Review of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006) by Cameron M — 07 Jun 2009

Brilliantly combines the black sense of humor of 'Man Bites Dog' with an intelligent visual dissertation of the modern slasher film. It effortlessly switched between documentary and an enjoyable homage to horror films of the past.

EDIT: After a second viewing, the film was still a success, but not as strong as the initial viewing. The movie-within-a-movie played uncomfortably close to the source material it was parodying, with the final act feeling somewhat generic. The film's self-reflexivity works well and force-feeds the audience the implicit, explicit, and ideological meanings behind slasher films (and, in this case, force-feeding the audience is certainly not a bad thing, considering a large portion of the audience that is into this sub-genre probably aren't the type to do close readings on 'Halloween 4' or 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 3'.).