What if iconic fictional killers like Freddy Krueger, Jason Vorhees and Michael Myers were real and being a slasher villain actually was looked upon as a profession and involved meticulous planning along with the hope things would stick close enough to the set-up to work out? That's the question Scott Glosserman and co-writer David J. Stieve have posed staging Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon as a mock documentary giving us a "behind-the-scenes" look at what it takes to be a masked murderer. It's an often fascinating and original take on the sub-genre simply because it breaks down the clichés you've come to expect in slasher flicks and gives us explanations for it all.

Meet Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel), a seemingly normal guy who also happens to be a serial killer. Approached by University reporter Taylor (Angela Goethals) to be the subject of a documentary, the incredibly charming Leslie agrees. Sure, he might have his odd quirks like only keeping pets he can eventually eat and having a library of what he calls "manuals" (medical books and the like), but otherwise he seems to be a regular functioning member of society - just one who enjoys killing. And he's gone out of his way to pick a perfect target this time in the (not quite) virginal Kelly (Kate Lang Johnson) who's due to spend the evening with some friends at Leslie's supposed childhood home which is the thing of urban legends as he was cast out by the town, and thought to have been killed in the process, and is said to still be alive with revenge in mind.

Given the opportunity to be a part of Leslie's next spree, Taylor happily agrees to film everything as we're taken through his very thorough planning stages which include coming up with a game plan as to how events should occur as well as doctoring the hardware in the nearby shed so, if and when it's used as a weapon, it'll just fall apart. We also get to meet his mentor Eugene (Scott Wilson) along the way and share Leslie's excitement upon getting his very own "White Whale" (a great reference to Melville's classic "Moby Dick") in the form of Doc Halloran (Robert Englund).

So far, so awesome. But it's in the final third that Behind the Mask stumbles a tiny bit. We do get Taylor's expected guilty conscience about everything which leads to her trying to warn Leslie's victims and becoming a target herself but I just felt the script changes gears to play out like the type of movie it had been wittily sending-up to that point. Thankfully, they have made just enough changes, and tossed in enough bloodshed, to this formulaic finale to make it forgivable. Of course, the fact the first two-thirds is so stellar doesn't hurt either.

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is the kind of genre film I can't get enough of. Seemingly coming out of nowhere it's not content to rest on its laurels and be your typical horror flick instead choosing to stand the whole sub-genre on its head. I love how Glosserman and Stieve have made slasher flicks, and the seemingly immortal killers that reside in them, literal. I knew I was going to enjoy the film when, early on, they look upon some of our favourite imaginary slashers as real case studies - which gives genre favourite Kane Hodder ("Jason" in numerous Friday the 13th sequels) an ironically funny cameo being filmed walking into the Elm Street house.

It's the makers attention to detail that pleased me the most. If you've been a long-time horror fiend there's a boatload of references here to get you smiling. They've also done a very good job developing the character of Leslie, making him a fun-loving and friendly guy when he's not killing while making him into a relentless, focused being once the mask is on and it's game time. A lot of the credit for this effective portrayal must be given to Baesel who brings a vigour and enthusiastic charisma to the role. It makes a nice balance to Goethals mostly serious turn. It's also a lot of fun to see Englund playing a role that's an obvious take on Dr. Loomis from the Halloween series. Zelda Rubenstein (Poltergeist, Anguish) also makes a brief cameo to beef-up the film's horror cred.

If you're finding yourself getting a little tired of slasher movies, something I even admit to despite it being my favourite sub-genre, then you owe it to yourself to check this out. It's smart, funny, and (most importantly) entertaining. There's not quite anything like it out there, even if the idea is mildly borrowed from the 1992 Belgium film, Man Bites Dog. (Chris Hartley, 3/10/10)

Directed By: Scott Glosserman.
Written By: David J. Stieve, Scott Glosserman.

Starring: Nathan Baesel, Angela Goethals, Ben Pace, Scott Wilson.