The Rise of Leslie Vernon
R1 DVD
Starz Entertainment
Behind
the Mask is a startling, inventive and amusing look at the slasher genre. It is
a real gem written with dark sense of humour and more than a splash of gore. The
film opens as a pseudo documentary discussing the lives of some of the most
prolific serial killers. In this story, serial killing is a life choice, even a
career and Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Freddie Kreuger are real and
successful examples of the trade. Leslie Vernon aims to join their ranks and
has decided to allow a television crew to document his developing career. He
introduces them to his truly disconcerting mentor who laments the old days when
the numbers of kills were more important than the preparation.
Television
news reporter Taylor Gentry follows him as he outlines the process of becoming
a serial killer, the nature of his obsession and the psychology involved in his
craft. The reflections on the Freudian symbolism involved in the staging of a
killing are amusing to say the least.
As
Taylor documents his life, she begins to realize that this is far more real
than she first considered. This is not a young geek obsessed with fictional
killers, but a real apprentice killer preparing carefully for his life work. He
has spent years developing his final act including setting up a psychiatrist
(Robert Englund) to be his Ahab, that’s serial killer trade talk for nemesis.
He
works out, developing his cardio for long runs when undertaking slasher
activity and taps into a local myth about Leslie Vernon to develop a unique
killing event. He prepares a property with sealed windows, doctored weapons and
electrics that he can easily turn off. He has cut down trees, mapped out the
house and carefully checked for any risks of his victims escaping.
He
has assumed the identity of Leslie Vernon, a young boy who was thrown to his
death by a violent mob after slaughtering his abusive parents. He expands the
legend by planting news articles in the local library connecting the Vernon
family to a local girl. This creates a mood around the property and hence
attracts a group of young teens to come there to party for the night, when they
arrive he is prepared.
Of
course, the film crew get cold feet. They realize they are actually accessories
to a potential mass murder and try and warn the teens. However, our killer has anticipated
this move and they are actually part of the game. It seems that his target was
not the young, innocent fast-food girl he led them to believe he was stalking,
but Taylor herself- she is to be the survivor chick.
What
I especially like is the movement between genres. At various stages of the
film, the cinematography moves from handheld to super 16 and you know you are
now seeing Vernon at work rather than simply in the doco. This movement between
pseudo documentary and slasher makes the film a truly intriguing cinematic
experience offering a surprisingly complex horror film. It also work to build the
suspense of the film until finally the killings begins. For a while you wonder
if the killer is just all talk and taking the film crew for a complex
psychological ride, but slowly he begins to creep you out more and more as his
carefully planned killing spree nears maturation.
Behind
the Mask is a great new take on the serial killer and slasher genre. You will
be intrigued its plot, fascinated by its characters and on the edge of your
seat as the blood starts running..
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This
review will appear in Volume 2 No.4
(2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.
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