PopHorror Let's Get Scared
We live in a universe where legends and myths are everywhere around us. We see them on television, news, and most of all, online. Every once in awhile, one of those legends becomes so popular that Hollywood decides to take a dive and turn it into a film, hoping to scare millions of people worldwide with their adaptation. Some of those films truly live up to the expectation that is envisioned when you first see the preview. The excitement of waiting for that film to hit theaters is like a bowling ball… and then the unfortunate disappointment when it doesn’t quite live up to what was expected.
Slender Man is, in itself, one of those films. The story that follows isn’t a terrible adaption. People scoured the internet trying to find the truth, and some argue to this day that the Slender Man is indeed real. When this movie was announced everyone held their collective breath in excitement for what could possibly come.
The movie follows a group of friends who learn The Legend of Slender Man and come to discover that there is indeed a way to conjure him. What follows is a tirade of torture and mental torment for the girls involved and for those who love them. Although the possibilities of the movie could have exceeded far beyond that of the simple storyline, I feel it didn’t. The effects of the Slender Man himself and the cruel tricks and torture visuals displayed were, however, well done, and seem like a process that one would endure when coming across this entity. The delivery and reaction of the characters involved, however, seemed forced and artificial at times, and very realistic in others. In my opinion, there doesn’t seem to be a realistic balance between to much and not enough.
In truth, one of the major downfalls was that the film relied too much on the scare tactics of technology and not enough on the legitimate mystery of Slender Man himself. Technology is a huge part of today, so that is understandable, and I don’t fault them for going down that road, seeing as how it is about today’s modern youth. I think a more realistic, raw and gritty approach would have held down more emotion and fear than by going the electronics route as they way to see him. What you don’t see is often times more terrifying than what you do.
