The New SLENDER MAN Movie is Slammed For Being Distasteful, Too Late, and More
Yesterday Sony Pictures released the first trailer for their upcoming horror movie, Slender Man, which is based on the urban legend created on the internet. As a fan of horror, Slender Man is one of those monstrous figures that has intrigued me. Slender Man isn't as popular now as it was a few years ago, and I'm surprised that this movie didn't get made sooner.
Well, after the trailer was released, it received a harsh backlash online. People slammed it for being distasteful because the legend caused two young girls to try and kill someone in real life. The father of the victim, Bill Weier, had this to say about it in an interview (via THR)
"It's absurd they want to make a movie like this. It's popularizing a tragedy is what it's doing. I'm not surprised but in my opinion it's extremely distasteful. All we're doing is extending the pain all three of these families have gone through."
A lot of people on the internet felt the same way. Here are a few tweets that were posted on the matter:
The #SlenderMan #SlenderManMovie trailer...
— Kris Happens (@KrisWD40) January 4, 2018
1. Trailer makes the movie look terrible.
2. It's incredibly distasteful for @Sony to make a movie featuring Slenderman & stabbings when 2 girls in real life just were sentenced for stabbing a peer because they believed in Slenderman.
Wow completely disrespectful to the young woman who was almost STABBED TO DEATH by two of her so called friends who were obsessed with The Slender Man. Money over everything I guess.
— JeremiahOrtega (@jortega8) January 3, 2018
So Sony pictures are trash and this is why I know the Slenderman movie will be trash, they’re literally clinging onto anything they can to make money out of their studios
— die (@skinmaggot) January 4, 2018
This can definitely spark a debate because there are people who are rightfully sensitive to this kind of thing, and I think others understand that. Then on the other hand, one can argue that Hollywood has been making these kinds of horror movies for a very very long time and they also make a lot of films based on tragic true crime events. So, the fact that they movie is getting made isn't surprising. However, some people were surprised by how long it took them to make it. Here are some tweets that beat it up for that:
They're making a Slender Man movie? Whoa! Hope it has some awesome current memes, like doge and trollface in it!!
— Girbeagly (@Girbeagly) January 3, 2018
This upcoming Slender Man movie is about 6 years too late lol
— Frank Passalacqua (@randomfrankp) January 3, 2018
Imagine still finding Slenderman scary in 2018 and making a film about it.
— Papi Memes 🐝🇩🇴 (@SavinTheBees) January 3, 2018
Hell yeah this is going to be the movie of 2011.
— Steven (@Bloodywaynker) January 3, 2018
They're making a Slender Man movie...
— Xyer (@XyerF) January 3, 2018
Why now and not 4 years ago when it was the most relevant?
You can't even capitalize on trending things Hollywood no wonder you're a trashfire.
Then, of course, there are the people that just think the movie looks like shit:
I just watched the Slender Man trailer and had to double check it wasn't some fake trailer by a media student. Sadly, it was not.
— Connie Glynn (@noodlerella) January 3, 2018
Slender Man looks like one of those movies you'd find in the Walmart bargain bin that was created entirely out of stock footage
— HoustonProductions1 (@Blockbustedpod) January 3, 2018
This movie looks like a students' project in where the main theme is using color correction.
— Pun(ished) Satura (@PunStarTracer) January 3, 2018
Whoa, turns out the Slender Man movie is just going to a movie theater and picking up 8 pieces of paper. when combined, it says "You wasted your money, sucker. Ha. Ha. Ha."
— Jesse (@PinkSheepPulsey) January 3, 2018
But! There are people who are actually excited about it!
Just saw the trailer for the film, Slenderman... ITS ABOUT TIME THIS MOVIE GOT MADE! I just hope it uses Noface sparingly, and that it doesn't just use unintentional jumpscares. #CanYouSeeHim #SlenderMan #SlenderMan
— LinkieLink (@greenlink19990) January 4, 2018
So there's a chance that the Slender Man movie could be the best video game adaptation into a movie? What do you think? #CanYouSeeHimhttps://t.co/L261LQijoX
— Joshua Ovenshire (@TheJovenshire) January 4, 2018
Wooooooah new @SlenderManMovie trailer is giving me old school "The Ring" vibes, and I'm so here for it
— Madison Iseman (@madisoniseman) January 3, 2018
#SlenderMan looks fucking intense as fuck....
— Niko (@nikolasnsva) January 4, 2018
What side of the fence do you fall on in regards to this Slender Man movie? Do you think it's distasteful and shouldn't have been made out of respect to the victims of the real-life tragedy?