Review – ‘Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon’ (2006)
- Tom Powers
- Jun 30, 2020
- 2 min read
A fun, light hearted romp through the formula of the slasher film. It reminded me of Tucker and Dale vs Evil in its treatment of the the slasher conventions, and more importantly, of turning them on their head.
I wasn’t as impressed with it as a I thought I would be. Perhaps the hype was too much, but there were things in it of merit. I loved all of references to horror gone by, from supporting cast members like Robert Englund to Zelda Rubinstein and a small cameo from Kane Hodder, the film is clearly a love letter to horror. Even smaller details such as the ending song of The Shining playing whilst Leslie does his makeup to prepare for the final showdown. The only reason I really know this is because it is also the ending song of my favourite podcast – The Last Podcast On The Left.
Nathan Baesal as Leslie was charismatic and charming, whilst at points being menacing. He reminded me a lot of Jim Carey all the way through which definitely helped.
So, did it successfully flip genre conventions in a satisfying way for the audience like Scream?
Sort of.
The films builds up through its first two acts with us getting to know the killer, watching him set traps, stalk the final girl and leave behind clues of his origin story. This is all great to watch, and is humorous to think Jason Voorhees is hiding in the bushes worried about whether they will see his clue or not. What prevails is the the final showdown in the house with all the archetypal horror characters having sex or smoking weed and falling into Leslie’s traps to lead to a final confrontation with his final girl. I won’t say exactly what happens from here on as I think that would ruin the point of the film, but it fell flat for me, and wasn’t a satisfying conclusion to an otherwise enjoyable film so far. If you want a genre bending horror film, I’d give this a watch, but only after watching Scream, Shaun of the Dead or Tucker and Dale vs Evil first.
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