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

Memorable, crazy movie

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

How does a slasher killer achieve his or her fame? What are the steps and rituals that must be adhered to? Why would they want to enter into a life of killing and being killed? And once you've been selected as their Final Girl, is there any way to break the cycle? These questions and more are raised and answered by this mockumentary. Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals, Home Alone) and her two cameramen, Doug and Todd, have been allowed to document Leslie Vernon as he prepares to become a slasher killer. He already has his backstory prepared - he's based it on an urban legend of a boy who killed his family and was drowned by an angry mob.Vernon isn't even his real last name - it's Mancuso in a nod to Friday the 13th producer Frank Mancuso, Jr. He doesn't have any powers. But what he does have is a devotion to the methods, preparation and rituals needed to be a perfect killer.At first, the crew is totally behind Leslie, but as time goes on, the idea of luring teenagers to an abandoned house and killing them one by one seems morally wrong. They try to talk him out of it, but he will not be swayed. Kelly, his Final Girl, will define herself by facing him. However, she is anything but a virgin and has none of the qualities that make up this character archetype. And even more surprisingly, she quickly is killed.That's when Taylor realizes that she was the Final Girl all along and is as trapped by the plot as Leslie is. She is the last one alive and must kill him in the exact way he had planned, burning down a shed to stop him. However, throughout the film, we also learned that Leslie had been practicing playing dead and had flame-retardant gel all over his clothes. Is it a surprise when he sits up, very much alive on an autopsy table over the end credits?There are so many Easter Eggs in the film, from the car Sam Raimi uses in every one of his films to the Rabbit in Red Lounge, a Lament Configuration box, the song "Midnight, The Stars and You" from The Shining and the jump rope girls from A Nightmare on Elm Street. Genre vets Zelda Rubenstein and Kane Hodder turn up, as does Robert Englund as Doc Halloran, who is very much based on Dr. Loomis from Halloween. And Scott Wilson (The Ninth Configuration) plays Eugene, Leslie's mentor, who is really Billy from Black Christmas.It took me some time to get into this film. Leslie comes off like such a ridiculous Ryan Reynolds type at first and it seemed too goofy, but I'm glad I stuck with it, as it becomes a pretty enjoyable movie by the end.

I'll say this about the SPOILER, if you regularly watch slasher films, not a spoiler really. Like we all know James Bond beats the villains or their plot in every movie, we all know that most superheroes win in most films. So why does a potential genre redefining film follow the exact formula and shoehorn two unseen characters and an apparent "romance" in the end? Most likely we'll never know the answers to the question I posed. I however can tell you how the second half SHOULD have ended. The methodically planned out killing and slaughter? Should've all fallen apart hilariously yet gory and fun. The "Jock" should've been injury stricken with something like crutches and a leg cast, or pretending to be a jock but outed as a poser. Stoners should've lost their stash and turned out to be quite shockingly smart while lucid. Some of the victims should've either accidentally killed themselves or others. The car should've worked, but had missing parts, like the escaping survivors are pulled over for non functioning tail lights and arrested for the now found missing stoner stash. The "Ahab" should've been revealed as incompetent.The most unforgivable thing is obviously the chemistry and potential romance between the girl and the killer. The girl should've saved the killer from being killed by someone, or refused to finish the killer because she just couldn't. I feel that the Walking Dead's Scott Wilson should've revealed that his wife was a survivor that he just couldn't kill or fell in love with. "I set off my bear own trap, my mask fell off, she started to remove the trap, we looked into each other's eyes, and she metaphorically put me in a ball and chain. Been together ever since!" The age difference screamed that, right? You want a sequel and cult classic status? Sequel should've had the girl and Leslie together and had him continuing to "work" and the comical stresses and complications his career/hobby puts on the relationship.I mean if you put all that work into a mockumentary or comedic tone, pull the trigger and don't wuss out. Should've been the slasher version of "What We Do In The Shadows"! Spent most of the second half waiting for a better ending that never came... Watch "Miss December" instead of this. It's not a mockumentary, but definitely has a better payoff and ending!

This is a nice little low budget horror film, made by and for horror fans. It has horror, murder, comedy and all kinds of neat little in jokes for those who pay attention. It basically follows a movie crew who is following a self confessed serial killer around as he talks about his profession and stacks potential prey, little knowing that he has other plans in store for them. This movie is definitely different, and may not be to every horror fans taste. But stick with it. You really will enjoy it if you're looking for something outside the usual gore and jump scares.

This dissects a slasher movie and takes an irreverent look at the making of a monster. The problem is that it tries to be funny and it tries to be a slasher. It fails at both. Freak Out (2004) was funny and knew all about all horror. This knew about mainstream horror and nothing more. It does turn against most slasher movies by removing the gore and replacing it with mild humour. You know what? I liked where it was going but I didn't like it when it got there.