"The next great psycho horror slasher has given a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo."
I Say...
Dopey twits don't think through implausible opportunity to film the exploits of a serial-killer-in-the-making. (To my great delight.)
Horror Type...
Comedic horror, black comedy, mockumentary.
Main Players...
Nathan Baesel as Leslie Vernon / Leslie Mancuso (He's the serial killer? Really?)
Angela Goethals as Taylor Gentry (Curiously Naive Journalist)
Kate Lang Johnson as Kelly (Leslie's Dream "Survivor Girl")
I liked...
- the earnestness with which the documentary film crew approaches this study of a wannabe murderer
- the boyish enthusiasm of said wannabe and how he eagerly explains Serial Killer Practicum 101 to the crew
- the deliciously dry gruesomeness of this Christopher-Guest-style mockumentary
- that Scott Wilson, the actor who played the wise and kindly Hershel Greene on The Walking Dead, here portrays a retired serial killer who serves as affable mentor to Leslie Vernon (Hah!)
- that everybody's favorite striped-shirt-wearing nightmare, Robert Englund, plays the wise and kindly psychiatrist who treated young Leslie and has a bad feeling about all this...
- how in the third act things smoothly shift from mockumentary to straight-up horror movie
The Meh...
I honestly can't think of one thing about Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon that chaffed my chaps, although I can't help being critical of a film crew who considers the moral implications of standing by while some guy slices and dices others only after he's already started doing it. Comedic-horror flicks are my catnip, so I really just heart this one. (SPOILER ALERT: More so, probs, than the expendable-guy-in-the-movie who literally got his heart handed to him after it was pulled from his chest.)
Would I recommend it...?
Heck yes, I would! I'm already looking forward to watching it again!
Miscellany...
Freaking Hershel Greene! A retired serial killer! (Double Hah!!)
Ratings...
My Grade: A
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: Tomatometer=76%, Audience Score=75%
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: Tomatometer=76%, Audience Score=75%
Details, Schmeetails...
I Watched Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon on Amazon (the Rotten Tomatoes page linked above provides links to other host sites)
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon's Wikipedia Page (Contains Spoilers)
This concludes Day 2 of...
