Slender Man (film)

Slender Man is a 2018 American supernatural horror film directed by Sylvain White and written by David Birke, based on the character of the same name. The film stars Joey King, Julia Goldani Telles, Jaz Sinclair, Annalise Basso, Alex Fitzalan, and Taylor Richardson, with Javier Botet as the title character.

Slender Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySylvain White
Produced by
Written byDavid Birke
Based onSlender Man
by Victor Surge
Starring
Music by
CinematographyLuca Del Puppo
Edited byJake York
Production
company
  • Screen Gems
  • Mythology Entertainment
  • Madhouse Entertainment
  • It Is No Dream Entertainment
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • August 10, 2018 (2018-08-10) (United States)
Running time
91 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10–28 million[2]
Box office$51.7 million[3]

Development of the film began in May 2016, with Birke hired to write the script and much of the cast signing on a year later. Filming took place in Massachusetts in June and July 2017.

Released in the United States on August 10, 2018, the film grossed over $51 million worldwide and received generally negative reviews from critics. For her performance, Sinclair was nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress.

Plot

In a small town in Massachusetts, four friends, Wren, Hallie, Chloe, and Katie summon the Slender Man. A week later, Katie disappears and the other three girls go to her house to investigate for clues. The three discover that Katie had been involved in the occult and that she wanted the Slender Man to take her.

The three girls decide to make contact with the Slender Man in an attempt to get Katie back in exchange for something else. Wren, who has researched Slender Man mythology, warns Hallie and Chloe not to open their eyes while the three are making contact with the Slender Man for fear of death or madness. Chloe panics, opens her eyes, and comes face to face with the Slender Man. Sometime later, the Slender Man enters Chloe's house and drives her insane.

Wren, suffering from frightening visions, searches for a solution while Hallie unsuccessfully attempts to move on. Soon, Lizzie, Hallie's younger sister, suffers a major panic attack and is sent to the hospital and sedated. Hallie discovers Wren had attempted to come into contact with the Slender Man again, with the help of Lizzie.

Hallie confronts Wren about her sister. Wren tells Hallie that the Slender Man only wants them before she is taken by the Slender Man. Hallie, realizing that the only way to save Lizzie is to give herself to the Slender Man, sacrifices herself for her sister. Lizzie is able to recover and reflects on the situation that resulted in the death of her sister and her sister's friends.

Cast

Production

In May 2016, news outlets reported that Sony Pictures had started developing Slender Man, a film based on the supernatural mythical character created by Eric Knudsen,[4] with the screenplay to be written by David Birke. Sony's Screen Gems was in talks with Mythology Entertainment, Madhouse Entertainment, and It Is No Dream Entertainment to produce and distribute the project.[5]

In January 2017, Sylvain White was announced as the director of the film and the producers would be Mythology's Brad Fischer, James Vanderbilt, and William Sherak, Madhouse's Robyn Meisinger, and No Dream's Sarah Snow.[6]

Prior to the release, the producers shopped the film to other distributors following disagreements with the studio regarding the release and marketing strategy.[7] After the film was released, Bloody Disgusting reported that Screen Gems had required the producers to meet a PG-13 MPAA rating and that several scenes had been cut over fears of public backlash, resulting in transition issues in the final film.[8][9]

In May 2017, Joey King, Julia Goldani Telles, Jaz Sinclair, Annalise Basso, Talitha Bateman (who would later be replaced by Taylor Richardson), and Alex Fitzalan joined the cast.[10] In July 2017, Kevin Chapman was also added, to play an emotionally defeated, alcoholic father.[11]

Principal photography on the film began on June 19, 2017, in Boston and concluded on July 28, 2017.[12]

Marketing

On January 2, 2018, the first teaser poster was revealed, with a teaser trailer the following day.[13][14] Reactions were mixed, with some online publications describing the trailer as taking a "traditional, low-budget horror route".[15][16][17] Other publications noted the film's release coming four years after the Slender Man stabbing in Waukesha County, Wisconsin in 2014.[15][18][19][20] After the trailer's online debut, Bill Weier, the father of one of the children convicted in the stabbing, protested the film's production and release as "extremely distasteful" and advised local theaters to not screen the film.[21][22] A second trailer was released on July 26, 2018.

Release

Slender Man was released on August 10, 2018. It was previously slated for May 18, and then August 24, 2018.[23][24] Marcus Theatres did not show the film at their locations in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties in Wisconsin due to the impacts of the real-life events in the area.[25]

Home media

Slender Man was released on Digital HD on October 19, 2018, and on Blu-ray and DVD on October 31, 2018 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Reception

Box office

Slender Man grossed $30.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $21.2 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $51.7 million.[3]

In the United States and Canada, Slender Man was released alongside The Meg and BlacKkKlansman, and was projected to gross $8–12 million from 2,109 theaters in its opening weekend.[26] The film made $4.9 million on its first day, including $1 million from Thursday night previews,[2] and went on to debut to $11.3 million, finishing fourth at the box office.[27] It fell 56% to $5 million in its second weekend, finishing eighth.[28]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Slender Man holds an approval rating of 8% based on 79 reviews and an average rating of 3.16/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Slender Man might be thin, but he's positively robust compared to the flimsy assortment of scares generated by the would-be chiller that bears his name."[29] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 30 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[30] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "D–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an "awful" 38% positive score; social media monitor RelishMix noted that "the majority's feeling toward [the] film" was negative.[2]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a D, writing "a tasteless and inedibly undercooked serving of the Internet's stalest creepypasta, Slender Man aspires to be for the YouTube era what The Ring was to the last gasps of the VHS generation. But... there's one fundamental difference that sets the two movies apart: The Ring is good, and Slender Man is terrible."[31]

Accolades
List of awards and nominations
Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
2019 Golden Raspberry Award Worst Supporting Actress Jaz Sinclair Nominated [32]

See also

References
  1. " SLENDER MAN (15)". British Board of Film Classification. August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  2. D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 10, 2018). "'The Meg' Chomps A Huge $4M On Thursday Night – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  3. "Slender Man (2018)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  4. Rogers, Katie (May 6, 2016). "'Slender Man,' a Horror Meme, Gets Ready to Step Out of the Shadows". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  5. McNary, Dave (May 6, 2016). "Sony in Talks for 'Slender Man' Horror Movie". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  6. Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 4, 2017). "Sylvain White Set To Helm 'Slender Man' For Screen Gems". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  7. Lang, Brent (May 31, 2018). "'Slender Man' Being Shopped to Other Studios as Sony, Producers Clash (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  8. Miska, Brad (August 12, 2018). "How Sony's Own Fear Killed the Big Screen Debut of 'Slender Man' [Exclusive]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  9. Foutch, Haleigh (August 15, 2018). "'Slender Man' Reportedly Cut Several Major Scenes over Studio Backlash Fears". Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  10. N'Duka, Amanda (May 22, 2017). "Joey King, Julia Goldani-Telles & More Join 'Slender Man' From Director Sylvain White". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  11. N'Duka, Amanda (July 10, 2017). "Godzilla: King Of The Monsters' Adds Elizabeth Ludlow; Kevin Chapman Cast In 'Slender Man'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  12. Goldstein, Meredith (May 29, 2017). "'Slender Man' horror movie will be made in Boston". The Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  13. Scott, Ryan (January 2, 2018). "Slender Man Movie Poster Will Send Chills Down Your Spine". MovieWeb. Watchr Media. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  14. Reed, Ryan (January 3, 2018). "'Slender Man': Watch Disturbing First Trailer for Meme-Based Horror Film". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  15. Tiffany, Kaitlyn (January 3, 2018). "Watch the first trailer for the Slenderman movie called Slender Man". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  16. Martinelli, Marissa (January 3, 2018). "Prepare to Scream Your Face Off at the First Trailer for the Slender Man Movie". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  17. Lumb, David (January 3, 2018). "'Slender Man' trailer is proof some things shouldn't leave the internet". Engadget. Oath. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  18. Chitwood, Adam (January 3, 2018). "'Slender Man' Trailer Reveals the Creepy Film Adaptation". Collider. Complex Media. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  19. Evangelista, Chris (January 3, 2018). "'Slender Man' Trailer: The Internet Myth Comes to Life". /Film. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  20. Evans, Greg (January 3, 2018). "'Slender Man' Trailer, Poster: Scary Internet Meme Creeps To Big Screen". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  21. Richmond, Todd (January 3, 2018). "Wisconsin girl's father says Slender Man movie in poor taste". MSN Entertainment. MSN. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  22. Associated Press (January 3, 2018). "Father of "Slender Man" Attacker Claims New Film Is "Popularizing a Tragedy"". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  23. Zinski, Dan (January 23, 2018). "Slender Man Release Date Pushed Back". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  24. Pederson, Erik (July 18, 2018). "Sony Moves Tarantino's Manson Pic, Dates 'Zombieland 2' & 'Little Women'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  25. Ottomanelli, Victoria (August 10, 2018). "Marcus Theatres won't show Slender Man movie in Milwaukee, Waukesha counties". WISN.com. WISN-TV. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  26. McClintock, Pamela (August 8, 2018). "Box-Office Preview: Big-Budget 'The Meg' Heads for Tepid $20M-Plus U.S. Debut". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  27. D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 12, 2018). "'August Audiences Get Hooked On 'Meg' Shelling Out $44.5M". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  28. D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 19, 2018). "'Crazy Rich Asians' Even Richer On Saturday With $10M+; Weekend Bling Now At $25M+ With $34M 5-Day Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  29. "Slender Man (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  30. "Slender Man Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  31. Ehrlich, David (August 9, 2018). "'Slender Man'Review: A Tasteless and Inedibly Undercooked Serving of Creepypasta". IndieWire. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  32. "39th Razzie Nominations!". YouTube: Razzie Channel.
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