“Behind the Mask is so smart it’s scary!”
“Behind the Mask is an instant classic.”
Read the entire review here:
http://www.horror-movies.ca/horror_reviews_2224.htm
Helio mobile subscribers have a “first look” at the new BEHIND THE MASK theatrical trailer which debuted today.
The trailer will be available online starting at MIDNIGHT ON HALLOWEEN at our MySpace site: myspace.com/behindthemaskthemovie.
Renerd.com reviewed BEHIND THE MASK at TORONTO AFTER DARK. Here you go!
http://www.renerd.com/?p=131
Review: Behind The Mask
October 26th, 2006
Last night, we were witness to the closing film of the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, “Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon“. The movie takes place in a world where Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, and Jason Voorhees are real people, and the people they have slaughtered are real people, and the tragedy of those killing sprees are real. Leslie Vernon is ready to step up to the plate as the next legendary psycho-slasher. He has contacted a documentary film crew to share these precious days with him as he prepares everything for his grand entrance. Together, they visit Leslie’s mentor, Eugene, and Eugene’s relatively young wife, set up the soon-to-be legendary house, and avoid the doggedly persistant Dr. Halloran, played by Robert Englund.
As you may have guessed I am a huge fan of horror/sci-fi/fantasy films. That does not mean that I am a sucker for them. I am only a sucker for zombie movies (natch). Growing up in the ’80s, the one genre of horror film that was shoved down our throats, and is the grandpappy of sequelitis, is the slasher film. The basic premise of the slasher film (in case you didn’t already know), is that there is some variant of psycho with some variant of weapon that is out to destroy teenagers that involve themselves in some less than chaste behaviour. The audience lapped this “over-the-top” violence up like water after a drought. There came a point, however, that slasher films just became a joke to all involved. They were schlocky, relatively gory, and nothing new was ever brought to the table.
These types of movies, although I watched them, never scared me. There was nothing scary about them. I knew the premise, I knew what would happen. There was no element of surprise or suspense or horror. It was just gore, and truth be told, gore doesn’t scare me. The only variant is the Freddy Kreuger method of dispatching teens. He always had some bad pun to spit out.
Now along comes Kevin Williamson, under the watchful eye of Wes Craven. They give us “Scream“, starring the I miss her hotness Neve Campbell and the talented David Arquette. “Scream“ brought about a strange revival to the slasher film. It knew it was a slasher film, the characters knew all about slasher films, and so the movie turned the genre on its ear and had a good laugh at itself, all the while maintaining a certain level of horror based in the characters own mythology.
This brings us to “Behind The Mask.” I loved the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, and it started off with a bang with “Special.” I have never had so much fun watching a movie, as I did with “Behind The Mask.” Going in to the movie I suppose there was a part of me that wasn’t willing to like it, based on my previous experience with the slasher genre. Add to that all I could think of was the French black & white film from the ’90s, “Man Bites Dog.*”
The characters in this film are so well written, and so well played I forgot completely about all of that.
Nathan Baesel, who plays Leslie Vernon, was so charming and down-to-earth, I tended to forgot the he was a psycho-killer preparing to go on a rampage. His boyish glee when his plan comes together spilled over to the crew filming him. The writer/director, Scott Glosserman, was a bundle of excitement and energy throughout the Q & A after the film. This double-shot was evident in the execution of this film. If you are a fan of the Slasher genre, and especially if you are not I would highly recommend this film. If you are willing to laugh at things that are absurd, this may be the film for you.
*You know in every single film I went to there was one guy who ALWAYS talked during the Q&A afterwards and he talked loud. He would drone (loudly) on and on about how this movie was much like this other movie that was made in this year and starred this actor and you should go and see it and blah blah blah. I really wanted to step on his potato. You sound like a dork. It is best to keep your mouth shut and have every one THINK you are a dork, than to open it and have everyone know.
Dude. Shutup. Really.
Twitch Film reviewed BEHIND THE MASK at Toronto After Dark. Here it is.
Copied from:
http://www.twitchfilm.net/archives/008011.html
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon – What a turnaround from what we saw at the beginning of the night. If Behind the Mask does not become a horror classic that is referred to in the ages to come then all is lost and we might as well hide in caves, never to see the light of the sun again. Sweet merciful crap did this movie rule like freaking lords!
In Scott Glosserman’s love-letter to the psycho horror slasher genre, particularly the films of the 70s and 80s, Glosserman introduces us to Leslie Vernon, an up and coming psycho horror slasher. Vernon has given exclusive access to a documentary film crew and we’re given a behind the scenes look at the work involved in becoming the next great psycho horror slasher. In an absurd world where psycho slasher is an accepted art form we are privy to the deconstruction of the genre in this, what was coined by a local newspaper, slash-umentary.
We learn terms like The Fly-by and Ahab. We see the hours of hard work it takes to be in peak physical form. We witness delightful and playful episodes of Vernon planting information in the local library to further his legend and having dinner as his mentor’s home, a retired psycho slasher himself. We are also delighted to see horror film icons, Robert Englund and Zelda Rubenstein, in roles in this film. We witness Taylor Gentry and her film crew become charmed by Vernon and slowly gets drawn into his world.
What is even more freaking brilliant is that Glosserman creates a transition between the documentary and the slasher that happens so seamlessly and with such fluidity that you hardly recognize that you have moved from one into the other. One minute your watching Vernon and the film crew in his van on their digital cameras, the next you’re watching the fly-by as perceived by the slasher world on glorious film. And so when Behind the Mask fully turns over to the slasher film in the third act, when Vernon begins his night of terror, you’re hooked, and so is everyone else. You are now witnessing the young master at work and the plot quickly uncovers its sick twist. Oh how glorious it is.
Behind the Mask is a self-referencing satire of the psycho slasher genre. Written with the 70s/80s vernacular, anyone who grew up watching Freddy, Jason or Michael will be in hog heaven during this film. Memories of your childhood summers with your top-loader VCRs watching Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare night after night come flooding back. Not only does it offer a connection to your past but it also reminds us of the roots of the genre and the forefathers who laid down the groundwork for the present day bastardization of the genre. And in that may lay the only hurdle for Glosserman to overcome. Can Behind the Mask resonate with the ‘download generation’ as it did for viewers like me who grew up with these legends on the screen? In a day and age when horror settles for high can you set the gore bar will Behind the Mask be recognized for its worth and not brushed aside because it was not gory enough, or there wasn’t enough violence, or there wasn’t enough nudity.
I hope it does because Behind the Mask is sharp, witty, bloody and screamingly funny. It deservedly requires a place of honor in the horror genre for the experience of this film goes beyond shock and horror. It educates. It entertains. It delights. And all the while it satisfies your bloodlust. It could be called the perfect horror film. Behind the Mask must become iconic. If not those of you who brush this movie aside may or may not see something in the shadows the next time you walk your dog or take out the trash. Was that someone standing in my peripheral? Maybe. Slash!!!
Glosserman said during the Q&A that Behind the Mask is slated for a January release.
» Posted by Mack at October 26, 2006 09:33 PM
Read what one blogger from BLOG TO had to say about the festival and our screening:
October 25, 2006
After Toronto After Dark: Festival Review
Posted by Jerrold in Film
Last night the Toronto After Dark Film Festival wrapped up. Festival Director and Founder Adam Lopez humbly admitted how overwhelmed the festival organizers were by the turnout and positive response to the festival’s inaugural year. Glowing and confident, and much to the delight of a large, excited, and enthusiastic audience, he announced that the festival would indeed be back next year.
The sci-fi, horror, and fantasy film festival, touting 13 international gems hand-picked by Programming Director and film junkie Todd Brown (editor of twitchfilm.net), was very obviously a labour of love. The lineups I saw outside the Bloor Cinema (that hooked up Bathurst at times), and the many positive conversations I had with festival-goers were testament to the efforts of the organizers.
The feature film selection was diverse yet focused, the festival’s promotion and ads were visible and entertaining, and the support for Canadian filmmakers was strong. The international feature film screenings were all anchored by short films by burgeoning Canadians.
I was able to take in a few great films:
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (USA, 2005) - an awesome satire-driven deconstruction of the slasher genre. In a manner reminiscent of Tarantino’s Dusk Til Dawn, it starts out in dialogue-heavy documentary style, then makes an exciting transition to all-out slasher. The characters are likable, the writing really smart and hilarious, and being devoid of gore I suspect this film is going to break out large on the mainstream big screen. I scored it 5/5.
Congratulations to the festival crew and all of the filmmakers. This happy film fan is looking forward to Toronto After Dark 2007!
http://blogto.com/film/2006/10/after_toronto_after_dark_festival_review/
Zast [DVDAlliance], posted a MySpace comment on our MySpace site, myspace.com/behindthemaskthemovie, this morning that he’d reviewed BTM at the Luxembourg Cine Nygma International Film Festival a couple nights ago. Here’s a link to his review (in French) - I tried Google Translator and…I think they’ve still got some work to do…thank you, Zast, for informing us of your review!
http://www.dvdalliance.fr/cinenygma/behind.html
“FOUR STARS (Highest Rating). An instant post-modern horror classic. A
cunningly conceived deconstruction of the slasher genre. Clever and hugely
entertaining. Look out Michael, Freddy, and Jason — there’s a new bad boy
in town!” — Todd David Schwartz, “The Paul Mitchell Show,” CBS Radio
“…rarely has evil incarnate worn such a charming, likable face as that of Baesel’s Leslie Vernon. Whether the film, slated for limited release in early January, catches on with the mainstream or not, his performance is stunning. He manages to not only make a total psychotic believable, but he also makes him downright endearing. Whether he’s revealing tricks of the slasher trade (Grey’s Anatomy is a must-read manual) or glowing with pride at each small victory he thinks will lead to psycho canonization (spooking a young virgin, discovering an Ahab determined to thwart his perverse schemes), there is an infectious enthusiasm to Baesel’s portrayal that elevates Behind the Mask above self-reflective Scream or campy, tongue-in-cheek status.”
Read the entire article here: