It just doesn’t happen enough, but every once in awhile you come across a DVD release you aren’t too familiar with and when the final credits roll, you actually say out loud, “Brilliant.” This is the case with BEHIND THE MASK. A satirical take on the slasher genre while poking fun at the horror spun mockumentary that has permeated rental shelves since THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. It also manages to succeed and blend in as a horror themed thriller while never losing any of its biting sense of dark humor. These are rare, but think of it as what SHAUN OF THE DEAD did for zombie cinema, this manages to do to the hack and slash so fondly hated and lovely remembered from the early 1980’s. Of course it doesn’t hurt with a supporting cast including Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger himself), Scott Wilson (IN COLD BLOOD, THE NINTH CONFIGURATION) and Zelda Rubinstein (POLTERGEIST).
Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals) and her two cameramen are making a low budget documentary on the life of an upcoming killer in training. Their focus is none other than Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel), a young man with the right past and modern proper training to become the next legend alongside the all too real killers Jason Voorhees and Michael Meyers. He also happens to have a mentor, a retired slasher legend who got away with it, Eugene (Scott Wilson). The crew spends countless hours following Vernon around watching him prepare for his first big slaughter and reminiscing with Eugene about his past and how things have changed from the good old days. All of this while eating dinner with Eugene’s wife as the crew films quietly in shock. They go over the plans, the protocol, the rules, yes, there are rules, otherwise you’re just some sort of whack job, not an artist with a craft. By the time the killing starts, you’ve graduated Legendary Killers 101.
While the entire proceedings sound gimmicky, and it has a sort of kitsch to it, BEHIND THE MASK manages to pull in the viewer into its own strange world where movie legends are all real, but it is smart enough to play with the characters. None of the crew really believes they will be witness to any kind of carnage, and when they start to think it might become true, it is still so unbelievable to their characters, they seem more in awe with Vernon than frightened. That is, until it becomes all too real and they are finally confronted with Vernon’s instability and the violence begins. Director Scott Glosserman wisely shuts down the entire mockumentary style and runs with the twist that shocks behind the camera that is in front of the real one. Beyond that, we get an even better twist turning the final act into a well executed horror film that would stand well on its own. I wish I could say more, but half the fun of a slasher movie is not knowing if the killer lives on for a sequel, even if he was killed 8 times prior to the final cut. So you’ll just have to check it out for yourself and have the same fun time I had with this smart film that celebrates the genre while poking fun of it and never demeans its forefathers. Even references to Freddy Krueger while good old Robert Englund shows up himself as Doc Halloran, Leslie Vernon’s psychiatrist add to this odd cinematic world.
With the pacing perfect, enough atmosphere and more than ample amounts of humor, a low budget indy film such as this can easily be destroyed by horrid acting. They say humor is tougher than serious acting, but I have always felt while that may be true, satire makes other styles of humor look easy in comparison. To be able to dramatic portray your humor without falling into tongue and cheek or slapstick mode isn’t an easy task. Everyone handles their roles perfectly letting the smart script work the humor while everyone plays it straight. Without it, this would have been a painful film to sit through. I’m glad to report otherwise.
Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment does another excellent job with this DVD release. The print is excellent with proper sound and colors. Extras include a commentary with Angela Goethals, Britain Spellings and Ben Pace. Also included are two featurettes, one the usual making of and the other focusing on the casting. Several deleted and extended scenes along with trailers and the original screenplay are also included. Even without the extras, BEHIND THE MASK is a cut above most modern slashers. It may be heralded as a comedy and compared to SCREAM, but don’t let that deter you from a brilliant satire that also works as a great horror film. It’s too good to be thought of as something that simple. BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON is highly recommended.