Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (Screamfest ‘06)

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on December 1, 2006

Release Date: TBD

Hey hey. This was the last movie I saw at Screamfest 06 and again had heard a lot of positive buzz about it. It was even featured in one of the premiere genre magazines, Rue Morgue. So I was excited. It had a cast of mostly unknowns, save for Robert Englund who played against type as a heroic figure.

This movie has an interesting premise in that we’re watching “tapes” from a documentary crew who are making a film on the newest up and comer serial killer, Leslie Vernon. Now, here is one part I loved. In this world, supernatural serial killers are the real deal. Jason Vorhees - Real. Freddy Krueger - Real. They reported on in the news and what’s more, have followings and what not. It’s a cool idea. Did they work it well? More on that soon.

So we get about 50 minutes or so of this documentary footage. We follow Leslie Vernon, played well by Nathan Baesel, a mid-twenties type who is preparing to become a new serial killer. He has a mentor, an old pro who teaches him tricks. He does lots of cardio because, as he puts it [paraphrased] “It’s hard work, always looking like I’m walking while these kids are running their asses off.”

So Leslie breaks down the scenario for our crew. He talks about planting evidence, assuming a new identity and back story, finding the proper location and securing it for the nights activities, planning, planning, planning, and the most important part - finding a virgin girl to be the hero. The killer is only as good as the hero. He needs to find the perfect girl who he can push to become something more.

Now, dealing with a serial killer can be tricky business and the crew get a nasty case of ethics and decide to intervene. And this actually saves the movie. This is the answer to did it work well. The movie now shifts for the last 30 minutes or so to an actual horror movie. Gone is the documentary look and grainy video. Now we have a more stylized piece and we get to watch as despite the crews knowledge and best efforts, the plan goes into effect almost perfectly. Almost.

Of course I won’t ruin any twists or endings, but be armed with your horror knowledge and you’ll know a lot of it. Still, it’s entertaining and well executed. The writer and director were on-hand and mentioned that the original script was all documentary. Now while it still would have been interesting, I think the pacing would have suffered and the movie would be boring. As it is now, this is a good healthy mix.

This is a good choice for anyone into mockumentary type deals and people who love horror movies. It’s fun to see the super serial killer broken down like this. Actually, people who hate slashers might get a laugh from it too, because it acknowledges all the ridiculous aspects of the genre and tries to show how it might be possible. This is a good flick and I’ll probably snag the DVD. I enjoyed it and you may too. No release date is set as of this writing, but they’re working on locking down a distributor last I heard.

Final Grade: B+

On the Upside: This is a clever film with a pretty high concept.

On the Downside: Mockumentaries are never all that interesting and the pacing is a bit slow during some of these parts. Not enough to bring the movie down, though.

On the Side: Robert Englund plays a “Dr. Loomis” (of Halloween) role, against character, and Kane Hodder who played Jason Vorhees (Friday the 13th) has a guest appearance as a resident of Elm Street - the street from the Nightmare on Elm Street series.

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