In an unexpected match of filmmaker and material, Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard, above left) will direct the thriller Slender Man. As reported by Deadline, the screenplay has been written by David Birke and will revolve around "a tall, thin horrifying figure with unnaturally long arms and a featureless face, who is reputed to be responsible for the haunting and disappearance of countless children and teens."

For the past few years, White has been busy helming episodic television shows, but that includes serial killer drama The Following and horror fantasy Sleepy Hollow. Early in his career, he helmed the horror sequel I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, so he's not completely unfamiliar with the requirements of a horror thriller, even if his best-known movie is the cheerful Stomp the Yard. The key member of the creative team, however, may be writer David Birke, whose credits include Paul Verhoeven's provocative thriller Elle, as well as true-crime horror movies Freeway Killer and Gacy.

Slender Man will be based not on any true story but on a legend that can be traced back to a 2009 creepypasta Internet meme that evolved into a viral sensation, inspiring online fan fiction and video games. An upcoming HBO documentary, Beware the Slenderman, debuts on January 23 and examines a gut-wrenching crime committed by two 12-year-old girls who believed the legend to be true.

A Movies.com review of the doc noted, "Slenderman isn’t some creature who’s been passed down for generations; it’s something a guy with Photoshop made. The pics were creepy enough to inspire fan fiction and DIY YouTube films, but this is still something borne of one person’s imagination." 

Check out the doc's trailer (the video below will play). Meanwhile, Slender Man should start production this spring.