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Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

post #1 of 52
5/21/08 at 6:29pm
Thread Starter 
Two years ago, Devin wrote a glowing review of BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON. [It’s right here.] I banked the positive review, but I didn’t rent the movie because I’m just not a fan of the slasher genre. Last week, I saw the disk on the shelf at the local library. The price was right, and I remembered that excellent review. “Perhaps,” I thought, “this will be the one slasher movie I actually like.”

I loved it.

BEHIND THE MASK follows a team of young documentary filmmakers as they take on the subject of one Leslie Vernon, a bright and charismatic young man who aspires to join the greats of the “creative slaughter” world. In the film’s universe, Freddy and Jason and Michael are real people who, through preparation, determination, and talent, have emerged as superstars. Leslie’s just getting started, but he has all the tools: a spooky backstory, a strong work ethic, an eye for detail, and a wickedly sharp set of gardening tools.

The movie works because it so thoroughly understands and embraces the conventions of the slasher genre that the documentary footage detailing Leslie’s preparation for the big night (putting dead batteries the Target House’s flashlights, choosing the proper Survivor Girl) feels real. Further, the boyish enthusiasm of the industrious Leslie contrasts to great (deadpan) comic effect with the growing moral uncertainty of the documentarians, leaving us cheering at Leslie’s small victories while questioning our own championing of murder. When the film switches from documentary to third-person slasher in the third act, the transition feels organic and fun. We see how Leslie’s preparation has paid off, in everything from the creepiness of his mask and makeup to the strategic placement of bodies. Even so, we still feel the quickening of fear, and we shudder along with the victims.

BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON is so innovative, so enthusiastic, so fun that it makes me want to revisit the slasher genre. How bad can TERROR TRAIN really be?

Thanks for the tip, Devin!
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post #2 of 52
5/21/08 at 7:11pm
There was another discussion of this movie around here someplace, but the revamp probably took it out of the search engine.

And I loved it, too. It's one of those rare films that's a pitch-perfect sendup of its genre while simultaneously showing great love and affection for it. I remember several people in the original thread missing the point by complaining that it turns into a standard slasher film in the end. If you missed the comedy in that, I'm sorry, but it was great. I've rarely seen a film that so slyly and successfully sets up everything you need to know for the last act.

I hope they don't make a sequel.
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post #3 of 52
5/21/08 at 7:20pm
Agreed, this makes a nice companion to Murder Party which I admit is pretty talky but a helluva of a money shot.
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post #4 of 52
5/21/08 at 7:26pm
great great movie. nothing but love

though the first 20 or so min are kind of meandering, once it gets goin, it gets going!!
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post #5 of 52
5/21/08 at 7:37pm
It's a good movie, though the only weakness I think was the lack of gore. There was a perfect missed opportunity for a decapitation, that aside it's still a fun movie.
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post #6 of 52
5/21/08 at 11:29pm
As I remarked in a thread I started in the Video Forum, BEHIND THE MASK is an old joke, but an old joke told well. It makes very, very lame HATCHET look even shittier than it already is.
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post #7 of 52
5/21/08 at 11:45pm
I love this movie. According to IMDB, the director is doing a documentary on Wikipedia. Hopefully he'll return to fiction cinema after that.
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post #8 of 52
5/21/08 at 11:50pm
Loved this film. It's more clever than all three Scream movies combined.
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post #9 of 52
5/21/08 at 11:53pm
A fantastic horror movie that both pays tribute to and mocks the conventions of the slasher subgenre. Loved the use of Talking Heads over the end credits.

I'm just hoping Nathan Baesel gets more work as an actor. His performance as Leslie is really impressive.
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post #10 of 52
5/22/08 at 12:06am
Agreed with Nathan Baesel, disagree about the film. I really feel that it loses its way during the last third, when it turns into the exact same lame slasher film that it's being poking fun at for the rest of the running time. And like Bub says, the lack of gore or anything interesting during that part is strange.

Still a good film, but not the modern classic some of you make it out to be.

Edit- Here's my dvd review for more on what I thought.
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post #11 of 52
5/22/08 at 8:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Riviello View Post
Agreed with Nathan Baesel, disagree about the film. I really feel that it loses its way during the last third, when it turns into the exact same lame slasher film that it's being poking fun at for the rest of the running time. And like Bub says, the lack of gore or anything interesting during that part is strange.
My thoughts as well, as it It really seemed to lose something when the film crew stepped out from behind the camera. I think if they would have stayed with Vernon and cataloged a series of murders it could have transformed into a more disturbing horror/comedy ala Man Bites Dog that would have made up for the lack of gore with larger issues.
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post #12 of 52
5/22/08 at 5:14pm
Thread Starter 
Interesting. I don't find the lack of gore to be a detractor.

One of the reasons why I generally don't go in for slasher films is that gore does not entertain me. The fun of a horror movie is in the buildup, and a quick-cut or well-placed sound effect is all that's required in the way of release.
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post #13 of 52
5/22/08 at 5:51pm
A good movie that misses greatness by lack of solid kills. The obvious affection for the genre is what moves it along (and I have a thing for Angela Goethals), but just a few nice murders and this film would've been one of my favorites. A must-see for true horror fans, even if only once.
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post #14 of 52
5/22/08 at 6:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankCobretti View Post
Interesting. I don't find the lack of gore to be a detractor.
You've got a bunch of Creature Corner guys responding in this thread who are more representative of high security mental institution inmates than the general population who would more than likely agree with you.
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post #15 of 52
5/22/08 at 7:28pm
I liked this a lot also. I think it's a great little film, that hits the target it's going for, and turns to a little twist at the end. For what it was, a low budget, inventive take on a horror film, it served it's purpose. I would never have expected it to be a "classic".
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post #16 of 52
5/23/08 at 12:23am
It's a one joke movie, and the joke seems pretty apparent about fifteen minutes in. I just don't get the love this one receives.
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post #17 of 52
5/23/08 at 2:18am
I thought the third act switch worked really well, actually. The film did the sneakiest thing with the documentary portion -- it made me actually like these people, including Leslie, so that when the shit went down and the film got serious I was incredibly involved.

This is a real gem.
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post #18 of 52
5/23/08 at 2:22am
Me and my crew enjoyed the shit out of this flick. We drove up to Atlanta especially to see it , and were not disappointed. It's certainly not a horror staple or classic but it definitely deserves some attention.

I think the idea of it lends well to a sequel and I read several places that one was considered. I wonder if that's been dropped or just slow in moving.
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post #19 of 52
5/23/08 at 3:02am
This movie is pretty terrible. Vern had a strong critique on his impossible to navigate site here (good luck finding it, that site design is terrible). The big problem seems to be that the movie doesn't really understand horror movies, it just seems really convinced that it does. There are certain points referred to within the film as horror conventions that are only true for some horror movies, but not necessarily for all or most of the important ones.
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post #20 of 52
5/23/08 at 4:06am
Just read Vern's review, he's wrong on that point. The virginal Final Girl is a staple of every fucking FRIDAY THE 13th movie. Whether or not they are actual virgins outside the confines of the motion picture, they are way virginal within (except the one who got raped by Jason). His complaint about the Ahab is lame, too. Just because it's not in enough movies it's not a funny bit (and there's an Ahab in FRIDAY IV as well, by the way. And Tommy Jarvis is a super Ahab in VI)?
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post #21 of 52
5/23/08 at 3:49pm
I owe this movie my fiance. I loaned it to her when she was still with her BF. She loved the film, and called me up to discuss it a few weeks later. She broke up with him soon after and is now my future ex-mrs.

I owe watching this movie to chud...

And I guess to Devin.

Fuck.

I have to kill her tonight when she gets home, then murder myself, hard, and post it on youtube.
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post #22 of 52
5/23/08 at 8:06pm
As a point of comparison, I watched The Tripper the other night. It's about a slasher in a Ronald Reagan mask killing hippies. If that sounds amusing to you, let me add that it's the directorial debut of David Arquette. And it's every bit as good as that would imply. This film is exactly how you don't do a slasher send-up.
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post #23 of 52
5/24/08 at 10:06am
I hope you're all happy. I slaughtered her last night and am typing this with one hand whilest my other hand slits my throat..
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post #24 of 52
5/28/08 at 6:18pm
There better be some splatter.
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post #25 of 52
5/29/08 at 6:10pm
This is a solid, little flick. I enjoy it quite a bit, and it gets bonus points for having Robert Englund in it. Anytime I see Englund in a good movie, I start to think the world is in a good place. I love the third act a ton. In fact, it's what makes the movie for me. I kept wondering how they would finish this movie, and they totally threw me for a loop. Awesome.

A sequel would be a bad idea. Actually, most sequels are bad ideas. That's what makes me think we'll eventually get one.
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post #26 of 52
6/1/08 at 12:47am
Seeing this thread made me go rent the movie.

I really liked it. I mean I really really liked it.

Would I want a sequel? Maybe just because I liked the characters, but they totally gotta do something original. Like the last 1/3 of the movie was faked. That Leslie put that footage out for a new group of documentary kids to find. Kind of go for a movie within a movie.

It was original, funny, witty and right up there with Shawn of the Dead.
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post #27 of 52
6/4/08 at 5:06pm
I missed the first 10 minutes and couldn't figure out if this took place in world where Freddy, Jason, et al. really existed or if Leslie and the old guy were just crazy. I think it works either way.

Aside from the obvious switch-up late in the game (which felt so telegraphed that I don't think it was intended to be a twist), I really liked this movie. The lack of gore was surprising but the sound design made up for it. I imagined things that would probably be a lot more gross than what would be put on the screen. ...I don't know what that says about me.
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post #28 of 52
6/4/08 at 5:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gravedigger View Post
I missed the first 10 minutes and couldn't figure out if this took place in world where Freddy, Jason, et al. really existed or if Leslie and the old guy were just crazy. I think it works either way.
No, they exist, but the conceit is that their isn't anything supernatural going on. They're just clever like Vernon.
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post #29 of 52
6/4/08 at 6:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by devincf View Post
His complaint about the Ahab is lame, too. Just because it's not in enough movies it's not a funny bit (and there's an Ahab in FRIDAY IV as well, by the way. And Tommy Jarvis is a super Ahab in VI)?
Hell, in BEHIND THE MASK getting an Ahab was played up like an unexpected and delightful bonus, not some staple of the genre that had to be adhered to like most of his preparations.

Loved the shit out of this flick. I remember reading (here?) the possible sequel being about Leslie trying to avoid a sophomore slump with all eyes on him after such an impossibly successful rookie debut. I don't know if there's enough there for a feature, but then I would have said the same about this one's premise.
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post #30 of 52
6/5/08 at 10:28am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trav McGee View Post
Hell, in BEHIND THE MASK getting an Ahab was played up like an unexpected and delightful bonus, not some staple of the genre that had to be adhered to like most of his preparations.
I think the mentor sequences were my favorite bits of the movie. "I was the fastest runner. And I ran straight to you, nookins." Brilliant.
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post #31 of 52
6/5/08 at 4:34pm
I enjoyed the heck out of this when I caught it, and I'm not a particular fan of this genre.

The lead actor was pretty phenomenal - is he getting any work? He should be.

My biggest issue with the film was story-related. I'm pretty good at suspending my disbelief for a film, but there were numerous moments where I found myself wondering just what kind of crazily amoral person you'd have to be to tag along with Vernon and record his preparations. It'd also make you an accomplice to the crime/crimes, no?

I enjoyed the movie so much, and found it so much funnier than I expected, that it didn't ruin the film for me or anything. Still, while I was watching it, I kept asking myself (other than plot-dictated necessity, and other than in Hollywood films where all journalists tend to be William Atherton-style jackasses) - wouldn't the entire film crew have taken their ball and gone home right around the time they help Vernon scare that waitress?
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post #32 of 52
6/9/08 at 8:22am
i think the best part (for me) was when he gets his first kills off screen

it really hit it home that 'wait a minute...this is...real....shiiit'
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post #33 of 52
6/21/08 at 5:43pm
Loved it. The documentary part was excellent and although the last third was, in its execution not in its context, not as good as the rest on the whole a wonderful and clever film. And I agree with the praise for Baesel, he was great.
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post #34 of 52
7/13/08 at 6:24pm
Fucking loved the film, I think it also marks the first time I've ever given a shit about the people being stalked in a Slasher Film. Somebody else mentions it but the Mockumentary moments really help you to get to like and empathise with Taylor and her crew and it makes their inevitable fates actually mean something.

I loved the way that the third act managed to actually shift the context of the first hour and make it legitimately terrifying.

And rather worryingly as soon as the film finished I wondered what the sick fucks at Creature Corner would make of the lack of gore. Death Surge sure didn't disappoint and as such his reputation as a poster to make me rue and lament humanity is intact (Fabby boy had almost taken his throne).

Oh and I loved the Nightmare on Elm Street reference whilst they're scoping out the school and the gag about Leslie's real name.
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post #35 of 52
7/13/08 at 6:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spike Marshall View Post
And rather worryingly as soon as the film finished I wondered what the sick fucks at Creature Corner would make of the lack of gore. Death Surge sure didn't disappoint and as such his reputation as a poster to make me rue and lament humanity is intact (Fabby boy had almost taken his throne).
Wha? Was that really fucking necessary?
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post #36 of 52
7/13/08 at 6:36pm
I can't wait for Spike's crappy blog about it.
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post #37 of 52
7/13/08 at 6:36pm
Quote:
Wha? Was that really fucking necessary?
Trust me, that's a compliment.
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post #38 of 52
7/13/08 at 6:37pm
Not to just throw out snark, I just watched American Zombie (which just hit dvd last tuesday) and it does the documentary into horror transition shitloads better than Behind the Mask. Definitely interesting to compare the two films.

Not much gore in that one either though...
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post #39 of 52
7/13/08 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Riviello View Post
I can't wait for Spike's crappy blog about it.
Great, now I've gotta delete all those screencaps.
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post #40 of 52
7/13/08 at 6:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Riviello View Post
Not to just throw out snark, I just watched American Zombie (which just hit dvd last tuesday) and it does the documentary into horror transition shitloads better than Behind the Mask. Definitely interesting to compare the two films.

Not much gore in that one either though...
I've heard people call that the film Diary of the Dead should have been. Quite interested in it, even though the Zombie genre seems to have burnt itself out. I remember being at Night of the Dead VI about two years ago and 3 of the five films all being 'wacky' zombie fare.

Admittedly Zombie Honeymoon was fun, but there's only so much you can do with cadavers.
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post #41 of 52
7/14/08 at 3:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spike Marshall View Post
And rather worryingly as soon as the film finished I wondered what the sick fucks at Creature Corner would make of the lack of gore. Death Surge sure didn't disappoint and as such his reputation as a poster to make me rue and lament humanity is intact (Fabby boy had almost taken his throne).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Abbott & Prospero View Post
Wha? Was that really fucking necessary?
I took that as a compliment, although having your name mentioned in the same sentence as FabFunk is never a good thing.
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post #42 of 52
11/22/08 at 3:24am
So I just watched this and I loved it. There's not a whole lot to add on top of what's already been said but I will say that 1) the lack of gore never really bugged me - the original TCM had the same "problem" and it's obviously still effective, and 2) I dug the transition from documentary to regular film. I think it was handled rather seamlessly and did a nice job of encapsulating the film crew's changing roles in the scenario. When they were behind the camera they (and we) were confidants and accomplices - we had the "all-access pass" that a documentary provides - but as soon as we switch roles and take the opposing side we're thrust back out again. It's a simple little visual metaphor but I liked the way it was executed.

As far as the third act - I really liked it. Superficially it fell into the trappings of standard cheesy slasher fare, but I figure that that was exactly the point. Leslie's walking the crew through the whole setup and preparation gave a depth to the generic "slasher film third act" that we've never gotten to see before and it let us apply that knowledge to something we've seen a million times to give us the full effect. I dug the hell out of it.
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post #43 of 52
11/22/08 at 8:17pm
Yeah, but TCM had a lot of grit to it so you really don't notice the lack of blood. Whereas Behind the Mask, when it shifts over into horror movie mode has a more polished look to it, and just frankly the kills are pretty fucking weak, he pretty much just pokes people in the neck with a scythe. The movie is fun enough, so it's really just minor thing.
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post #44 of 52
11/22/08 at 8:21pm
If it hadn't been for the third act this would have been just a straight ripoff of Man Bites Dog. As it is I really like this movie, there are just a lot of fun ideas in this one.
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post #45 of 52
12/24/08 at 2:55am
I recorded this off Starz a while back and just now got around to watching it.

I agree with all the love it gets around here. I figured out the "virgin" twist way early though so, no suprise there. I did enjoy it more when the crew was following Leslie around though. It seemed even more sick and twisted that these people were in on it with him.

I had a girl on my school bus that looked a hell of alot like Kate Lang Johnson (Kelly Curtis) when I was younger. A definite crush to be sure.
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post #46 of 52
12/27/08 at 4:07pm
Finally got around to seeing this one myself.

It's certainly good, and far better than whatever Scream thought it was doing. Only criticism was that the film had one really good idea that it then underused- the scene where Leslie explains pulling the brick away with fishing twine. The rest of his preparations were much more practical, and I'd have liked to see a little bit more focus on rigging that kind of semi-supernatural scene.
Other than that, though, definitely liked it.
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post #47 of 52
1/7/09 at 9:50pm
It's a good movie, but its targets for parody were limited, as the slasher genre it depicts is too...'light' for a feature-length mockumentary. As James May points out, it's a near-rip of Man Bites Dog...and lacks the further substance that one had. I saw Man Bites Dog before this, which revealed how tiny in scope Leslie Vernon is. I wonder if Devin saw that flick.
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post #48 of 52
1/7/09 at 10:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dreary louse View Post
It's a good movie, but its targets for parody were limited, as the slasher genre it depicts is too...'light' for a feature-length mockumentary. As James May points out, it's a near-rip of Man Bites Dog...and lacks the further substance that one had. I saw Man Bites Dog before this, which revealed how tiny in scope Leslie Vernon is. I wonder if Devin saw that flick.
I much preferred Behind the Mask to Man Bights Dog. One of the things that always bugged me about Man Bights Dog was that they film loads of people dying and then the director gets upset whenever one of his friends gets killed. Which happens repeatedly. I just wanted to slap him. If you hang around with a serial killer then people will get hurt.

In Behind the Mask on the other hand, the documentary crew start panicking when Leslie makes his first kill on the night. Of course, he kills the librarian earlier and they don't mind about that, which kind of ruins my argument. Oh well.
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post #49 of 52
1/8/09 at 1:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jona View Post
I much preferred Behind the Mask to Man Bights Dog. One of the things that always bugged me about Man Bights Dog was that they film loads of people dying and then the director gets upset whenever one of his friends gets killed. Which happens repeatedly. I just wanted to slap him. If you hang around with a serial killer then people will get hurt.

In Behind the Mask on the other hand, the documentary crew start panicking when Leslie makes his first kill on the night. Of course, he kills the librarian earlier and they don't mind about that, which kind of ruins my argument. Oh well.
That's my biggest problem with the film. There's no real motivation provided for the film crew sticking around when things get truly questionable (everything up til the Library could easily have been a bunch of college smart-ass journalism students trying to score an easy shock with their classes by filming some nutjob who's convinced he'd be a great serial killer), and the fact that they're actually excited after Leslie kills Zelda is offputting and disturbing. That would be fine, if any reason could be given. But it can't - not really.

Likewise, Taylor's sudden switch from aiding and abetting to moralizing and freaking out after Leslie's first kill is wholly unearned.

It's a clever, fun film, but the motivations of the characters don't add up as they're presented. At all.
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post #50 of 52
1/8/09 at 1:37pm
To my great misfortune, I watched The Last Broadcast last night. I've heard many people complain about the jarring shift from faux documentary to regular film in Behind the Mask's third act. Heck, it even annoyed me a bit. But the same shift in The Last Broadcast is so much worse, so poorly conceived and awkwardly handled.
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