Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

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Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

R

2007

1h 32m

Comedy

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

76%

Tomatometer

42 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Nice, normal-looking Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel) has an obsession with movie-style slashers like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. Leslie decides to follow in the footsteps of his heroes, and, ever the self-promoter, invites a documentary filmmaker (Angela Goethals) and her crew to follow him around as he constructs his own grisly legacy.

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Critics Consensus

A smart mockumentary that presents a gory, funny, and obviously affectionate skewering of the slasher genre.

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Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

08/09/2007

C

Other than displaying a textbook awareness of its ancestors, Behind the Mask offers next to nothing

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Steve Murray

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

03/22/2007

B

A deconstructionist horror comedy that owes a debt to Scream and the 1992 Belgian film Man Bites Dog, Mask nevertheless has enough pitch-perfect wit to lay claim to its own patch of postmodern, movie-loving snarkiness.

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Mark Rahner

Seattle Times

03/16/2007

2/4

About two-thirds in, the movie shifts gears disastrously. Made me want to haul someone into the cutting room for revenge.

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Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

Mar 12

An extremely clever slasher mockumentary with a pair of great lead performances. It's beyond disappointing that the sequel never materialized because this has barely aged a day.

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Alan French

Sunshine State Cineplex

10/02/2022

8/10

Behind the Mask strikes surprising thematic gold, while also worshipping the genre. Glosserman’s shell game approach leaves the audience with clear messages, all while providing enough easter eggs and homages to satisfy the hardcore genre fans.

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Jason Adams

My New Plaid Pants

07/02/2021

The film is more a comedy than a horror film, and a very very funny one at that

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Savvy W

@RT87000011 Nov 19

SO underrated it's not even funny, the swapping between the mockumentary and slasher formulas and styles is masterful because both are done perfectly and enjoyably. Every character is so interesting and likable and the story, despite being the 'epitome of a slasher' is SO fresh

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Sep 16

Filme bacaninha, o roteiro é mais ou menos, as cenas de terror são bacaninhas, a história é bacaninha, o elenco é bacaninha, e poucos ajudam a melhorar o filme, os personagens são bacaninhas, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, o filme também tem cenas interessantes que mostram os bastidores de um filme de terror, que tem um plot twist bacaninha, com tudo isso, eu recomendo esse filme.

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David L

@RT85619132 01/04/2025

It’s a different kind of slasher film, for sure. Completely different than anything else in the genre. So much more going on here than topless teen girls getting hacked up in the woods. Very original. I loved it.

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Tasha L

@Tasha.lawson346 12/09/2024

To be honest I didn’t like it at first but the ending did not disappoint. Super underrated and a great film to watch.

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Jay H

@RT70414899 10/26/2024

A clever "mockumentary" that follows a killer as he gets ready for his first slaughter. The writing is smart, and the performances are terrific. Personally, I wish the movie had more gore (hey, even if you are making a slasher comedy, the kills should be explicit), but that's just me.

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Riley A

@RT64007423 08/02/2024

Pretty Groundbreaking for its time, I saw this when I was younger and whenever I think of original horror movies this one definitely hits the mark.

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Scott Glosserman

Director

Nathan Baesel

Leslie Vernon

Angela Goethals

Taylor Gentry

Robert Englund

Doc Halloran

Scott Wilson

Eugene

Zelda Rubinstein

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Synopsis

Nice, normal-looking Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel) has an obsession with movie-style slashers like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. Leslie decides to follow in the footsteps of his heroes, and, ever the self-promoter, invites a documentary filmmaker (Angela Goethals) and her crew to follow him around as he constructs his own grisly legacy.

Director: Scott Glosserman
Producer: Scott Glosserman
Screenwriter: Scott Glosserman, David J. Stieve
Distributor: Anchor Bay
Production Co: Code Entertainment, Glen Echo Entertainment
Rating: R (Language|Horror Violence|Brief Drug Use|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 16, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 21, 2017
Runtime: 1h 32m

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