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

Director:

Scott Glosserman

Writers:

Scott Glosserman (writer)
David J. Stieve (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Jason, Freddy, Myers. We All Need Someone To Look Up To.

Plot:

The next great psycho horror slasher has given a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he...

Plot Keywords:

Surveillance Camera | Mask | Old House | Dark Humor | Satire

Awards:

5 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Nathan Baesel	...	Leslie Vernon
Angela Goethals	...	Taylor Gentry
Robert Englund	...	Doc Halloran
Scott Wilson	...	Eugene
Zelda Rubinstein	...	Mrs. Collinwood
Bridgett Newton	...	Jamie
Kate Lang Johnson	...	Kelly Curtis
Ben Pace	...	Doug Johnson
Britain Spellings	...	Todd Best
Hart Turner	...	Shane
Krissy Carlson	...	Lauren
Travis Zariwny	...	Dr. Meuller
Teo Gomez	...	Stoned Guy
Matt Bolt	...	Slightly More Stoned Guy
Jenafer Brown	...	Carrie - Virgin Girl

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence, language, some sexual content and brief drug use.

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Finland:K-18 | Australia:MA | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Banks, Oregon, USA

Company:

Glen Echo Entertainment

Trivia:

At the beginning Taylor is standing in front of the Red Rabbit Pub. This is reference to the Red Rabbit matchbook found by Dr. Loomis in Halloween (1978).

Quotes:

Doc Halloran: Expect to see more of me.

Movie Connections:

References Halloween (1978)

Soundtrack:

Moonlight With The Stars And You

Killing is his business, and business is good.

A clever, post-modern, tongue-in-cheek horror from first-time director Scott Glosserman, Behind the Mask sees a grad school documentary maker Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals) and her crew charting the progress of aspiring psycho killer Leslie Mancuso (Nathan Baesel) as he puts the wheels in motion for his next 'job': the wholesale slaughter of a group of teens in sleepy Echo Falls.

Adopting the persona of local 'myth' Leslie Vernon (who, as a child, supposedly murdered his parents and was thrown over the local waterfall by an angry mob), Mancuso builds his 'legend', selects his victims (including the token virginal 'Survivor Girl') and carefully prepares the final location for his killing spree; when not 'working', he chats freely with the documentary crew about his aspirations, idols, and philosophies (we even get to meet his mentor Eugene, now retired from the business and enjoying life with his hottie wife).

With a wry and very dark sense of humour, Glosserman plays with the recognised conventions and clichés of the slasher (whilst also analysing the whole genre), delivering a movie designed specifically to appeal to fans who know their Myers from their Voorhees and their Springfield from their Haddonfield. Relative unknowns Baesel and Gentry do a great job in their roles, and are given solid support from genre legend Robert Englund as Leslie's 'ahab' (ie., his good-guy nemesis), psychiatrist Doc Halloran. Also popping up for the fun are Poltergeist's helium voiced midget Zelda Rubinstein and Kane 'Jason' Hodder in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo.

Towards the end, the film does admittedly lose some of its magic as it slips awkwardly from ironic comedy into genuine slasher mode (as Taylor's conscience kicks in and she tries to intervene with the killer's plans), and a not-so-unexpected twist does little to help, but with so much great stuff happening earlier on, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is still well worth watching.

Oh, and look out for a fun end-credits sequence which hints at the inevitable sequel.