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Created Nov 09, 2007 07:27PM PST • Edited Nov 09, 2007 07:27PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Very Good 3.5

   Taylor (Goethals) is a journalist who has managed to get serial killer, Leslie Vernon (Baesel) to agree to a documentary showing his process of killing. With her film crew, Taylor starts interviewing Leslie about what he does. The condition of allowing her access to him is that Taylor is not aloud to interfere with what Leslie is doing. He takes her to a near by school to show her how he picks out his targets. There must be a virgin who will be the survivor girl and it is better if she has jocks as friends. The friends will be targeted to kill first and the survivor girl will be the one who tries to take on Leslie and kill him.
   Leslie is just showing her these kids as an example though. He already has his survivor girl. Her name is Kelly (Johnson), she works as a waitress at a restaurant, spends a lot of time at the library and Leslie says she’s a virgin. She seems to fit the profile and Leslie has been following her for months. He is starting the initial scare tactics. He makes sure Kelly is able to see him in the shadows and locks her out of work one night. Then he makes sure she comes across a fake article. This article says that Kelly’s great uncle raped Leslie’s mother. This will get Kelly thinking about him and it serves as a reason for revenge. Kelly wants to find out more so she goes to the librarian for help. This is when she learns the legend of Leslie Vernon. This is where he makes his first real appearance. Leslie appears behind the librarian and murders her right in front of Kelly.
   Doc Halloran (Englund) appears and saves Kelly by shooting Leslie away. Leslie doesn’t view this as a bad thing at all though. Doc Halloran is what killers call their “Ahab.” The Ahab is the one who represents good, while the killer obviously represents evil. They serve as a counterpart to them. They know a lot about the killer that they are going against. The Ahab will do anything and everything they can to stop the killer. This includes spreading the word about him to try to warn others. Without knowing it, they are really just giving the killer free publicity. Think about it. When Freddy Krueger was weakest in Freddy vs. Jason he was only weak because he had left people’s minds, they were starting to forget about him. His power was in his target’s fear. If no one feared him any longer than he didn’t have power over anyone anymore. By Doc being there it makes Leslie seem more like a monster who should be feared.
   A few times through out the film Leslie and Taylor visit Leslie’s friend and his wife. Leslie’s friend is a retired killer and we first come to him when he is in a chamber underground. This is supposed to be to preserve himself. His wife supports what he did with his life and talks like she is one of them. They talk about tactics of killing and how Leslie is coming along with his plan. Leslie plans to kill Kelly and her friends when they stay in an old house for the night. Before they come there he sets up for the kill. He thinks of every possibility that he can and maps out what they will do to response to his traps the entire night.
   Through out this whole time Taylor questions, but goes along with him. She doesn’t go to the police and it seems like she is almost with him just on a smaller scale. However, when the night comes and Leslie’s plan starts going in to action she changes her mind. She is terrified about what is happening and she feels like she can’t just stand here and let it happen. Leslie knows what she is thinking so he takes her and the crew outside. He thanks them for joining him in his process, but tells them to leave so he can finish. The crew is ready to get out of there, but Taylor won’t leave. She says they have to warn and save the kids in the house. The problem is that Leslie sees them. It seems like they should be able to get out of there since they know his plan and all his tricks. However, from that point on everything seems to opposite and nothing is going right.

4. Acting

   Good 3.0

   Robert Englund is in this, which makes it worth seeing for that reason alone. After playing the horrifying Freddy Krueger for all those years now he is the good guy. He plays Doc Halloran, Leslie’s nemesis. He plays a character very much like Dr. Loomis in Halloween. This is kind of ironic since the actor playing the nemesis is the actor playing the killer’s role model as well. Nathan Baesel plays the killer well, mostly because he plays a regular guy even better. For 90% of the film we see him as basically a normal guy. He is dressed in normal clothes and at times is downright eccentric. Walking past him on the street you would never suspect him to be a killer. When he talks to his friend and to Taylor about killing it is portrayed as a normal, healthy, fun hobby. Anytime Taylor puts any negative connotations on it, he is sure she is misinformed and tries to make her think of it in the way he feels is right. By doing this it is like mocking all killers. It is saying that they are all normal guys who just happen to be killers by night. Angela Goethals does a good job as the journalist too. You can tell she is questioning Leslie every step of the way, but she seems to be going along with it for the most part too. You have to wonder is she just so desperate to get a good story that she will be on the side of a serial killer? Was she planning on letting these people be horribly murdered for a documentary? She crosses a line and ends up growing as a character at the end.

5. Male Stars Good 3.0

6. Female Stars Good 3.0

7. Female Costars Good 3.0

8. Male Costars Good 3.0

10. Film

    Very Good 3.5

    The way Leslie goes through everything it seems like what makes him succeed is just by luck and a few booby traps. However, we learn that he must have something behind that. He must seem to be one way and really be the exact opposite. His victims can’t know what is coming; he always has to be thinking of the bigger picture. Leslie does do this surprising the characters and the audience. The language in this film is entertaining as well. There is a whole different killer terminology for everything. They hold what they do very highly. It is fun to imagine some of the other killers we know and love doing this same thing. Just imagine Freddy crying for joy as he is waiting to kill Nancy Thompson.

11. Direction Very Good 3.5

12. Play Very Good 3.5

13. Music Very Good 3.5

14. Visuals Very Good 3.5
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 3.2

    The film is filled with many of the classic slasher kills. There is the typical blood as the teens quickly begin getting killed.

17. Sex Erotic 3.2

18. Violence Brutal 3.2

19. Rudeness Profane 3.2

21. Reality

    Surreal 2.2

    Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is a movie that any horror fan should enjoy. I loved how they treated the events that occurred on Elm Street, Crystal Lake, and Haddonfield. It was like they were fact and some of the most legendary news stories. Freddy, Jason, and Michael are brought up in this movie a lot. For the killers they serve as role model’s and are given credit and admiration for what they have done with their work. There are a lot of indirect references to them as well. One of the most interesting parts of these movies is their motives. However, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon suggests that this isn’t important. Having a back-story is needed so it seems like the killer has a reason to kill, a reason for revenge, a reason to take mercy on no one. However, it suggests that there is no reason that it has to be true. It is like the killer is creating his own character and is directing himself and starring in his own horror movie.

22. Circumstantial Surreal 2.2

23. Biological Surreal 2.2

24. Physical Surreal 2.2