Whit AlexanderBehind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (LINK)
August 14th 2008 19:19
This is a movie that slipped under my radar the first time around, and I don't think I'm the only one.
This is a movie that starts off as a documentary based on the training and preparation of a man who plans on becoming a killer like Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees. A lot of it is tongue-in-cheek, like him talking about how much cardio it takes to walk faster than most people run, or him being an amateur sleight-of-hand artist. He also shows them how he prepares the scene for the final showdown. At the end, when it goes from the mockumentary to the final slasher mode, Leslie goes from being interesting and charismatic to quiet and scary.
They talk about the yonic and phallic imagery that often comes to play in the genre, and how it works within the script, which I thought was interesting. It was a conversation that was most able to be transplanted to a discussion between a writer and an observer and make sense, the conversation about phallic imagery- the final girl always grabs a bat or an ax or something, how the closet is like the womb, how he wants her to go through a tunnel-like area like she's being reborn- it was a really interesting view on the subject.
There's also a bit about the strange romance, between the killer and the 'survivor girl'. Although it's almost always present, this movie really sort of brings that forward, and really addresses it, although it's not actually spoken of too much.
The ending twist is actually pretty predictable- but it's also very amusing in a dark way. And it's predictable in the 'if you were paying attention and listening then you know' kind of way.
All in all, I thought it was a real neat little movie that has a lot going for it- including the tongue-in-cheek mockumentary dissolving into the slasher film at the end. Definitely worth a look-through if you're a fan of the slasher genre.
This is a movie that starts off as a documentary based on the training and preparation of a man who plans on becoming a killer like Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees. A lot of it is tongue-in-cheek, like him talking about how much cardio it takes to walk faster than most people run, or him being an amateur sleight-of-hand artist. He also shows them how he prepares the scene for the final showdown. At the end, when it goes from the mockumentary to the final slasher mode, Leslie goes from being interesting and charismatic to quiet and scary.
They talk about the yonic and phallic imagery that often comes to play in the genre, and how it works within the script, which I thought was interesting. It was a conversation that was most able to be transplanted to a discussion between a writer and an observer and make sense, the conversation about phallic imagery- the final girl always grabs a bat or an ax or something, how the closet is like the womb, how he wants her to go through a tunnel-like area like she's being reborn- it was a really interesting view on the subject.
There's also a bit about the strange romance, between the killer and the 'survivor girl'. Although it's almost always present, this movie really sort of brings that forward, and really addresses it, although it's not actually spoken of too much.
The ending twist is actually pretty predictable- but it's also very amusing in a dark way. And it's predictable in the 'if you were paying attention and listening then you know' kind of way.
All in all, I thought it was a real neat little movie that has a lot going for it- including the tongue-in-cheek mockumentary dissolving into the slasher film at the end. Definitely worth a look-through if you're a fan of the slasher genre.
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