Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, was released in 2006 with very minimal fanfare. It’s a shame as it’s probably one of the best horror films of recent times that you probably haven’t even heard of, let alone seen. It takes a cue from Scream, in that it de-constructs the slasher sub-genre and successfully combines scares, laughs and those little winks to an all-too-knowing audience. As it covers a sub-genre that has become somewhat tired and over-mined, as well as being an independent picture, it could very easily have fallen flat on its face, but maybe because of the lack of studio interference, it plays out very cleverly and is a real treat.
