8.0/10
The slasher genre is one full of pale imitations and sadism. There's nothing much to it most of the time, although that doesn't mean that someone can't go along and make someone genuinely good for once. Thus, the filmmakers who created "Behind the… More
8.0/10
The slasher genre is one full of pale imitations and sadism. There's nothing much to it most of the time, although that doesn't mean that someone can't go along and make someone genuinely good for once. Thus, the filmmakers who created "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" are twisted geniuses as far as the genre goes; nearly saving its sorry ass. Sadly, the genre is full of some pretty bad films which prevent it from being saved by one individual success. Nevertheless, "Behind the Mask" is some seriously hilarious fun. For once, it's a slasher with an actual premise. For once, it's a slasher flick that can be called art. This is possibly the best slasher flick since "Halloween" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street". What makes it so darn effective is its clever blend of blood and laughs. To be honest, the blood is more seldom seen than the laughs, since this mockumentary is an intentionally funny one. Rarely does one get to witness such good filmmaking get put to good use and in a slasher flick too! If you're a fan of the dying, decaying horror sub-genre, then "Behind the Mask" is your kind of film. It is in fact, the best slasher of the decade (most likely). Hell, I say that it might as well be the best slasher in even TWO decades. That's how good (as far as slasher films go) it is. Perhaps it is not perfect, since it lacks the scares that it may have promised, but it is satisfying as it is. Not only does it skewer the hell out of the slasher genre, but it also pays homage to horror films at the same time. It can multitask. Now that's just freaking brilliant. Few horror films can be funny, bloody, and interesting at the same time. But this one can. And that's why I like it; because it's not "Friday the 13th". No, it happens to be its own thing. It's kind of original although originality is so scarce these days that you can't expect a film, good or not, to have much of it. Nevertheless, this WILL satisfy horror fans and anyone who has taken the time to watch some of cinema's most memorable slasher films. Either way, you're sure to have yourself one hell of a time, whether you find the movie to be particularly funny or not.
Slasher films have such tiresome plots. These plots get in the way of the enjoyment which is almost always already squandered by a severe lack or scares or surprises. What "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" brings to the table is an apparent lack of ALL those things, which is a good thing. This film abandons those good ol' slasher genre clichés and instead trades them in for near-greatness. Hell, I say that it is greatness, as far as slasher films go. This is one of the good ones. So "Behind the Mask" basically takes an awesome concept and carries it out pretty darn well. The film follows a camera crew while they document the dreams of soon-to-be serial killer Leslie Vernon. Mr. Vernon drags the crew to-and-fro; teaching them his ways. Of course, he was inspired by those legendary serial killers from the movies, all of whom are (or were, for the matter) in existence within the film's little universe. That's right. That means that the crew will visit Elm Street, Camp Crystal Lake, and even Haddonfield! If that sounds great to you, then it is. "Behind the Mask" consistently pays homage to such slasher flicks and tries as hard as it can to appeal to whoever it is made for. Luckily, it works on all the right levels. So Leslie Vernon thus sucks the crew into his little game, in which he informs them of his "plans". The crew follows Vernon as he stalks his victims and claims his prey. But after a while, it would be somewhat appropriate for someone to feel quite disturbed. In this case, the crew catches on to the fact that Vernon is killing people for real, and soon they start to rebel. And as you can expect, what follows is a run-for-your-life sort of prolonged sequence in which people are killed off and the film sheds its mockumentary skin. Then comes the final act, which would be horrible if it weren't for the fact that you're not supposed to be taking it seriously whatsoever. It's supposed to be funny, much like the rest of the film. This is not a slasher made particularly for the thrills or for the scares but rather the references and the laughs. I liked it that way, and that's why this film is triumphant amongst the others. The story isn't told with terribly amazing craft although I though that the way the film presented itself was clever. And that's good enough for me.
Like most slashers, "Behind the Mask" does not feature a terribly talented cast. It doesn't include the talents that "Halloween" had although it doesn't have nearly as pointless characters as "Friday the 13th". While "Behind the Mask" has a couple of actors who are just plain entertaining to watch, it's also got ones who are...less so. Nathan Baesel is pretty decent as far as his type of character goes. He's funny in this film surprisingly enough, although doesn't do much more than add the slightest bit more fun to an already entertaining film. Angela Goethals is less intriguing although is by no means "horrible". Still, she's not very entertaining to watch, and can't seem to live up to the genuine interest that is on display here. Now for the finer things in life. Freddy Krueger himself (Robert Englund) plays Doctor Halloran, who I'm pretty much convinced is a parody of Dr. Loomis from "Halloween". If so, then he was entertaining to watch. I mean, who doesn't like to look at Englund, with a gun, and think "Hey, that's Freddy Krueger!" I know that I do. Any other actor beyond is pretty much meaningless although that might as well be the point when it comes to this film. Nevertheless, it does everything that it wants to do well enough to convince me that it's well made. And that's enough to make me enjoy this film through and through.
Jason. Freddy. Michael. We all need someone to look up to. That is the tag-line to "Behind the Mask", and it implies one thing and one thing only; a new potential slasher icon. I highly doubt that Vernon will go on to be as inspirational as any of those three horror villains although there's one thing I know for sure: he's WAY cooler than Jason will ever be. His mask is cooler, anyways. Plus, Vernon actually has a human being breathing underneath his mask, and the film makes attempts to show that. The build up to the final moment merely gives this movie more reasons to give Vernon a background. And as it turns out, Vernon himself admits to having no background whatsoever. He just...likes to kill people (or at least likes to fantasize about it). While his ambitions are strange, he is a determined character. However, he does not need to be very well fleshed out to be...interesting. Thank god for that. I said earlier in my review that this film was artistic. I can honestly say that I meant what I said: "Behind the Mask" is indeed a pretty artsy film. The cinematography consists of mostly mockumentary style camera work until the final act, which turns out to be less unique although never visually revolting. The gore doesn't look half bad either, and for once it doesn't seem to be the only thing that this slasher is about. There's not a whole lot of music in the film although there are some moments where the faint, background music is meant to pay homage to maybe a certain slasher flick...called "Halloween". Nevertheless, I liked the "atmosphere" that "Behind the Mask" just didn't have. There wasn't much suspense involved although I think the real purpose was for the film to be funny. That's right, funny. I got more than a few good laughs out of "Behind the Mask". It wasn't the film's campiness per-se, but instead it was the fact that the movie actually has a solid sense of humor. Some of it came from the often times awkward questions and sometimes responses within the interviews, and often times the humor even came from the film's references. Nevertheless, this film proves that more slashers need to be funny. This is a rare horror/slasher which is funny, bloody, devoid of scares, yet still (pretty) awesome. I liked this movie because it failed to scare me yet it entertained me a hell of a lot. I found it to be hilarious, interesting, and artistic. And I hope that you will too.
Forget Jason. Don't forget Freddy. And most definitely DO NOT FORGET MICHAEL. Leslie Vernon is not the new cool in killing but he still ranks amongst one of the more interesting horror villains in recent (and I mean "recent") memory. This is no ingenious masterpiece, although it's one of the better horror films out there. If you've already seen most of the important classic slashers and you're looking for some modern ones, then divert your attention to this here film. This is what I mean when I say "slasher film". This is what I mean when I say, "Unique slasher". This may be one of the only slashers to be consistently funny although never scary, and I'm fine with that. Hell, most horror films aren't scary anymore. But that doesn't mean that they can't be smart like this here film. That doesn't mean that they can go all-out with cheesiness, blood, and nudity. This film fails to fall victim to all those annoying clichés and in the process is its own movie. This is not what I mean when I say slasher flick. Slasher flicks are not technically art, because since when has uncreative killing been artsy? I mean, honestly. Well none the less, this film FEELS like a slasher although in the same way is more than a film of the like. It's a smart, funny, and entertaining ride. And it's paced well and means well, in terms of being a creative son of a bitch. It gives nearly every horror film of the Facebook generation a run for its money, and that's why it just so happens to be as good as a slasher film (as it stands) gets.
