From next September 6th will be screened in theaters Slender Man, the horror film dedicated to the tall faceless demon created by Eric Knudsen (in art Victor Surge). The character was born as a fictional work for a horror-themed illustration competition (in 2009), but immediately becomes the subject of fan creations (such as creepy pasta, indie games e fan made stories).
From the descriptions on the internet it emerges that Slander Man it's a fictional character created to be a very tall demon in a tuxedo, with very long limbs, equipped with tentacles (which protrude from his back) and with the distinctive trait of having no facial connotation (although at times he was depicted with a huge mouth). This character is famous for being a kidnapper of people (especially children).
Over the years the phenomenon "Slender Man”Has gradually grown and expanded with different stories (some of which are passed off as real sightings). Unfortunately, however, there was no lack of unpleasant events related to the faceless demon, in fact the character was used as a scapegoat for the attempted murder of a twelve-year-old American in 2014 by two of her peers.
Precisely because of the distressing event, some American cinemas have decided not to broadcast the film (adhering to a petition launched by the father of one of the two executioners), because it was considered inappropriate in the light of the facts (even if the film neither deals with nor mentions references to the incident).
Now that we have broadly analyzed the origins of this grotesque figure we can continue with the review of the film dedicated to the famous tall man with no face, signed by the French director Sylvain White and distributed by Warner Bros.
Screen
In a small town of the Massachussetts, four girls (Katie, Wren, Hellie, e Chloe) decide to prove that the legend of the infamous demon Slender Man (interpreted by Javier Botet) is nothing but nonsense and, convinced of this, they perform the necessary ritual to evoke the frightening tentacled and faceless figure. Initially they seem to succeed, but things change dramatically after one of them mysteriously disappears during a school trip.
Analysis of the film
The film manages to dilute well the tension and anxiety that inevitably insinuates itself little by little in the viewer. The tight rhythms between Jump scare, anxious scenes and the few moments used to dissolve the tension make the film enjoyable for a good part of its duration (93 minutes).
The opera tells one Slender Man slightly different than the demon known through the creepy pasta and Games dedicated to him. In the film, the tall, faceless one is portrayed as a kind of virus that insinuates itself into the mind of those who evoke it, persecuting it and causing its disappearance, death or, in the best of cases, loss of sense.
A heavy note of demerit should be made to the special effects of the film which, although they seem (for a good part of the film) acceptable, do not adequately render the character that gives the name to the cinematographic work: in fact the latter is shown very little trick of lights and shadows that make a good delineation of the creature difficult) thus making the idea that the Slender is more a fantasy of the characters (perhaps born from too much suggestion) and not a real danger always lurking and from which it is practically impossible to escape.
In the only (few) parts where the demonic creature is shown in full and sharply, this looks like nothing more than a large animated mannequin (and I would add in a very bad way). Fortunately the situation is saved by the soundtrack of the work, well made and pressing with the entire rhythm of the film, composed moreover of sounds (at times disturbing) that manage to keep the anxiety factor high and dress the horror scenes of a surreal tint that however keeps the viewer always alert.
Another great help, to make up for the visual effects, is given by the cast, made up mostly of young and talented actors / actresses such as: Joey King (Wren), Annalise Basso (Katie), Julia Goldani Telles (Hellie), Jaz Sinclair (Chloe), Taylor Richardson (Lizzie) e Alex Fitzalan (Tom). These guys have managed to bring noteworthy interpretations to the screen that have been able to succeed where special effects have failed, bringing to the screen a degree of realism that otherwise would have been impossible to achieve.
Conclusions
The film sells itself as a good horror film, able to keep the tension high where it is necessary, but which unfortunately suffers from a weak graphic effect that makes everything much less realistic than it would like to seem, bringing the hostile character (who should be a constant threat), to be little more than a shadow reflected on the wall (and a badly animated 3D model rather than a costumed actor).
Fortunately, the interpretation of the actors and actresses, combined with the good soundtrack that accompanies the hour and a half of duration of the film, succeed well in the intent to revive the enjoyment of the film making it an acceptable product.
