Slender Man (3½ Stars)

For the last few years stories about a so-called Slender Man have been spread on the Internet. While many of the stories are for entertainment only, some of them claim that the Slender Man really exists and preys on young children. In May 2014 two 12-year-old girls, Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, committed a brutal murder in an attempt to summon the Slender Man. The Slender Man mythology has all the characteristics of an urban legend, except for the fact that it's new. On the other hand, all urban legends were new at some point, so novelty alone isn't a reason to dismiss it.

In the film four schoolgirls decide to summon the Slender Man for fun. Soon afterwards one of them disappears. The other three girls summon the Slender Man a second time to bargain for their friend to be given back, which results in another girl disappearing. And so the story continues.

The film's atmosphere is perfect. The scares come at regular intervals, and I was jumping in my seat at the cinema. My fault with the film, at least after the first viewing, is that the story doesn't make sense. What's the Slender Man's motivation? I felt confused while watching the film, but now, a few hours later, I'm asking myself if I would have understood it better if I'd been more acquainted with the Slender Man legends. Despite my relatively low rating – I almost gave it a flat three stars – I feel inclined to watch it again.