Behind the Mask:The Rise of Leslie Vernon Movie Review

Behind the Mask:The Rise of Leslie Vernon is a 2006 horror movie/mockumentary directed by Scott Glosserman and starring Nathal Baesel, Robert Englund, Angela Goethals, Kate Lang Johnson, Zelda Rubenstein and Scott Wilson.

The movie begins in a place called Glen Echo where killers such as Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kreuger and Michael Myers are real. A man called Leslie Vernon(Baesel) is going to become a killer and he is in a documentary which will show his preparations for the event. A journalist called Taylor Gentry(Goethals) is coming with her crew to visit Leslie and find out all about his venture. He shows them around his house and tells her that he is the spirit of a boy called Leslie Vernon who was drowned years ago because the townspeople thought that he was possessed after he murdered his family. He is training himself for the killings. He takes them on a mission where he chooses his victims. He tells them that the final girl has to be a virgin.

They go to see his victim. He shows them how he is watching her. He shows her his tricks of the trade as he scares her. They go to visit a friend of his called Eugene(Wilson) and he tells Taylor about the old days when he was killing. He says that it was easier then. He is annoyed about the new killers who have ruined everything. He gives Leslie advice about his killing spree. Leslie stalks his intended victim. A psychiatrist called Dr. Halloran(Englund) is after him. He meets Taylor and he warns her about Leslie. He tells her that his real name is Leslie Mancuso. When Vernon finds out about this, he is not happy and he gets nasty. She asks him about Halloran and he says that he treated him in Reno.

Taylor is becoming unhappy about it but she continues on anyway. Leslie leads them through his preparations for the big event. He has everything ready and he wants to ensure that nobody gets away.
He tells her that the teens will inevitably have sex and that is when he will strike. He envisages what the final girl will do and he will be ready for every situation. The night finally arrives and Leslie gets himself ready. The teens show up for a party. Leslie goes to work. Taylor is upset with this as he says goodbye to her and her crew. She tries to talk him out of it but he won't stop. She wants to stop the whole thing. The crew find the final girl, Kelly(Johnson) who is having sex with her boyfriend, so she is not a virgin. Taylor warns the teens that they will be killed. She tells Kelly about Leslie and his plan.

Leslie shows up and he has changed his plan. They try and stop him. He has put them on his kill list too. Taylor realises that it is she who is his intended victim. She is the virgin. Halloran shows up and Leslie attacks him. Leslie and Taylor face off. He tries to choke her but she stabs him and puts his head into the apple press. She kills him and lights the whole place on fire. Halloran is okay and everything seems OK. The movie has end credits which show Vernon's body in the morgue. He isn't dead so he is now one of the immortal killers he idolised.

This movie was fun and unusual. I liked the mockumentary style and references to the great Jason, Freddy and Michael. Kane Hodder showed up as did Zelda Rubenstein and of course, Robert Englund. This is clearly an homage to the slasher movie and that is another reason why I liked it. It was funny in parts, but there were more serious parts too. The movie is entertaining and I enjoyed it. I recommend it. It is definitely worth a watch. I will give it a 7/10.