Jason Voorhees, Freddy Kruger and Michael Myers are names that have come to inspire fear into the hearts of us all. This trio of terror has been responsible for the taking of untold lives and destruction. Their stomping grounds of Crystal Lake, Springwood and Haddonfield are now simply shadows of their former selves as they wait for the next return of their most infamous residents. But what if someone looked up to these monsters of mayhem? What if someone wanted to follow in their bloody footsteps? And what if that person wanted to go above and beyond what has already been accomplished by these men?

Well, Leslie Vernon wants to do just that and to prove it, he’s bringing along a film crew to catch all of the hack and slash, as Leslie invites you to go “Behind the Mask” as he begins his rise to horror greatness.

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is simply a horror fan’s delight. Funny, smart, original and highly entertaining, it is the This Is Spinal Tap of the horror genre, and is a must-see for any horror movie addict.

Is this film a horror spoof? Well yes, but not in a Scary Movie/Young Frankenstein way. Behind the Mask is a horror spoof with horror movies and horror fans in mind. You know those questions that we sit around with friends and sit around on Horrorwatch and ask like; “Why do they kill?” “Why does Jason always walk?” “Why does a cat always jump out at some point?” “Why does the virgin never get killed?” well all of those and many more get answered in this film’s quirky story line.

Once we meet Leslie, we quickly get his back story of how he was thrown over a waterfall and drowned for some of his past discretions. We then learn how he vows to come back on the anniversary of his death and seek revenge on the residents of Glen Echo Maryland, mainly the high school crowd as usual. But Leslie wants his reasons to be completely understood so he notifies a local documentary crew about his upcoming killing spree and invites them to come along and learn the ins and outs of the slasher genre.

Not only is the plot simple and fun it’s also easy to follow, but at no time does the film or story make fun of itself, genre or fan base, it is all done with complete respect. Writers Scott Glosserman and David Steive do a great job in this aspect and by filling the film with numerous other horror movie tie ins, such as characters, locations, props and music scores, you don’t just get a great spoof, you also get an outstanding homage to horror movies as well. As a matter of fact if you want a great idea for a party game or an excellent Horrornight here at the Watch, kick back with some friends and see how many you can spot as the film goes on.

Aside from the great writing of the film there are also some damn fine performances as well. Robert Englund is great in his “Dr. Loomis” or “Ahab” role, Scott Wilson as Leslie’s mentor Eugene does another great “character” performance and Kane Hodder damn near steals the movie with a three second cameo, but the true star of the film is Nathan Baesel who plays Leslie. Baesel completely impressed me. He is a cocky, smart ass who plays off of his own ego so much that you can’t help but to like him, a lot and I have no doubt that Baesel will have a long life and lines on the convention scene.

As you can tell I really enjoyed this one and I also highly recommend it to all horror fans. It’s also really a shame that Behind the Mask never got the chance to shine on the big screen. It might not have done huge box office, but it would have given the film and filmmakers so much needed exposure.

9 of 10

All the lucky sods who got screeners of this had been hyping it up for me for months before its wide DVD release, and I was not disappointed. This was a very refreshing take. Original and slightly off-key, but like Prime says, never makes fun of its audience or what they love.

There is a very noticable lack of blood though. I think a bit more gore, though not necessarily the exploitive type, could have enhanced it. Like the few moments of violence did for Hot Fuzz.

But this does have a residual creepiness that kind of sticks with you. Other horror movies, when you turn off the lights and go to bed, you can dismiss them as rediculous or far fetched. This one makes you think, 'what if someone was crazy enough to do this?' It gives a good reason why someone might be crouching under the foot of your bed, waiting for you to turn out the light, for that moment to scare the piss out of you just before he does the dirty deed.

8 out of 10 bricks on a string.