Behind the Mask: The Rise of Lelie Vernon ranks as one of my favorite horror movies of all time along with other classics like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Shaun of the Dead and Cabin in the Woods. None of these films are scary at all, but all are wonderful at poking fun at the horror movie genre while still staying intelligent, funny and a hell of a lot of fun that require multiple viewings to pick out all the wonderful things the writers threw in that you may not notice the first time through. Behind the Mask isn’t exactly a comedy, but does a great job of approaching the slasher movie from a different direction and actually makes you like the killer.
In Behind the Mask, killers like Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Michael Meyers, etc. are all real people who live in neighborhoods and are probably people we know — they just don’t tell us about what they do ‘after hours’. It is here that we are introduced to Leslie Vernon, a small town, charming guy who has invited a team of reporters/filmmakers to document his hopeful rise to the world’s most famous killer of all time. The film crew meets up, interviews him and his mentor and follows him around as he trains and sets the stage for the eventual teenage massacre that will occur in the abandoned house he has specially rigged for the event. As the date for the bloodbath gets closer, and the crew begins to realize that Leslie is actually planning to follow through on the atrocities he has been talking about, their resolve begins to waver as some argue they should try to stop him, while the others are dedicated to getting a good story. Finally, the night of the murders begins and with the stage set, we learn the full scope of Leslie’s plans.
Ok, so I’m sure that doesn’t sound like the most thrilling of movies or stories, and you would be right, except for the fact that it is excellently delivered. The whole film is shot as a documentary, except for the times when Leslie is out actually performing his misdeeds, and then it shifts to a traditional horror movies style. Considering how popular found footage films have been, it is really nice to see them take this approach rather than doing the whole shaky cam thing. Also, the characters themselves are a lot of fun and well acted and written with a few great cameos thrown in for good measure (Robert Englund as the ‘Ahab’ character and Zelda Rubinstein as the knowing librarian). Most importantly, though, is that Leslie Vernon himself is such a nice and likable guy; you really root for him and want him to do well, until you step back and realize that this is the BAD guy about to go kill a bunch of kids. It’s also a lot of fun to watch him performing cardio and working out as he explains that he has to be able to run after his victims while looking like he’s just walking, and THAT is a lot of work. His explanation of how he sets up the house in advance by nailing windows shut, damaging weapons so they break at the right time, and how he will make sure that the virginal girl will be the last one to survive and thus face him alone all hail back to every classic horror movie trope known to man, and by poking fun of them, the film actually ends up using them to great effect.
While the movie is not scary by any means, and the twist is something everyone should see coming, it is a lot of fun, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and is definitely one of the most overlooked and unknown horror movies out there (had YOU heard about it before this?). Because of this, you can easily get it used or on Amazon for a STEAL, and I highly recommend picking it up and adding it to your collection!