Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2007)

Start with a solid base of equal parts Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Halloween, throw in one portion of Man Bites Dog, a liberal sprinkling of The Blair Witch Project, and you've pretty much got the recipe for Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. A film that takes place in a universe where the relentless killers of slasher cinema truly exist, Behind the Mask follows a group of ambitious graduate-student documentarians as they convince the next legendary serial killer to let them capture his cunningly planned first rampage on camera for posterity. What follows is a fun, knowing deconstruction of genre clichés with plenty of horror in-jokes, lots of morbid humor, and a revealing look at just how these unstoppable killers work around the clock to get their targets exactly where they want them. Horror fans will no doubt have a blast with the opening two-thirds of this film. In addition to detailing the psychological journey of the "Survivor Girl," as she makes her way through the darkened forest and towards her final confrontation with the killer, screenwriters Scott Glosserman and David J. Stieve also explore the relationship between the killer and the perpetual "Ahab" (i.e. "pursuer" -- in this case none other than genre-icon Robert Englund), who will not rest until he has caught his man, with surprisingly effective results. Here in the post-Scream era, cinematic self-awareness and hip irony have made it increasingly difficult to find a more effective means of scaring an audience and getting them to laugh at the conventions of the horror genre at the same time. Though Behind the Mask does walk this fine line with an impressive swagger early on, the closer it moves toward the credit scroll the more predictable it becomes -- eventually devolving into your typical run-of-the-mill slasher flick. It's a bit of a disappointment given the quirky energy displayed at the onset, and the attempt at combining mockumentary-style satire with slasher-style thrills grows increasingly cumbersome as the film becomes more predictable. It's not entirely a wash, though, and many fans of the genre will still get a thrill of spotting keen film references and seeing how the potential victims attempt to throw the madman off balance by turning the tricks of the trade against him. As far as performances go, Nathan Baesel is malevolently endearing as the killer who longs to establish himself as a true slasher icon, Angela Goethals shines as the morally conflicted filmmaker who begins to have her doubts once the blood starts to flow, and Robert Englund is no doubt enjoying himself as the doctor who has sworn to prevent his former patient from executing his diabolical plan. While more forgiving slasher fans will likely find cause to pardon director Glosserman and co-screenwriter Stieve for eventually falling back on convention given how much fun Behind the Mask is for the first few reels, others who have weathered genre parodies dating back to 1981's Student Bodies will likely just walk away viewing the film as little more than another missed opportunity -- a noble failure made all the more disheartening due to the fact that it came so close to hitting the mark. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide