Windigo is a 2011 horror film by Vince Emerson Media, released on November 11, 2011. Using found footage, the movie tells the story of a group of film students who go camping in an old hick town near Mohawk lands, and end up getting stalked by the monster who resides there.
Legally available to watch on YouTube here.
It's also available on DVD with bonus features.
This film provides examples of
- Adaptational Villainy: This version of the Slender Man, unlike his other enigmatic and mysterious incarnations, is portrayed as a pure evil entity who likes to commit acts of malice simply for fun. He's the only version who displays a clear personality at all, in contrast to his usual portrayal as an enigmatic, unknowable force of nature.
- Ax-Crazy: The Slender Man is shown in this case to be a deranged sadist who kills and manipulates people just to amuse himself. We see more of this when he uses Brandon as his vessel.
- Being Watched: In the scene with Selina, Reese, and Brandon on the canoe,the Slender Man watches the boat from the shore.
- Bittersweet Ending: On one hand, the Slender Man manages to possess Brandon, but two characters still manage to escape with their lives. Hell, in the fight with the Slender Man himself, they still win.
- The Blank: The Slender Man has a blank white oval for a face, as is standard for him.
- Canada, Eh?: The movie is very persistent in reminding you that it takes place in Canada, especially during the first 40 minutes.
- Combat Tentacles: You don't expect them, then suddenly the Slender Man is using them to fling a truck across the yard.
- Daylight Horror: Most of the Slender Man's appearances are in broad daylight.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?:
- The cast take the fight to the Slender Man and his puppets, killing many in the process. Kwekon pulls a Heroic Sacrifice by ramming a exploding car into him.
- When the Slender Man possesses Brandon, he doesn't do much better; Reese beats him twice, and Reese and his girlfriend escape him in the end.
- "Everybody Dies" Ending: Except a boy and a girl who get away to safety, the entire crew dies. Brandon gets used by the Slender Man as his new vessel and the officer at the end confirms that there's no survivors left in Bonville.
- For the Evulz: At first, the Slender Man seems like the typical brainless and homicidal monster just like the usual horror movie routine. However at end after tricking the characters into killing one of their own and possessing Brandon's body, it's revealed that all he did until then was simply for pure fun. He even talks, showing a more human-like personality, and thanks the boys for "having brightened the week."
- Giggling Villain: Unusually enough, the Slender Man chuckles maniacally as soon as he takes over Brandon's body.
- Grand Theft Me: In the closing scene, the last survivor is taken over by the Slender Man and becomes him.
- Halfway Plot Switch: The first half of the movie is a comedy about some teenagers trying, and failing, to make a documentary about deforestation, with bits of horror thrown in. After that, the plot turns into a straight-up horror film with barely any dialogue about cameraman Brandon running through the forest trying to outmaneuver the Slender Man.
- Heroic Sacrifice: During the final fight, Kwekon hops into a sedan and plows into him at full speed. The Slender Man is next seen burning away in a giant fireball.
- It Can Think: Initially, the Slender Man gets his traditional portrayal as an unknowable foe who disappears people for no discernible reason, but at the end of the film, when The Slender Man possesses Brandon, his Evil Gloating reveals his cunning in manipulating the protagonists and turning them against each other by playing on their fear and paranoia.
- Kill It with Fire: The Slender Man gets apparently killed when one of the guys rams a car into him which it subsequently explodes. He actually survived by possessing the cameraman.
- Karma Houdini: The Slender Man, despite losing multiple fights earlier while in Brandon's body, escapes custody by killing the officer who was interrogating him.
- Numerological Motif: The movie was released on 11/11/2011, the same repeating number that was used in Tribe Twelve.
- Redemption Equals Death: After accidentally killing Dean (the Slender Man had pulled either a Mind Rape or a Teleportation trick), Kwekon drives a sedan into the Slender Man at full speed. The resulting fireball seems to finally kill the Eldritch Abomination.
- Stylistic Suck: The characters originally set out to create a documentary on deforestation. From what we see of their work, it's...not very good.
- Took a Level in Badass: At first, the cast is your standard teenagers up against the monster with nothing but a camera; then they get guns and take the fight to the Slender Man and his minions.
- Voice of the Legion: When Brandon is possessed by the Slender Man, he talks in a mixture between his normal voice and an inhuman and demonic one.
