‘slender man’ trailer, poster: scary internet meme creeps to big screen

_Slender Man_, director Sylvain White’s upcoming creepfest inspired by the horrific meme that tragically crossed over into real life four years ago, now has a trailer and poster. “He gets

into your head … like a virus,” says one of the tormented girls in the trailer, which includes, among other head-messing images, a scalpel cutting an eyeball, lots of worms and, of course, a

very slender man. Sony’s film is set in a small town in Massachusetts, where, says the logline, four high school girls perform a ritual in an attempt to debunk the lore of the title

character. When one of the girls mysteriously goes missing, they begin to suspect that she is, in fact, his latest victim. The cast includes Joey King, Julia Goldani-Telles, Jaz Sinclair,

Annalise Basso and Javier Botet. White directs from a script by David Birke, based on a character by Victor Surge. Producers are Bradley J. Fischer, James Vanderbilt, William Sherak, Robyn

Meisinger and Sarah Snow. The spooky “Slenderman” meme took some of the heat for various violent incidents and suicide attempts during the past four years, often involving teenage girls and

knives; the teens and/or their attorneys say the acts were inspired by the ghostly viral figure. Just last month, a Wisconsin teenager was sentenced to up to 25 years in a mental institution

for the 2014 Slenderman-related stabbing death of a 12-year-old friend. WATCH ON DEADLINE The very fictional _Slender Man_ hits theaters May 18. Take a look at the trailer above, and here’s

the new poster: