Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

*** out of ****

I think finding a hidden gem of a horror movie is more exciting than finding a hidden gem from any other genre. Why? Because horror movies are by-and-large utter crap, senseless and stupid and insulting to the audience's intelligence. So stumbling onto an obscure good one is a real find. “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon” is such a gem. 

Imagine you lived in a world where Jason Vorhees was real, nightmares on Elm Street could really kill you, and you never let the kids out on Halloween because Michael Myers was actually out there. Then further imagine that you make documentaries and stumble upon a guy planning to commit his own horror-movie massacre, and you find he is agreeable to having a film made about his plan's preparation and execution. This is the world of “Behind the Mask”.

Leslie Vernon was a kid that was murdered in days of yore by rioting townsfolk. The modern-day killer is Leslie Mancuso (Nathan Baesel) who builds a whole revenge scheme around the legend to satisfy his own blood lust. A young journalist (Angela Goethals) is making a film about how Leslie picks out and stalks his victims, how he orchestrates every second of the upcoming bloodbath, and how he builds tension amongst his intended prey, particularly his “survivor girl” (Kate Lang Johnson). She is the virginal youth that he plans to leave for last, as she is the strongest and most likely to give him a fight.

He has a mentor, a retired mass murdered named Eugene (Scott Wilson) who helps him with his preparations as well as an arch nemesis, a cop played (in a real casting coup) by Freddy Kreuger himself, Robert Englund. Leslie knows where the group of teens will be on the night he plans the slaughter and he seals exits, saws off tree branches so they can't be climbed, sabotages every possible weapon that could be used against him, and lays the whole thing out for the cameras. But when the big night comes the documentary crew are torn about letting it all play out or trying to save the group of kids, knowing that if they interfere they will themselves become characters in Leslie' blood orgy.

While this film is satirical, is is played pretty straight so it has that really hardcore edge of true satire. Whereas a movie like “Scream” (1996) was more comedy than satire, the funny parts of “Behind the Mask” occur naturally as parts of the story and not as the ultimate goal of the filmmaker. The switching back and forth from the “documentary” film footage to the view of an observer to the whole process makes it even more interesting. The performances are not overly special but everyone is good in their parts, with the one standout being Angela Goethals as the documentarian, who transforms into horror-movie scream queen later on in the film.

In any case, this is an exceptional horror movie with tension and scares (though they happily keep the gore to a minimum), but if you're not a fan of the genre you won't like it. As a lover of good horror movies though, take it form me – if you enjoy a good scary movie you'll love “Behind the Mask”. Anything but the typical slasher film, this is one that allows you to use your head a bit and enjoy some of the satirical behind the scenes looks at the preparation of a thoroughly-planned mass murder. Really enjoyable movie.