at you, “Truth or Dare”), but it has so little to say about the internet phenomenon, being a teenage girl in the ’10s, the boogeyman, the weird sounds cicadas make, you name it. The movie that “Slender Man” could have been can be glimpsed here and there, but it vanishes as quickly as the victims of the title character’s crimes.
When four high school friends watch a cursed video online that’s meant to summon the titular character, they’re reminded of the plot of “The Ring” (or “Ringu,” for those of you who grew up in the ’90s). It doesn’t take long before they begin to hear and see strange things, particularly when they get close to a tree-lined area that must be known as Creepy Woods. First and foremost, the emotionally fragile Katie (Annalise Basso) vanishes, sending the other three friends into fits of panic as they try to figure out where their friend has gone and how to get her back. To get Katie back, Wren (Joey King) convinces the other two girls, Chloe (Jaz Sinclair) and Hallie (Julia Goldani Telles), to accompany her into the woods and “sacrifice something they love” in order to do so. This is going to go horribly wrong as expected.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Slender Man quiz.
It’s reasonable to assume that the very concept of “Slender Man” is that summoning him effectively causes his victims to go insane, and that the movie will be something of a cinematic hallucination. If you think about it, it should look like something from the television series “Twin Peaks: The Return.” The film is undoubtedly at its most interesting when it is not afraid to take some genuine risks, but unfortunately, this is far too infrequently the case. A supernatural video call and a library sequence that plays with perspective are among the highlights of the film, but they don’t resonate because they are frequently expressed through flat filmmaking and acting.
Slender Man Quiz
When it comes to bad movie logic, this is one of those films that succumbs. For example, forcing the lead character to go on a date with a cute boy in the final act—after two of her friends have vanished—and never allowing people to turn on lights when they walk into dark rooms are both examples of how this film fails. Even some of the more interesting imagery in “Slender Man” is underlit, as if the producers were thinking, “OK, you can get a little weird here, but turn the lights down so we can’t really tell what’s going on.”
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Slender Man quiz.
A fascinating modern phenomenon, the way that the internet has facilitated the spread of horror stories has already been documented in documentaries and even well-adapted into fiction in Syfy’s underrated “Channel Zero” television series (an anthology in which each season is based on a creepypasta). “Slender Man” should have been a perfect fit for me as a fan of that show, urban legends, boogeyman movies, and the very concept of ghost stories becoming popular in the modern age. Despite this, my thoughts kept wandering to better, more similar films, and it was only in the moments when “Slender Man” went horribly wrong that it really captured my attention. After all, there’s nothing scarier than a bad film production.
For more personality quizzes check this: Ferdinand Quiz.
