Review: Behind the Mask, The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Dir. Scott Glosserman (2006)

In a world where Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, and Hellraiser are real, a documentary crew out to prove themselves as serious filmmakers commit to following around a man who is training to be the next big slasher antagonist, Leslie Vernon. 

This micro-budget mockumentary slasher delivers a lot of earnest laughs, homages, and spookiness to compete with the best the genre has to offer. The narrative has a preponderance to rush itself and several titanic logic gaps may throw some people off, but it makes up for it by being legitimately clever and charming! Sadly, the final cut of the film is content to be a simple comedy slasher, several deleted scenes actually dive into the ethical qualms of the situation and make some really interesting comments on the often voyeuristic nature of the genre. This removed material elevates the film as a whole and gives the often hurried narrative room to breathe, but alas, unless you want to make your own edit of the film, a simple, well-constructed slasher comedy is what you are left with. Additionally, there’s a really divisive twist that, depending on who you are, may make or break the movie for you. Either way, it meshes well with the narrative, and adds some variety to the three act structure. I personally thought the change in direction was fantastic!

Cameos by horror icons add some needed flair to the proceedings and the two central characters are both fantastic actors! Some of the side characters deliver truly regrettable performances but, as they aren’t given much time on screen, it’s not a fatal blow to the overall film. 

Violence and gore, as is common with the slashers, is certainly present but comes off as fairly restrained in comparison to the genre it lampoons. The soundtrack leaves no impression whatsoever, which is a shame as a nice synth-driven theme might have really boosted the niche kitsch factor already present, but not having it is no major loss.

The Rise of Leslie Vernon is, oddly enough, really charming. The cast and crew are clearly having a blast and the resulting film exudes the kind of rough charisma that may not have survived if the budget were considerably larger. Unfortunately the film just didn’t find it’s target audience as planned and the second film they were hoping to crowdfund never got off the ground. It’s a real shame too, these are great characters and I, for one, would love to see more of them!

-Josh Evans