Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
This 2006 mockumentary is set in a world where supernatural killers like Jason, Freddy, and Halloween’s Michael Myers are real, and follows an ambitious young man who allows a film crew to follow him as he sets out to join their ranks. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon offers a uniquely sly take on the horror genre—it skewers slasher and found-footage clichés—and boasts some excellent casting, including Poltergeist’s Zelda Rubenstein in one of her final roles. Best of all, though, is Englund as Leslie Vernon’s nemesis, or his “Ahab,” to use the film’s own terminology: Doc Halloran, a riff on Halloween’s trenchcoat-clad Dr. Loomis, who swoops in with great theatricality to prevent the aspiring maniac from accomplishing his goal.
