Behind The Mask: Rise of Leslie Vernon

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Scott Glosserman
2006

In a world where Slasher Icons Myers, Kruger and Voorhees exist and have already wrought terror on their respective neighborhoods. One group of film students receive an opportunity to go in depth into how these killers do what they do, leading them into the world of fear and killers.

Praised by Freddie Kruger himself, Robert Englund. Behind the mask is a new, interesting take on the slasher genre. Combining the classic Friday the 13th, Halloween, slasher movie with a Mokumentary, black comedy style. This style choice is what makes the movie itself unique with Freddy Kruger himself, Robert Englund praising the script resulting in him playing a semi major part in the story.

Essentially set as two versions of the same Movie. Behind the mask starts of as a Found footage, documentary style film. With a group of college students being invited along with a serial killer as he plans out his first mass killing, in the hopes of becoming a supernatural killer like Voorhess or Myers. This is probably the most interesting part of the movie, as now we as an audience get to see how exactly the killers manage to move around so quickly and what it takes for someone to become a horror icon. Its refreshing and interesting when compared to many other modern day slasher movies which often go straight back to the classic Tropes that we all know and love.

Not to say that the tropes aren't in here, they are. Its just that Leslie references them like there part of some Slasher bible that every wannabe killer must abide by. To the point where his is visually excited when his "Ahab" comes out of nowhere and tries to shoot him. You could say that the film itself is somewhat postmodern in this section.

We then come to the day of the Killing spree, and after witnessing the death of one college kid our film crew decides they are going to try and stop Leslie. It's at this point that the movie then becomes your classic Slasher. With Leslie stalking everyone differently to what he showed them, as it is revealed that he had planned everything out from the start.

Behind the mask quickly became one of my favorite horror movies of all time thanks to its interesting new take on the Momentary. Horror style. Giving me a fresh look at slasher movies that I've not had since watching scream when I was much younger.