The first film I'm gonna review for you guys is the little known Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Now, I love bad horror movies, but I always glanced right past this seemingly bad film on the shelves at the movie store for some reason. However, my brother said it looked pretty clever from a preview he had seen. After watching I can honestly say this is one of the best horror movies I've ever seen in my life.
The film basically has two parts. The first part sees a documentary film crew interviewing Leslie Vernon (played impeccably by Nathan Baesel), who claims to be the next great killer, following in the footsteps of Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Michael Myers. Vernon shows the crew the tricks of the trade, from slight of hand to picking a "Survivor Girl" to the sheer amount of cardio he has to do to make it seem like he's walking while everyone else is running. The second part of the film begins when the film crew realizes that Vernon is absolutely serious about killing people and has a crisis of conscience. Should they simply pack up and leave or should they intervene?
The writing in this film is absolutely phenomenal. It's quite evident the writers are passionate about horror films and know all about the basic horror conventions and clichés and are able to present them in a refreshing and funny new way. The acting is also very, very good. Baesel is perfect in the role of Vernon, calmly and humorously describing his macabre line of work. Scott Wilson has some good scenes as Vernon's mentor, happily reminiscing about the good old days of killing and vehemently stating the world's need for people like him and Vernon. Angela Goethals also does good work with her "I'm not sure if this guy is serious, but let's run with it" role as head documentarian.
In the end, this movie really has to be seen to be believed. I went in expecting a bad movie I could laugh at and found a brilliant movie I laughed with. In the end I wasn't sure whether I should condemn Vernon or laud his brilliance. It's certainly the first time I ever thought about the mindset of the killer in a slasher film, and thanks to this film, it probably won't be the last.
Four and a half stars out of five.
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