Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) Reviews

• It's okay to laugh

  anicita2007-11-29

  I saw this on the recommendation of a friend. I had never heard of it, but I was assured it was a good movie. Understanding the premise helps a lot, because this is a great movie and excellent concept. The beginning of the movie sets up the second half. In the first part, we see Leslie as human. He sometimes says creepy things, like when they begin to discuss his library of text books, mostly medical and anatomy. He makes a joke of this, saying these are necessary for the trade. He always refers to his need to kill as a profession and even has a mentor. Through them we see the world as if it were a game. The mockumentary parts are not only hilarious, we get to see the monsters side of things. The door that won't stay open? Probably rigged. Those ever-so-creepy newspaper articles the main character always seems to find at just the right moment? Those require more effort then the viewers might consider. The second half of the movie is when we get to see Leslie in action. Because we have seen him as human in the first half, seeing him as a monster in the second isn't as scary as one might expect. It is not supposed to be. Leslie Vernon has become a person we know, who made us laugh, who keeps pet turtles. He is not some random resurrected guy with an axe to grind. He is a guy at work, albeit disgusting and immoral work, he is still a guy at work. Set up this way, it is a bit like watching two movies. The two parts play off each other very well. This movie is darkly funny. No one wants to laugh as scary things happen, but when things work out just as Leslie predicts they will, even the "documentary" crew gets very enthusiastic. Robert Englund (Freddy Kreuger) read this script and was impressed. being a big name in horror, he admittedly gets swamped with scripts. This movie interested him enough that he accepted the role. If you can't decide if you should watch it, remember that. And then rent it, with friends. Everyone needs someone to look up to. Leslie realized he will never reach the fame of Mike (Meyers), Chuckie or Freddy, but he is trying.

• Original and clever alternative to "Scream"

  Superunknovvn2007-08-17

  Wes Craven's "Scream" was a strikingly dead-on persiflage of the Slasher genre while at the same time including enough scares to become more than just a parody, but an important part of that genre itself. "Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon" is very similar in that aspect, but it's also completely different in others. For the most part the movie is a fake documentary in true "Spinal Tap"-fashion. A TV crew follows Leslie Vernon around, a guy who has the ambition to become the next slasher legend after his idols Michael Myers, Jason Vorhees and Freddy Krueger (who exist in the movie's reality). As Leslie shows the team how he prepares for a killing spree he deconstructs one horror rule after the other with pretty amusing results. The movie observes the genre pretty well and the sort of "Backstage" look we get of a horror icon lovingly planning his big night is nothing short of hilarious. Where "Scream" made fun of some ridiculous horror clichés and toyed around with them, "Behind The Mask" is merely explaining just how those seemingly supernatural killers are able to work so effectively. So, although both movies cover similar ground, "Behind The Mask" is never in any way repetitive. Leslie Vernon turns out to be a really sweet guy who just loves what he's doing. He's friends with an older, more experienced slasher, who's also very warm and talkative. Neither of those guys look like typical maniacs, so when Leslie does make his first appearance masked and all, it's rather amusing. However, the movie makes a pretty amazing turn in the final third. For the big showdown we leave the movie-within-a-movie scenario created by the documentary set-up and are taken right into the movie's reality. All of a sudden "Behind The Mask" turns into a real slasher film. Although this last part isn't half-bad, it's not quite as enjoyable as what preceded it. The twist is a bit predictable and the movie lacks real gore and suspense at the end in order to work as a slasher flick. One has to say that "Scream" coming from an old professional such as Wes Craven was more successful in that aspect. Still, regarding the fact that this movie strictly concentrates on fun in the first two thirds and only begins to throw in full on horror bits in the end, the showdown works quite well. Leslie's mask was chosen wisely. It can look ridiculous and scary depending on the mood of the scene. Nathan Baesel, who makes his movie debut here, was chosen even more wisely. He can play the nice guy and the psychopath without ever overacting and hands in a great, great performance. The other member of the cast that must be mentioned is horror legend Robert Englund who does a nice Donald Pleasance-impersonation. The subtle little homages to "Friday The 13th", "Halloween" and "A Nightmare On Elm Street" throughout the movie are the icing on the cake and will make the heart of every true horror fan beat faster. And that's the only true flaw of "Behind The Mask" right there: it's for true horror geeks only who can laugh about the inside jokes. Everyone else will probably not be entertained as much. If you're into the genre, though, there's no way you should miss this excellent motion picture.

• Wow, some people are stupid

  wsu_techie2007-10-23

  I love how people complain about the slasher part of this movie and their complaints are exactly what this movie was making fun of. These comments such as why didn't they run, why didn't they kill him, why don't they group together are all addressed in the documentary part of the film. This movie was genius because it shows you how the slashing will happen beforehand and the victims are victims because they are too stupid act properly against the killer's foreshadowing. That's the movie, that's what makes it funny. Although it's a slasher flick, it's not a serious slasher flick, at all. Watch it again and you'll see why it's an awesome movie. It makes fun of the genre in a way that has never been done before. It doesn't steal from the Scream series. The Scream series made fun of the horror film in general, this movie pretended the killers in those films were real and makes fun of how stupid victims can be and how predictable the sequences are in a slasher situation.

• GREAT Movie!

  kagyakusha2007-04-25

  I highly highly recommend this movie. It's a black comedy/mockumentary/horror movie that's bloody hilarious. I LOVED it. I can't recommend it enough!!! If you're a horror film junkie, or even if you're not (for example, my boyfriend doesn't particularly like horror films but is fond of intelligent comedy and was right beside me laughing for this one) you should DEFINITELY see this movie! It's so respectful of the genre at the same time that it plays with it... Nathan Baesel, who says he was inspired by Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter really pulls off charming and cheery -- not copying Lecter, but applying the influence to create a new and lovable serial killer (this is what makes him both funny AND creepy - it's impossible not to like him!).

• An Entertaining Mockumentary that works as thriller too.

  hausrathman2011-11-02

  Leslie Vernon, a highly-enthusiastic wannabe "supernatural" serial killer, along the lines of Halloween's Michael Meyers or Friday the 13th's Jason, invites a film crew along to document his initial spree this original horror comedy that allows you to see a killing spree from the point of view of the killer. The film crew soon finds itself rooting for the likable Leslie, well-played by Nathan Baesel, who has planned his spree to the last detail. The crew slowly moves from documenting the events to aiding and abetting them, but it has second thoughts as the reality of the events overwhelm them. They discover too late that Leslie isn't exactly who he claims to be, and he has worked out everything, including their last minute hesitations, into his meticulous plan. The documentary approach gives the filmmakers enough distance from the events to successfully spoof the conventions of slasher genre. However, the filmmakers managed to restore genuine tension by limiting that distance by making the witnesses, the filmmakers, into participants. That's why this film succeeded where other spoofs and "found footage" failed. It delivers both narrative perspective and intimacy. Well done.