Review of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) by Bradley C — 20 Sep 2009

Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kreuger, Michael Myers - we know these guys. These guys are our friends. They have successfully (sort of) scared us (at some point in our lives) since the late 1970's. Of course they're all simply make believe, right? The by product of a sick man's mind (Wes Craven, John Carpenter - yeah, I'll buy that) and nothing more, correct? Not so in Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.

In the world that Behind The Mask takes place, all of these killers are very real. Oh, and did I mention that they're workaholics? The life of a slasher star is no picnic as is pointed out in this mockumentary (Think The Office meets The Blair Witch Project) about an up and coming killer named Leslie Vernon. He is a man that appears to be in his late twenties and dreamed of becoming "one of the guys" all his life. Into it enough that he hires a camera crew (well, a wishshewasanewswoman and two camera guys) to document the planning and preparation that goes into a mass murder.

Leslie scoffs at the idea that these sort of killings just happen, that Jason Voorhees just hopped out of bed one morning and started killing people (Yeah, yeah, he probably sleeps on the cave floor, not in a bed, whatever). So as the camera crew follows Leslie, watches him set up the night of mayhem which includes finding his Survivor Girl (Jamie Lee Curtis in the first Halloween is a good example of a Survivor Girl) picking some stoners to accompany them, a jock, and a hot ... promiscuous young woman. A nice blend, just like a good cup of coffee.

It's all an art you see. Between the setup of the abandoned house, the intense cardio work and the creating of your legend, Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon perfectly and lovingly depicts the life of a slasher star, and throws in enough scares, laughs, horror star cameos (Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, that one chick from Poltergeist) and plot twists to satisfy any horror fan. While the ending leaves a little to be desired, if you love horror, you'll love Leslie.