Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

	U.S. 2006 Director: Scott Glosserman Cast: Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals, Robert Englund, Krissy Carlson Rating: R Release Date: 2006 Running Time: 1 hour 33 minutes The Movie Review		BEHIND the MASK: The Rise of Leslie Vernon Storyline: Cast: Ending: Overall:
	If a movie offers you several stuff which includes names like Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Maryland, 2 men 1 woman, Interview with the local townsfolk, a final girl and a creepy mask, what would you expect to get? Skeptical slasher fans would answer "It's a same-o lame-o wannabe slasher flick", and some more tolerant ones would answer "Umm another Freddy vs. Jason maybe". If you answer any one of them, then my reply to you is... "You will get this guy!" Who the heck is he? Ladies and gents, this jester-lookin' fella is Leslie Vernon, a struggling serial killer, a jolly guy who is trying so hard to put his name on the high rank of infamous serial killer such as Freddy Krugger from Elm Street, Jason Voorhees from Camp Crystal Lake or Michael Myers from Haddonfield, Illinois. And so to answer seriously to the question above, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is a mockumentary of Slasher genre, and I must add.... A very good one at that... The movie initially tells about a group of 3 amateur filmmakers doing a documentary feature about a real serial killer. Led by a young woman named Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals), they come by to a house owned by Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel), a serial killer who is actually very friendly and even a humorist. Taylor's main purpose is to know the truth behind a serial killer SOP (Standard Operational Procedure), which are on how Leslie makes preparation on his upcoming killing spree, his method of killing, the reasoning behind his actions, and of course to know the real history of the legend surrounding him. Leslie, who is very helpful, takes along the crew to his library, introduces them to his mentor, Eugene (Scott Wilson), and even to get a close look on his main victim, the virgin girl named Kelly (Kate Lang Johnson), who Leslie expects her to be the "survivor girl". However, their mission is threatened by the presence of the good guy named Doc Halloran (Robert Englund) who's there to save the day. But do Leslie really gonna show the crew how to kill somebody? And does the crew really have the stomach and the heart to witness it? If you think that this movie is nothing but a joke, you are very wrong. It's a real slasher movie, but a very smart one. It plays between real and fantasy very well with the slick combination of handheld camera and regular camera. And to assure you, this movie has one nudity scene a la slasher genre and one gory scene, yeah I know it's very minimum compared to say Friday the 13th franchise, but still, this is a slasher. With all the chasing scenes, stupid sex-crazed teens, a mask and a weapon, it's an enjoyable twist to the already-twisted slasher formula. There are two main parts of Behind the Mask, the first is the handheld camerawork just like that we found in The Blair Witch Project (which also comprises of 2 men and 1 woman set in Maryland). And then the second part is when the directing style changes into the regular one with professional camera. And this change is unfortunately a bit abrupt, or probably it's just me that is very nitpicky. Anyhow, while we're on comparison subject, Robert Englund was the actor who portrayed Freddy Krueger character from A Nightmare on Elm Street series and Kane Hodder was the actor who's famous for playing Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th series. Kane Hodder only appears very briefly as the resident of Elm Street but we do still have the appearance of Zelda Rubinstein known for her role as the supernatural woman, Tangina Barrons in Poltergeist. And Leslie's weapon, a scythe, may have been borrowed from a movie where Robert Englund also starred in called Eaten Alive (1977), which was directed by the same person who directed Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Poltergeist (1982), Tobe Hooper. Several moviegoers might probably don't know what is particularly so good about this slasher film. There is one rule in how to fully enjoy a mockumentary, you have to be familiar first with the things that being mocked, otherwise it would feel like a bad attempt at making horror movie. And even then, the story still may not cater to all taste. So I guess, it's pretty clear, the target audience arguably is slasher fans, and so for slasher fans, this one is at the very least worth a rent. For general moviegoers, I suggest you to avoid this movie since it's more like an inside joke, and I guess you would enjoy more another titles which parody slasher such as Hack! and Dark Reel. © iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com

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