Review #257: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

This review was originally written in October 2023.

Gabe's Horror Movie October Review #11 - Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

Originally the list I was using had a horror mockumentary called "Mortal Remains" for today, but I couldn't find a way to watch it in time, so I instead swapped it for Behind the Mask, another horror Mockumentary I'd heard of. And boy, am I glad I did! I was utterly, utterly delighted by this movie from beginning to end. Not only is it just plain fun, this film is chock-full of Easter Eggs that are sure to delight any horror fan that gives it a shot.

Imagine if you will, a world where all of the famous horror icons are real. Jason Voorhees, Fred Krueger, Charles Lee Ray, Michael Myers- imagine if all of them were real serial killers that haunted the streets of real cities. Imagine if in such a world, being a horror slasher was viewed by some as simply any other line of work- a more grisly line of work that has to be kept secret, of course, but it's a line of work that certain people appreciate, they learn from a mentor, they pass on the tricks of the trade, and so on.

Behind the Mask is (for the most part) a documentary set in such a world. A group of film students gets contacted by Leslie Vernon, a local slasher with a dark past that is planning a big final performance in the coming weeks, and he wants to give them the inside scoop into how he picks victims, sets up the murder cabin, plans out the events of the fateful night, and even meets with his retired mentor Eugene so their documentary can include some of the behind-the-scenes history of the slasher legacy.

For the first hour or so, Behind the Mask is an incredibly light-hearted, fun romp as Leslie and the film crew talk about all of the ridiculous tropes that go into typical slashers, and how/why Leslie intentionally sets up all of the fake scares and whatnot that happen at the start of your average horror film. But as the movie gets closer to the fateful day, and more secrets get revealed, things get darker and more serious and the film crew starts questioning their role in these events. The final third of the movie actually eschews the documentary style and plays out like a traditional horror film, in a move that was jarring to me at first, but made more and more sense as the final act began to recontextualize the rest of the film.

This isn't a perfect movie by any means, but I thought it was a fantastic deconstruction of the modern horror genre, almost to the point where in another timeline it might have given Cabin in the Woods a run for its money. (Almost. Not quite.) I absolutely love this film, and 100% recommend it for any horror fan, young or old!

Overall Rating: 10/10 Bricks Rigged with Fishing Line

Favorite Movie Connection: This film has countless blink-and-you'll-miss-it references to other horror films (like a Lament Configuration sitting on a table, or Sam Raimi's Delta '88 sitting in a driveway), but my favorite one is actually not directly shown in the film; rather, it was mentioned by the director: the character of Eugene was written to be an older version of Billy, the enigmatic killer in 1974's Black Christmas.