Screen Gems sort of, kind of has an identity crisis. While they’re targeting tweens with their remakes and franchises, they continue to dabble outside of the box with projects like Fede Alvarez’s Don’t Breathe. It’s nice to have new Underworld and Resident Evil films every few years, but it would be even better to have a stronger output of darker projects with visionary filmmakers. This could be their new direction.
Screen Gems has developed a feature based on the popular Slender Man horror meme for quite some time, but it wasn’t until now that I’ve grown excited. Sony’s genre arm has made a bold selection for their director, tapping Sylvain White to helm Slender Man, THR is reporting.
White directed the absolutely phenomenal Stomp the Yard for Sony back in 2007, which led to Losers in 2010. He’s been directing a lot of TV since then – “Sleepy Hollow”, “Hawaii Five-0”, “MacGuyver”, “Rush Hour” – although he’s the kind of visionary best suited for feature films.
Slender Man is depicted as a lanky, faceless figure in a black suit, and originated as an internet meme. It grew to fame following the reports that violent acts were being committed in his name, including a much-publicized story of two 12-year-old girls in Wisconsin who lured a friend into the woods and nearly fatally stabbed her.
HBO has an upcoming doc based on the internet-age bogeyman, Beware the Slenderman.
Bradley Fischer, James Vanderbilt and William Sherak will produce the feature under their Mythology Entertainment banner, which originally held the rights to Slender Man across all platforms, including motion picture.