Sunday, July 08, 2007
A Review and Some News
I finally had the chance to see Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. And boy did this one live up to the internet horror movie messageboard hype and then some. It's easily one of the best horror films since Shaun of the Dead.
Behind the Mask is a mockumentary slasher film that turns into a straight-up slasher film (without feeling forced) in the film's final act. Leslie Vernon (played by Nathan Baesel who just completely owns this role) is a wannabe slasher who's trying to make a name for himself. A documentary crew follows him around as he prepares to stalk and kill a group of unsuspecting teenagers. However as things get more and more out of hand and the bodies start to drop, the lead documentarian Taylor (Angela Goethals) decides to fight back against the deranged and murderous Vernon.
A summary like that really can't do this film justice. The performances are just fantastic. The dialogue manages to feel natural and laugh out loud funny (or bone-chillingly scary when called for). The filmmakers (director Scott Glosserman and writer David J. Stieve) do an excellent job of sending up the slasher film sub-genre while still remaining true to its rules and expectations. Leslie Vernon exists in a world where Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Freddy Krueger are real people (almost like the Michael Jordans of slashers). It's a bold choice and I think it actually works better than, say, the Scream series where those characters were simply movie characters. (And actually the Scream movies are more whodunnits than anything else but that's beside the point).
The transition in the 3rd act from mockumentary to balls-to-the wall slasher film (with just the right level of blood and gore) is pretty flawless. That has a lot to do with the writing and performances (especially from the 2 leads Leslie and Taylor). Goethals and Baesel establish a relationship between these two that manages to be both sweet and later downright terrifying and disturbing.
I've already watched it twice and it's now at the top of my to-buy list (well right behind paper towels). I'd highly recommend it to any fans of horror or even fans of those Christopher Guest type movies (though it's not exactly the same...those movies have more of an ensemble film to them, whereas Behind the Mask is really a one-man show). It was so good that...
It actually inspired me to do some serious, "ass-in-chair" writing. I finished up the 1st rewrite of FAMILY FIRST (and yes I've gone back to the original title, I think it's a bit more subtle and creepy). I've whittled this draft down to about 100 pages and I'm pretty pleased with what's there.
Now comes the next step, letting the baby bird from the nest. I've sent this draft off to a few friends for their thoughts and insights. In addition, I may be joining a writing group soon (made up of members of my horror writing class) and I'm sure I'll be looking for their input as well. Once I hear back from everyone, it'll be time for another round of rewrites and then time for some submissions (to contests, managers, agents, production companies, etc.).
Which isn't to say that I'll be sitting on my thumbs until then. Oh no! BET ON BLOOD still needs to be written. I have a solid start and it's been sitting on the backburner since class ended. It's time to start hammering out some pages. I've got a fairly solid outline and a good story. Hopefully having weekly meetings with a writing group will help with the whole "I need to get pages done" thing. We shall see. Some people are big on writing groups and others (like my friend Julia) not so much.
Who knows? I'm certainly willing to give it a chance though.
One final note, you know what the real horror is? helL Train. Would it kill 'em to do repairs on late weeknights and then not run the shitty shuttle bus for like five weekends straight. It really mucks up my summer especially when I know that the shuttle bus drivers are unreliable hacks who don't always stop at every stop (like they're fricking supposed to). Gah, bite me MTA.
Phew. Sorry for the rant.
Behind the Mask is a mockumentary slasher film that turns into a straight-up slasher film (without feeling forced) in the film's final act. Leslie Vernon (played by Nathan Baesel who just completely owns this role) is a wannabe slasher who's trying to make a name for himself. A documentary crew follows him around as he prepares to stalk and kill a group of unsuspecting teenagers. However as things get more and more out of hand and the bodies start to drop, the lead documentarian Taylor (Angela Goethals) decides to fight back against the deranged and murderous Vernon.
A summary like that really can't do this film justice. The performances are just fantastic. The dialogue manages to feel natural and laugh out loud funny (or bone-chillingly scary when called for). The filmmakers (director Scott Glosserman and writer David J. Stieve) do an excellent job of sending up the slasher film sub-genre while still remaining true to its rules and expectations. Leslie Vernon exists in a world where Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Freddy Krueger are real people (almost like the Michael Jordans of slashers). It's a bold choice and I think it actually works better than, say, the Scream series where those characters were simply movie characters. (And actually the Scream movies are more whodunnits than anything else but that's beside the point).
The transition in the 3rd act from mockumentary to balls-to-the wall slasher film (with just the right level of blood and gore) is pretty flawless. That has a lot to do with the writing and performances (especially from the 2 leads Leslie and Taylor). Goethals and Baesel establish a relationship between these two that manages to be both sweet and later downright terrifying and disturbing.
I've already watched it twice and it's now at the top of my to-buy list (well right behind paper towels). I'd highly recommend it to any fans of horror or even fans of those Christopher Guest type movies (though it's not exactly the same...those movies have more of an ensemble film to them, whereas Behind the Mask is really a one-man show). It was so good that...
It actually inspired me to do some serious, "ass-in-chair" writing. I finished up the 1st rewrite of FAMILY FIRST (and yes I've gone back to the original title, I think it's a bit more subtle and creepy). I've whittled this draft down to about 100 pages and I'm pretty pleased with what's there.
Now comes the next step, letting the baby bird from the nest. I've sent this draft off to a few friends for their thoughts and insights. In addition, I may be joining a writing group soon (made up of members of my horror writing class) and I'm sure I'll be looking for their input as well. Once I hear back from everyone, it'll be time for another round of rewrites and then time for some submissions (to contests, managers, agents, production companies, etc.).
Which isn't to say that I'll be sitting on my thumbs until then. Oh no! BET ON BLOOD still needs to be written. I have a solid start and it's been sitting on the backburner since class ended. It's time to start hammering out some pages. I've got a fairly solid outline and a good story. Hopefully having weekly meetings with a writing group will help with the whole "I need to get pages done" thing. We shall see. Some people are big on writing groups and others (like my friend Julia) not so much.
Who knows? I'm certainly willing to give it a chance though.
One final note, you know what the real horror is? helL Train. Would it kill 'em to do repairs on late weeknights and then not run the shitty shuttle bus for like five weekends straight. It really mucks up my summer especially when I know that the shuttle bus drivers are unreliable hacks who don't always stop at every stop (like they're fricking supposed to). Gah, bite me MTA.
Phew. Sorry for the rant.
