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Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

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

March. 16,2006
|
6.7
|
R
| Horror Comedy Thriller
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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, all the while deconstructing the conventions and archetypes of the horror genre for them.

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Reviews

GamerTab
2006/03/16

That was an excellent one.

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HeadlinesExotic
2006/03/17

Boring

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Doomtomylo
2006/03/18

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

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Billy Ollie
2006/03/19

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

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Tajanator
2006/03/20

I have always been a fan of horror movies. Even as a small child I would sneak into the living room, and peer from behind the couch at the Freddie movie that the adults were watching. I still really enjoy all of the old 80s horror movies with the infamous larger- than-life serial killer.As an adult I also became a fan of mockumentaries. This is Spinal Tap, and Best in Show both brought to life the genius of Christopher Guest and introduced the world to documentaries gone mad. As a genre, it is typically only comedies that it showfronts.This movie merges the two genres but not in the way they'd have you believe. The movie begins with an interview between a very green newb journalist who seems to be doing a college project of some sorts. She wants to interview Leslie Vernon who believes himself the new Jason Voorhees, the new Freddie Kruger. As interesting interview subjects go, you can't really tell as the viewer if this guy is just a giant douche bag, or if they are just poking fun at the movie serial killer genre as a whole. Are we meant to take him seriously as he describes how to stalk and get-to-know his newest obsession, his proposed subject?Then something amazing happens. After his description of how to be a killer, the movie shifts entirely. Enter music, effects, dramatic acting, and all things you would expect from a horror movie. The movie, which was a shaky-cam low budget documentary, becomes a horror movie – if only for a scene while his plan (previously described to you in detail) sets into action.And this is how the movie plays out. We cut from documentary style to horror movie and back and forth until his movie and story are told. Its akin to watching a horror movie DVD special edition – if all the behind the scenes were cut into the film itself.Its not something I have ever seen before or since. And it was worth every single minute.

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GL84
2006/03/21

Hoping for an exclusive look at serial killers, a film crew follows a fanatical killer as he prepares to slaughter a group of small-town teens before getting caught up in their ethics and try to stop his rampage.This was an utterly enjoyable slasher effort. One of the more impressive aspects of this one is the fact that there's plenty of utterly clever send-ups of what's at stake in a slasher film that aren't all that obvious which gets spelled out here. From the pointing out the clique that gets targeted to all the pre-attack tormenting that takes place around the town, training and working out for the chase as well as the behind-the-scenes planning for the whole event at the location and how to plan out a typical slasher-film style battle is all unique and quite original in concept and execution. Both of those areas are explored fully in here as the attempt to explain the thinking behind what is obviously a heat-of-the-moment type of situation that doesn't really inspire a lot of thinking when it really comes down to it makes for a rather engaging series of events throughout here as he goes about his plans. The actual execution of the plan, both in the early attack scene at the library as well as the ambushes at the diner make for some rather great stuff, while the big moment here is the actual final stalking of the group in the house as the crew attempts to help them deconstruct the evening before it happens as they try to stop him from going after the group and killing them which is all done in fine fashion with a lot to like here throughout this with a lot of explosive stalking, fantastic action and plenty of wonderful deconstructions of the slasher film norms that allows for a frenetic sequence that's tense, chilling and quite fun. While some of the stuff doesn't work here, namely the fact that this is supposed to be funny when it clearly isn't as the comedy instead comes from the absurdity of the situation rather than anything really done in the film itself so it can get rather annoying thinking this is funny when it really isn't, and as well the fact that the majority of the gore comes off-screen does get old a little fast. Otherwise, this was a rather impressive and enjoyable outing.Rated R: Language, Violence, Brief Nudity, a mild sex scene and drug use.

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Cdur
2006/03/22

Now this movie has quite a lot of tricks up it's sleeve. First of all it is darkly humored, second: it's scary scenes has layers more deeply disturbing and strangely moving. Third: It contains the kind of serial killer seen in films like "Silence of the lambs" and the novel "Red Dragon". Leslie is kind of a sad creation who wants to be somebody ( instead of a real nobody ....). Now actor playing Leslie has a lot of interesting layers and he succeeds in making all of them credible. Actually his last line sums of his whole magnificent performance but this is all really due to first of all the tight script and the firm direction and of cause his costars in particular the girl playing the journalist who is fascinated and disturbed by Leslie's actions. She has a superb moment when she realises that Leslie is smarter that she first realised...So, so, so: If you want the ordinary, dumb, effectsridden slasher, look somewhere else, but if you're looking for something truly original within the horror genre, something that will keep you guessing and on the edge of the seat for all the right reasons..THIS IS IT...ENYOY!

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MikesIDhasbeentaken
2006/03/23

wasn't sure what this was going to be like going into this, but think it was a good take on a 'behind the scenes of teen slasher film killer.'in most slasher films the chances of things going exactly the way they do is very convenient for the killer, the victim being in the right place at the right time, making the wrong decisions that lead them directly to where the killer wants them to be although they had lots of other options. It's all looked at here in a funny way, and when the actual plan is in full swing near the end there's a good twist in the film that also comes with the kind of slasher films being dissected here, in the way that you saw it coming, but still enjoyed.

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