SlendySlayer Reviews

One critic's doomed attempt to review and catalogue every work in the SlenderVerse and Fear Mythos. New reviews every Friday.

[slendyslayer]

SAPH

Finished vlog

The initial premise for this show was fantastic. Then it just ended up... rather samey.

It tried to set itself apart by tying in with the Zodiac Killer and adding a bit of mystery, but it was just too little too late.

The acting was probably the highlight of this series, it had some really good people and they delivered some really good scenes. There were weak points, sure, but that’s what happens with amateur video productions.

I was really into it at the start, with the ‘amateur ghost hunters’ style and set-up and was getting ready for some subtle sightings or hint-dropping, but instead we just got whacked over the head with some Slender Man and it fell right into standard Slendervlog territory (white text black background telling us all the story we need, random codes, finding videos left by someone else, masked ‘proxy’, ‘you looked into it and now you’re infected’, time warps, teleportation, loud noises and obnoxious colour/static edits, arbitrary cross-over. Y’know, the usual. It really became a bit of a slog by the end.

Speaking of the end: it ended on a pretty interesting note (even if the final video does go on a bit long). In theory there’s another series following this (and the UndecidedFive?) but the page I was directed to only has one video on it so not thinking that one worked out.

I could probably do a proper 5-page critique of this series but that’s not what we’re here for. I’m just here to help you decide if you wanna commit 2 hours of your life to this.

[slendyslayer]

Blog

The eternal struggle of trying to review things: short stuff that exists in a state of limbo but is good so far.

Because this is the beginning of a blog set at the end of the world. And it’s got some neat ideas and a good premise but it’s the format of ‘letters’ that made it stick with me.

Even if it’s currently paused and there are only 6 so far it’s just sweet and sad. Hence the ‘can I even attempt to review this?’ dilemma. 

And the answer is no, I can’t review this. But I can point at it and go ‘here is a thing that I am currently enjoying.’

[slendyslayer]

So the review I posted Friday has been made irrelevant by context. (Stupid context) and I didn't have a backup.

Many apologies, lovelies. :/

[slendyslayer]

Nothing New

Finished, Blog

I dunno. It's short, it's clever, it's ending was common but unexpected.

It's an interesting thought experiment: what if there was universe where the existence of Fears was common knowledge? But it's mostly a few clever ideas and then some references to other stuff.

I remember thinking it was really cool at the start, it just ended up being a few neat ideas rather than a story.

[slendyslayer]

Blog

Either in-progress or inactive, it’s hard to tell due to backdating. Either way I clicked on it expecting it to be done and it wasn’t and I’m disappointed.

It’s certainly a new idea, a guide leading people into the Empty City, presumably to die, like some sorta eldritch euthanasia. I’m very intrigued by the whole thing.

The characters are kinda flat, but some of their motivation has started to come forward and I hope we get more as the story continues.

I always appreciate people putting new spins on familiar things, in a mythos where so many people stringently adhere to the same tones and themes and ideas, new stuff is refreshing. And this ‘tricksy’ and ‘playful’ version of the City is not only interesting, but ominous, because I have no past iterations to draw on. In a way it more calls to mind the film As Above So Below than other Empty City stories.

Give it some time to see if it keeps updating, and then certainly read it.

[slendyslayer]

In-Progress, Blog

Happy Valentine's Day! Have some lesbians.

I know I've mentioned this one a few times before, but it's both good and holiday appropriate.

The main character's fiancee is missing, so she starts a blog talking about what happened and trying to bring her home. In standard Slenderblog fashion, she gets roped in to the strange goings-on and ends up in way over her head.

It's not always the most well written, but the story hasn't disappointed me yet. It also goes beyond just Slendy and is bringing some...thing else into it. There are a lot of elements at play right now and I'm curious to see how they all come together.

The fiancee's doctor feels a bit... unreal and either he's hiding something or he's just a poorly-written doctor because the conversations with him are unbelievable. The friends are pretty one-dimensional, but the main character has an understandable motivation and pretty reasonable responses to all this stuff.

It's a slow updating blog, but each post adds something, even the 'filler' isn't really just filler.

[slendyslayer]

Finished, Blog

I'm woefully undecided on this one.

It's short, it's quick, it's to the point, but I'm tired of all Fear Mythos protagonists being super-duper-ultra-important. Part of the appeal of supernatural fiction is normal people facing impossible circumstances.

That isn't to say this story is badly done, it makes fair justifications for its decisions. It starts out kinda cute and funny, but it lost me early on and never fully won back my interest.

It did introduce a new 'Fear' so I think that makes it worth a skim, as I said, it's short and to the point.

[slendyslayer]

Finished, Blog

There is a blog that parallels this that I have yet to find. 

This hits one of the common pit-falls of story-writing in blog format: telling. It is very much a story of "I went here, I did this, I felt like this, I did this because I thought that, they said something" and there's no tension or drama or even emotion. 

It also attempts to combine the Fears, Holders, Panopticon, SCP Foundation and Illuminati in a very half-assed and inaccurate way.

The main character is an oh-so-wise and important and moral former drug addict. The way the story is written gives him no real motivation or character but he always seems to intuitively refuse do things that are "wrong" but still agree to things that advance the plot forward.

I definitely do not recommend it for newbies because you will just end up confused. Hell, I'm still confused by a lot of it.

[slendyslayer]

ProjectFaceless

In-progress, Vlog

Twitter

Continues to be a nifty little project. Plot's really started kicking off action-wise (for the most part).

It's not particularly scary or suspenseful, which isn't an inherently bad thing. It's playing out like a bit of a mystery (even though there's been very little interaction in terms of code-breaking. Come on, guys).

I find the time stamps to be generally distracting, although some interesting things have been done with them. There's also been some good stuff done with editing and sound.

Some of the actors are a bit stilted and some events are far too convenient for their own good, but even the flaws are better than some other videos out there.

I'll be keeping an eye on it; I'm sure it'll only get better now that the main (mystery?conspiracy?) jumping off point has been hit.

[slendyslayer]

amberALERTxo

Dead?, Vlog

There's not enough of this to merit watching.

There was a very recent post, but whether that's the story continuing or just the creator using the YouTube channel remains to be seen.

It's very much a mix of vines and story-related videos, which is interesting in terms of creating 'realism' but there weren't enough entries to tell if it works or not.

*shrug*

[slenderverseawards-blog]

We are looking for staff, nominations, and some other things as well! Please check out our tumblr page for more details.

[slendyslayer]

This will interest some of you.

[slendyslayer]

MLAndersen0

In-progress, Vlog

This series continues to impress. The acting starts off okay and ends up really tight. The story is easy to follow (rare in this type of work). Editing is well done, audio is well done. It's actually got me pretty on-edge.

They also have a good grasp on basic screenwriting concepts, such as character development and the balance between funny/normal and dark/horrifying. In a thriller/horror/supernatural genre you still need normalcy to make the dark parts mean anything, and most people tend to handle that with overly long, entirely pointless 'casual' videos. These guys have mixed normal and horrible within the same video.

As I said previously, there are very few moments that don't serve a purpose.

I have my own personal issues with cross-overs but the minor one they currently have going on isn't as alienating as some others.

Glad to see this is still coming along, and I'll be watching for more.

[slendyslayer]

AirSignals

Dead, Vlog

Initially thought this would be a cool Choir story, but it's just Slendy. But it's definitely not Slendy as we usually see him and that's rather refreshing.

Great use of audio (especially love the introduction of morse code), video could use some work, tho. Lots of times it's unclear what we're meant to be looking at or shots that go on a bit too long.

I'm not sure if I can recommend watching it. The last three or four entries start getting interesting, but with no follow up, I'm not sure the establishing entries are worth it. A lot of the acting is awkward, the character interactions are flat or just downright poorly written, the plot never got to a point where it started making sense.

It had the potential to go somewhere, but as it stands it's not really worth the time investment.

[slendyslayer]

Inactive, vlog

This is a very impressive series. It does a good job with character development and relationships (this is one Slenderseries couple with a relationship I would believe). Plus the actors were just good. 

There are some related videos on the boyfriend’s channel Arkham’s Doorstep. The main channel has a playlist with both sets of videos in it. There is also a twitter. 

It had some pretty standard tropes, but handled them in interesting ways. Like the unreliable narrator: another character shows us what we’re missing rather than some random, cryptic third-party with questionable motives. The memory loss: it comes out naturally that the characters don’t remember certain events rather than the standard “Here is a video. I do not remember it.”

Their Slender Man is used sparingly and is done well. I could also really believe Marissa’s reaction to it. She exhibited genuine fear and panic and I’d be surprised if her vocal cords weren’t killing her by the end of the day. 

Bottom line: you need to watch it. It is good. It is well done. 

[slendyslayer]

Blog, finished

Really short, I read through it in about an hour.

It starts off pretty slow and I almost gave up on it, but it picks up and does well. 

She makes some reference to other blogs (which bugged me a bit) but not enough to be annoying. It’s a completely self-contained story.

The real highlight of it though is her analysis of the Slender Man. Rather than trying to fight it, she just tries to stay alive to observe and collect data to help everyone else. It’s really insightful too, makes a lot of sense.

A short, quick read. Totally worth slogging through the first few entries about fish.

[slendyslayer]

B-Movie Monsters

Link

FInished, blog

This was not at all what I was expecting. I was very much expecting this to be a “guy likes horror movies, watches the wrong movie, starts getting stalked” kinda deal, so I was pleasantly surprised when the whole thing was “movie” reviews.

Despite not having a real over-arching plot, it’s still very interesting. You’re pulled along by waiting for what’s going to happen rather than by something that is already happening. 

That and for the reviews, they’re rather clever little references to what seem to be other Fearblogs (I didn’t recognize them all, but I recognized enough to figure that’s what was going on.)

The ending was a little sudden, but it fit the overall purpose/theme of the blog. It also wrapped everything up but didn’t go out of its way to try to explain everything (it didn’t overdo it is what I’m trying to say.)

All in all it’s super short and the “movie review” approach to a Fearblog was kinda interesting. (And some of the descriptions/titles were kinda clever). It’s not plot driven, but it’s worth a read.

Minor ending spoiler below.

Read More

[slendyslayer]

Finished, blog

I had to use Google Reader to get all of this. It intentionally resets twice (so there are three cycyles).

This was pretty wonderful and damned original. And yes it was a cycle and it repeated itself, but you can see the changes that are made as the character keeps going through things. It’s amazingly well done. 

It had some pretty neat twists and turns. It dealt with a world that wasn’t ours. I can’t tell you too much without spoiling, but the title is highly appropriate.

The ending was a little…. But with a work like this there isn’t any way to give it a “real” ending. So, for this story, it was an appropriate ending. It would have been unrealistic for it to have gone any other way.

I highly recommend you go read it.