Derrière le masque

This film is one that I checked out as I believe it was part of Fangoria's Top 300 Horror Movies issue. I didn't hear of it before that and I've seen it a couple of times now. It is another one that I heard more about when I got into listening to horror movie review podcasts. This viewing here is due to the Podcast Under the Stairs Summer Challenge series for the 2000s. The synopsis is the next great psycho horror slasher has given a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo.

We start with Kelly (Kate Miner) who works at a diner. She is taking out the trash for the end of the shift. She props the door open with a brick. There is an uneasy feeling and she thinks she sees someone in the shadows. The door closes behind her. She flees around the building.

The film then shifts a documentary film crew that we will be following. The woman doing the interview is Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals). The two guys behind the camera in her crew are Doug (Ben Pace) and Todd (Britain Spellings). It should be pointed out that this film is telling us that Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kruger and Michael Myers are all real. They all have killed a lot of people and there is a new man that is going to join them, Leslie Vernon. The crew is doing a documentary on him as he stalks and kills his victim in order to join their ranks. We then meet him and he's played by Nathan Baesel.

There is a legend in this town of Glen Echo. Leslie Vernon was killed by the citizens by throwing him over a waterfall to his death. Much like the other legends, he is back to get his revenge and claim his birthright.

They sit down to do an interview with him to get more information and he is fine with it. They ask him questions to get into the mind of a killer like this. To that he tells them he has to show them. They get into his vehicle and go to town. He explains how he chooses his victim. He looks for a virgin with a group of friends. There needs to be a good mix of tough and easy kills to help his numbers. He tells them though that he has already picked out his victim, or they'd be well behind schedule since it takes so much planning.

This takes them to the opening scene we saw with Kelly. It is interesting here is that we get to see how it is done, which feels a bit like peaking behind the camera of filmmaker as well. From here, Leslie introduces us to his mentor from the business, Eugene (Scott Wilson) who is now is now retired. Along with his wife of Jamie (Bridgett Newton), the documentary is given a look into killers like him from the 1960's and 70's before the big three took over.

We are then given more into the planning stages that Leslie has to go through to prepare Kelly. He has to do a lot of cardio and prepping the house for the night of the killings. Taylor seems intrigued to continue to learn more, but the deeper they get into it, they have second thoughts. It is interesting, but she is also an accomplice to the potential murders. A decision has to be made, but Leslie might be on top of it more than they realize.

I have to say that the first time I watched this I loved some of the aspects to this movie. One of the firs things is stating that the many of the horror film legends were real and that they all know each other. On top of that, I love that they all do follow a similar plan, which if you look at the films, would make sense. This movie does a really good job for me in setting the world that we are living in before peaking behind this curtain as I've said.

This is really two different movies that are combined into one. The first part of this is a mockumentary done in the vein of found footage. Taylor sets that stage with their opening monologue as I've said. In this part, it is mostly Leslie and her with Doug and Todd interjecting at different points. I also like that more information is provided by Doc Halloran (Robert Englund) who is a Dr. Loomis of sorts, Eugene, Jamie and even Mrs. Collinwood (Zelda Rubinstein), a librarian that helps Kelly. This part feels like we are watching a slasher be made from behind the scenes.

The second half of the movie is a normal movie that is a slasher. It is smart though and I think that is what makes it work. Leslie has shown us what his initial plan was, but much like Scream, this takes a meta approach where despite the characters knowing, things have been changed to incorporate the new elements. I give credit to the depth of planning and knowing from Leslie there.

That meta approach brings me to something else I wanted to delve into really quick. I've said I love that they state Jason, Freddy and Michael are all real and are legends. Chucky gets brought up as another killer briefly as well. There is some realism that is lost with the latter, but I do feel this movie is a bit odd with just accepting these killers. Like they know they're real. I don't know if Taylor truly believes Leslie is going to do what he says or not, but Doug and Todd do and seem to be on board. I feel this could be a commentary on us as an audience that we know we're going to see these horrific things and we are complacent as it is entertainment. Regardless, the co-writer of David J. Stieve and the other co-writer/director of Scott Glosserman really know their slashers so this works there.

I'm not sure this movie would be as good though if it wasn't for the acting. I'm not saying anyone here is going to win awards. Baesel is really good for me as Leslie. It is interesting as I believe this was his first acting role in a feature. I love how charismatic he is when things are going good and then turns on being a monster when it becomes time for that. He is a likeable guy so I can see why this crew wants to be around him as he looks into everything that he is. Goethals is solid as Taylor and I love what the movie does with her character. I love the cameos by Englund, Wilson, Rubinstein and even briefly Kane Hodder. Newton and Miner were quite attractive and I love how their characters fit into this story. Pace and Spellings are also solid as well in helping round this out for me.

That will take me to the last thing I wanted to go over which would be the effects and cinematography. Where I want to start would be the latter. As I've said, the first part of this is mockumentary. It does feel like we are getting a legit doc on Leslie Vernon. It all feels real including interviews and it also feels like we are seeing how a slasher film is made on top of it. When it actually becomes a slasher, I do feel that the effects are good. I'm assuming some of this would be budget, but we don't actually get to see a lot of the kills or much in the blood/gore category. I am forgiving here though due to how things lead up and eventually play out. The cinematography I would say is well done.

So in conclusion here, this movie keeps getting better and better for me with each viewing. I really like the concept here of doing a mockumentary on a new killer that is trying to join the likes of the legends. Baesel's take on Leslie Vernon is what really makes this work for me and I love the meta approach this movie is taking to the slasher genre. The rest of the cast helps get us to bring this life. The effects are a bit light, but the found footage stuff works for me. The soundtrack also fit for what was needed as well. I've come up on this last viewing with my rating, which I think this is a good movie. If you haven't seen this and you're a slasher fan, I would definitely recommend giving it a viewing. This is also interesting if you enjoy seeing how filmmaking is done as that is part of it as well.

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.

I must say this film was great. I'm not typically one to watch movies that are both Comedy and Horror. But this was definitely a standout film in the Comedy Horror genre. I would recommend Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon to horror film buffs especially. Being a horror movie buff myself, I found that this flick really put the classic slasher films to good use. They formed a sort of method to the slasher's madness and I have to say I loved that. I also appreciated the slight twist at the ending. I would love to see another film like this to be created. It is definitely worth the watch. Although if you are prone to motion sickness, it may be triggered by the moments where a hand-held camera is used. Other than that, I highly recommend the movie!

Behind the mask:the rise of Leslie Vernon had the potential to be great.The idea was right up there with the best of horror movie concepts (Elm Street,Friday The 13th,Scream,Etc.).A reporter and her camera crew follow a slasher around as he prepares and sets into motion his master plan so to speak.They are with him as he picks out his victims and prepares his traps.Along the way he explains the do's and don't's and the why's and what-for's of being a psycho killer.

Sounds great right? But alas the execution of these ideas falls short.While the actors and actresses do a fine job portraying their characters, the story becomes rather predictable and a bit silly. especially near the end.All in all this is an unique film with some good ideas that just were not thought through enough.So much more could've been done with this.Maybe a remake with a bigger budget and some better writers could turn this into one of the all-time greats.

I saw this at the Fantasia Film Festival. I have to admit the first act has some really funny moment, and the actor who portrays Leslie Vernon is great. That being said, the second part turns into a full-blown slasher. The break is WAY too rough to really make it believable, plus the slasher part does not deliver the suspense nor the action, nor the gore we would expect from that kind of movie, which makes it quite monotonous and basically, dull. The director did an okay job, alternating between hand-held video cameras for the documentary parts and stable HD cams for the slasher parts. The guys does have a respect for the genre, but that won't necessarily make the movie good. The cast is pretty solid, especially the guy who plays Leslie Vernon like I said earlier.

So the ''mockumentary'' part is pretty funny, but the ending is terrible. Watchable, but not amazing.