Editorials
‘Bodycam’ and the Enduring Legacy & Evolution of Slender Man
Spoiler Warning: the following article contains major plot details for Bodycam, which is now available to stream on Shudder.
Ideas evolve over time, and horror fans are more aware of this than most. After all, Friday the 13th first began as an Americanization of whodunnit Giallo pictures and later turned into an episodic rival to Halloween – and who can forget how John Carpenter took Christian Nyby’s classic sci-fi flick about an alien vegetable man and transformed it into a paranoid piece of body-horror cinema?
My point is: while not every change is necessarily positive, narrative evolution has always been an inevitable part of human culture, and this process was only accelerated by the rise of the internet.
In fact, easily accessible online spaces have led to the creation of countless communities obsessed with establishing modern mythologies. These communities often condense entire generations’ worth of narrative adaptation into the span of just a few days, with some of these works of collective fiction (such as the SCP Foundation and even the Backrooms phenomenon) going on to influence mainstream genre fiction in increasingly curious ways.
This is what was going through my head as I watched Brandon Christensen’s Found Footage gem Bodycam during a special theatrical screening last week. While the movie itself is a highly entertaining piece of standalone horror fiction, using the titular bodycam gimmick to great effect as it places viewers in the unenviable shoes of a pair of morally questionable police officers who bite off more than they can chew when they encounter a supernatural cult, there was a certain familiarity to the experience that made it even more enjoyable.
Bodycam
You see, what stood out to me the most about Bodycam was how Brandon (alongside his brother Ryan Christensen) somehow made the best big-screen adaptation of Slender Man despite not actually including the faceless monster in their movie. This peculiarity then got me thinking about how the complicated legacy of Slender Man continues to influence the horror genre despite the once-popular entity now being mostly regarded as a dated relic of the digital past.
But what a past it was!
For those who aren’t aware, Slender Man was originally the result of a horror-themed Photoshop contest on the Something Awful forums. User Victor Surge came up with a series of eerie photographs and accompanying text describing children being abducted by a mysterious faceless figure, with these creative seeds soon blossoming into a terrifying urban legend that grew more complex as fans of the character began adding their own unique spins to the lore. This is how Slender Man became a meme, with the online folklore surrounding the entity inspiring incredibly successful web series (such as Marble Hornets) as well as a viral horror game that helped to revolutionize indie genre releases.
For a while there, it really seemed like the monster had joined the ranks of Dracula and the Wolfman as a folkloric nightmare that would continue to stalk movies, games, and literature for decades to come. Yet, this collective work of fiction would eventually come crashing down as overexposure began to reduce the meme’s scare factor, with this downfall being accelerated by a real-life tragedy involving Slenderverse fans using their obsession with the character as an excuse to hurt others. It soon became taboo to even reference Slender Man media altogether, with the urban legend’s uncomfortable associations even affecting Sylvain White’s cinematic adaptation from 2018 (an alleged good movie that ended up being butchered by the studio).
It now seems like enough time has passed for folks to begin to look back fondly on the heyday of collaborative internet mythology. Filmmakers like Alex Hera have waxed nostalgic about the rise and fall of the original Slenderverse creators, and even the team behind Marble Hornets returned last year with a meta sequel series about an alternate universe version of the main characters once again falling victim to the Operator after visiting an iconic filming location from the original series.
This brings us back to Bodycam and all the ways that the film appears to be connected to the Slenderverse. While there’s no need to do a deep dive into all of the film’s Slender Man references, I think it’s safe to say that these elements were put there intentionally. Not only does the ultimate big bad resemble Victor Surge’s nightmarish creation with its pale complexion and spindly tentacles (not to mention its hunger for children and the eldritch influence it exerts over its followers), but Bodycam even depicts the entity’s thralls almost exactly like the “Proxies” featured in the Slender Man ARGs that once dominated the internet.
The supernatural forces at play even make the cameras glitch out almost exactly like Jay’s footage in the aforementioned Marble Hornets, and don’t even get me started on the recurring graffiti that looks like an alternate universe version of the classic Operator symbol.
Details like these seem like they were deliberately placed by the filmmakers in order to pay homage to the stories that inspired their latest project, and from “The Demon of Memes” episode of Evil to the Rosswood miniseries, I’d argue that this reverence towards the early days of the Slender Man phenomenon is something of a recurring trend in modern horror. This makes a lot of sense, as we’re finally seeing a new generation of filmmakers who actually grew up alongside the mythos.
Sure, plenty of horror critics have (rightly) criticized the Slenderverse for its repetitive tropes and entry-level takes on Lovecraftian terror (and that’s not even bringing up valid criticism concerning the fandom’s questionable actions in the real world), but original projects like Bodycam serve as further proof that the Slender Man lives on as something of an unseen influence hovering over the entire horror genre – a position that I think is appropriate considering the entity’s description as a “living meme”.
At the end of the day, it’s doubtful that the Slenderverse itself will make a full recovery (especially since younger internet users are now more familiar with recent creations like Trevor Henderson’s Sirenhead), but it doesn’t really need to. The idea of a viral entity spreading through cult-like followers and pulling strings from behind the scenes continues to be a poignant parable for modern times, so it stands to reason that we’ll continue to see Slender-Man-inspired media for years to come. However, while I can’t wait to see how this new generation of filmmakers manages to update our favorite internet-borne monster, I think it’s worth looking back on the online scares of yesteryear as both an inspiration and a potential warning about the dangers of memetic horror.
After all, you can’t kill an idea – especially one with a mind of its own.
We’re now officially in the back half of 2026 now that July is here, but what a year it’s been for horror so far. The sequels and reboots are still holding strong at the box office with films like Scream 7 and Scary Movie, but it’s also been a year where new voices are shattering records in unexpected ways.
Markiplier eschewed conventional production and distribution channels with his feature adaptation of Iron Lung, for example. We’re also still in the midst of Backrooms and Obsession-mania, with the former back in theaters with bonus footage and the latter extending its box office reign. Liminal horror has exploded, and low-budget indie horror is seeing just as much, and sometimes even more, success as big studio-backed fare.
All of which to say that 2026 has been a hell of a year so far for the genre, and it’s only getting warmed up. Still on the way are Evil Dead Burn, Insidious: Out of the Further, Resident Evil, Clayface, Whalefall, and Werwulf, just to name a few.
Also catch up with the Best Horror Books and Best Horror Games of the year so far.
Here are the ten best horror movies of the year (so far).
10) Chime
Horror master Kiyoshi Kurosawa is back with one of his most haunting yet, though one that’d likely be higher on this list if it were more accessible. The 45-minute feature was initially produced and distributed as an NFT before receiving a theatrical run earlier this year, with no plans to distribute digitally or on home media. It spins a somewhat cryptic tale, introducing a culinary teacher, Takuji Matsuoka (Mutsuo Yoshioka, Never After Dark), whose classroom becomes disrupted by a strange sound that leads to violence. It’s a quiet but haunting unraveling, one that leaves no aspect of Matsuoka’s life untouched, in true Kiyoshi Kurosawa style. That it defies any easy explanation also ensures Chime embeds itself under your skin.
9) Send Help
Sam Raimi’s splatstick return to form is a delightfully deranged two-hander that doubles as infectious catharsis for anyone who’s ever had a bad boss. Rachel McAdams (Doctor Strange) and Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner) face off when their characters are shipwrecked on an island, prompting a bid for survival in more ways than one. While O’Brien often matches her, It’s McAdams who shines as she deftly handles everything that Raimi, working from a script by Damian Shannon & Mark Swift (Freddy vs. Jason), throws at her. Send Help is full of vibrant personality, packed with all of Raimi’s signatures, making for one of the most entertaining films of the year.
8) Mārama
New Zealand filmmaker Taratoa Stappard’s gothic tale begins in familiar fashion, with Mary Stevens (Ariāna Osborne) arriving in Yorkshire upon invitation to learn more about her parents, only to find the remote manor haunted. Just when Stappard’s period horror story feels doomed to succumb to familiar gothic trappings and jump scares, though, its true horror emerges. The more Mary uncovers about her heritage and her Māori culture, the clearer it becomes that this grim home is built on violence and exploitation. Stappard’s vision comes into its own when it leaves behind its gothic influences and embraces its Māori identity; few scenes are as powerful as when Osborne’s Mary performs a haka in response to her vile oppressors, heralding in a righteous bloodbath.
7) Touch Me
Writer/Director Addison Heimann draws from retro Japanese horror, exploitation cinema, and perhaps even hentai for his campy, psychosexual sophomore feature. A toxic friendship plagued by trauma, codependency, and addiction gets tested to the extreme when Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci), a hip-hop-loving, tracksuit-sporting alien, gets between them. Olivia Taylor Dudley and Jordan Gavaris have an easy rapport and play off each other well as directionless, depressed Millennial besties prone to ignoring their problems until they become insurmountable. But it’s Pucci’s inspired, childlike take on the chicken nugget-loving extraterrestrial with tentacled secrets of his own that steals the show. Heimann has a lot on his mind with his sophomore feature and neatly condenses it all into a quirky, eccentric psychosexual camp odyssey that leans heavily into humor.
6) Backrooms
Director Kane Parsons translates the vast liminal labyrinth of his web series to the big screen in his feature debut, one that instills existential dread with its atmospheric horror and narrative. The ‘ 90s-set horror movie introduces a protagonist with a serious chip on his shoulder over life’s many disappointments, who then discovers his furniture store harbors a hidden door that leads to an endless labyrinth. It’s not just the incredible production design that instills a disorienting sense of doom and terror, but the lead characters’ palpable and profound sense of loneliness and isolation. Parsons exudes impressive confidence and control as he methodically entrusts his quiet worldbuilding and talented leads to carry the dramatic weight. While Backrooms does deflate by the film’s cryptic, cliffhanger-y end, it’s arguably the most effective and scariest yet at capturing the uncanny valley of generative AI.
5) Leviticus
Writer/Director Adrian Chiarella uses an It Follows-like supernatural entity that relentlessly stalks its prey as a launchpad to immerse audiences in the horror of constantly living in fear for simply existing. A conversion therapy ritual among a deeply conservative community plunges a pair of erstwhile lovers into a nightmarish bid for survival when it summons a force that takes the shape of those whom the afflicted desires most. Chiarella refines the horror mechanics and metaphor with much sharper precision, ensuring that the scares and emotional gravity of the young couple’s terrifying predicament reach their intended impact. It’s the central layered performances by Joe Bird (Talk to Me) and Stacy Clausen (Thrash) that clinch emotional investment in their heartbreaking plight, ensuring that the social horror cuts deep.
4) Redux Redux
The McManus Brothers, writer/director duo Matthew and Kevin McManus (The Block Island Sound), dials up the intensity of a classic revenge story by setting it within a multiverse, where Irene Kelly (Michaela McManus) seeks to snuff out every single iteration of her daughter’s murderer, Neville (Jeremy Holm). The more she stalks and slays every world’s Neville, the more she risks losing her humanity entirely. Through a narrative foil in Mia (Stella Marcus), Redux Redux smartly bypasses repetition as it explores the moral complexities and vulnerabilities of Irene’s extremely violent quest. Holm becomes utterly terrifying in the climax, ensuring that no matter whether Irene loses herself to vengeance for good or not, it’s justified if it means ridding the world of this sick maniac.
3) 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Director Nia DaCosta takes the reins in the second entry in writer Alex Garland and original director Danny Boyle’s trilogy, picking up from the previous conclusion that saw Spike (Alfie Williams) fleeing from the infected straight into the welcoming arms of Sir Jimmy Crystal (Sinners’ Jack O’Connell). From here, DaCosta presents a stark contrast between humanity’s best and worst. The former sees the tender studies of Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) make poignant strides toward humankind’s future, while the latter unleashes more pain and bloodshed courtesy of the Jimmies. The dual paths of light and dark collide in one epic conclusion, an inspired confrontation between good and evil on a stunning set piece of heavy metal insanity. Yet it’s DaCosta’s handling of both extremes that impresses most, teeing up one epic conclusion to this trilogy.
2) Obsession
Sketch comedian turned horror filmmaker Curry Barker (Milk & Serial) wrings blood-curdling terror from a classic Monkey’s Paw wish fulfillment scenario in a way that no one could have ever anticipated. To say that it’s taken the box office by storm would be a massive understatement; Obsession is the top horror movie of the year in terms of gross. It’s not hard to see why, either. While Monkey’s Paw scenarios often yield predictable outcomes, and this outcome is practically telegraphed from the start, Barker manages to surprise with the journey itself. And it’s one insane journey paved with blood-soaked violence and no shortage of nightmare fuel. What truly sets it apart, though, is leads Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette as the central pair undone by one vicious wish. Expect to see a lot more from breakout Navarette.
1) Hokum
A surly, traumatized writer must break free from his self-imposed shackles of guilt when confronted by a wicked witch haunting a quaint Irish inn in the latest by writer/director Damian McCarthy (Oddity). Adam Scott’s Ohm makes for an atypical but rewarding protagonist, and his complicated emotional journey gives way to a deeply moving story of a man so thoroughly broken by personal trauma that he constantly dwells in darkness. In true McCarthy style, expect the creepy as hell witch to dole out some supernatural retribution for crimes committed, but never in the way you’d expect. The filmmaker has a way of making whimsy pure nightmare fuel; Hokum distorts a kids’ show into eerie, uncanny valley-induced terror in its torment of Ohm. Channeling Stephen King, this creeper plays like a traditional campfire tale in mood and style, infusing genuine scares with a sense of magic and heart.
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