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

There are so few movies that surprise me anymore - old or new. Does anyone else have this problem? I know I'm not alone on this. If there's a great classic I haven't seen, I've at least heard the entire plot and the lessons I'm meant to learn from it. The hidden gems of the low budget world aren't hidden anymore - thanks to the blogosphere, RSS feeds, and Google Reader. And new movies generally just blow. I guess the problem is information overload. I won't watch a movie if I don't know something about it, but as soon as I know something about it, it dampens the experience.

So, I was delighted when I stumbled upon a modern classic. Surfing through Netflix Watch Instantly, making my way through the softcore porn and straight-to-video bullcrap that they stuff it with, I found Behind the Mask: The Rise and Fall of Leslie Vernon. Of course, by writing this review, I'm ruining any chance the reader has of being surprised... fuck it. Behind the Mask is fucking rad! A masterstroke of horror satire, Behind the Mask shows a documentary crew following a would-be serial killer. In their alternate reality, Mike Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger were all real. Leslie Vernon is the next up-and-coming hopeful. The documentary crew follows him as he makes preparations for a night of slashing - playing off all the slasher movie cliches we know and love. The movie becomes something like a text book for the anatomy of a slasher flick.

Nathan Baesal, the lead, sells the shit out of this movie. He acts the main role with more personality than any A-lister could dream of. In certain ways he's very reminiscent of his counterpart in the French film Man Bites Dog, which Behind the Mask was obviously inspired by. I definitely wouldn't say Behind the Mask bit Man Bites Dog, though. The plot devices in Behind the Mask are too clever and original to be labeled as bitten. I don't want to ruin it more than I already have, but I'll simply say the end does not turn out quite how you would expect. If you love horror as much as I do, definitely give this movie a watch. It's my lock of the week.

By the way - if you read this review and still want to be surprised by a good flick, watch Man Bites Dog. Nuff said.

- Behind the Mask: The Rise and Fall of Leslie Vernon on Wikipedia
- The Official Site
- Watch it on Netflix Watch Instantly