As final proof that the whole Slender Man phenomena has resolutely died in the arse, the newly released horror flick Slender Man hit cinemas with barely a murmur – almost no one has seen it, and critics are shredding it. The consensus seems to be that – aside from not being that scary – the movie feels weirdly disjointed, like significant portions of the narrative were cut. Turns out that’s probably exactly what happened!
According to a scoop from the horror mavens over at Bloody Disgusting, producer Sony Screen Gems – who originally commissioned the screenplay back in 2016 – got a little spooked by the negative press around the project (which stemmed from the widely publicised Slender Man stabbing case) that they basically cut out some of the more disturbing footage, some of which appeared in the movie’s trailer.
For the record, the missing scenes include one where a girl stabs her own eyes out, and another where a girl – not the one who stabbed her eyes out, but indeed a different girl – rips her own tongue out. The Slender Man is presumably involved in both cases of self-mutilation.
Obviously, there’s no telling what else was cut at this point, or whether it would have made it a film that isn’t absolutely savaged by critics. But it’s unfortunate that a film which could have been a nice little horror tail-end to a a years-long creepypasta phenomenon was kneecapped by some bad press.
Anyway, if you want to defy the censorial impulses of the Slender Man producers, you can go see it in cinemas now. Or not, I guess.
