Simply A Masterpiece

Perfect cast and a good story

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I'll say this about the SPOILER, if you regularly watch slasher films, not a spoiler really. Like we all know James Bond beats the villains or their plot in every movie, we all know that most superheroes win in most films. So why does a potential genre redefining film follow the exact formula and shoehorn two unseen characters and an apparent "romance" in the end? Most likely we'll never know the answers to the question I posed. I however can tell you how the second half SHOULD have ended. The methodically planned out killing and slaughter? Should've all fallen apart hilariously yet gory and fun. The "Jock" should've been injury stricken with something like crutches and a leg cast, or pretending to be a jock but outed as a poser. Stoners should've lost their stash and turned out to be quite shockingly smart while lucid. Some of the victims should've either accidentally killed themselves or others. The car should've worked, but had missing parts, like the escaping survivors are pulled over for non functioning tail lights and arrested for the now found missing stoner stash. The "Ahab" should've been revealed as incompetent.The most unforgivable thing is obviously the chemistry and potential romance between the girl and the killer. The girl should've saved the killer from being killed by someone, or refused to finish the killer because she just couldn't. I feel that the Walking Dead's Scott Wilson should've revealed that his wife was a survivor that he just couldn't kill or fell in love with. "I set off my bear own trap, my mask fell off, she started to remove the trap, we looked into each other's eyes, and she metaphorically put me in a ball and chain. Been together ever since!" The age difference screamed that, right? You want a sequel and cult classic status? Sequel should've had the girl and Leslie together and had him continuing to "work" and the comical stresses and complications his career/hobby puts on the relationship.I mean if you put all that work into a mockumentary or comedic tone, pull the trigger and don't wuss out. Should've been the slasher version of "What We Do In The Shadows"! Spent most of the second half waiting for a better ending that never came... Watch "Miss December" instead of this. It's not a mockumentary, but definitely has a better payoff and ending!

The horror comedy is a very hard mix to get right. Too much horror and the risk you run is that it feels like a horror film with out of place comedic moments. Too much comedy and you end up with SCARY MOVIE or spoofs that aren't at any moment scary. Though the medium once seemed to be a novelty, the indie horror field is littered with them anymore. As a result, it stands out all the more when one does it right. This film is not just a horror comedy, though as it is also a cleverly made examination of the slasher genre, in the fashion of SCREAM or CABIN IN THE WOODS, it turns the lens around to put a spotlight on the common conventions of the genre and point them out, then use those same conventions to fantastic effect.The movie plays out mostly like a mock documentary. A film crew is following a man named Leslie Vernon, who has a typical backstory full of familial drama and tragedy. He wants to become the next Michael or Jason (who in this world were real people). He has invited this crew to follow him as he sets up his masterpiece, a performance of murderous mayhem. The crew follows him as he choose his "survivor girl", does the cardio work necessary to stalk his victims and sets up the murder scene with the right pieces in the right places to create the right beats. It's all done so well and clearly made by people who love the genre and understand it perfectly.We get some great cameos in the movie. Zelda Rubinstein (POLTERGEIST) plays the librarian who is essential as a victim that will touch the right strings and, also, provides our backstory in the right scary voice. Robert Englund plays a twist on Dr. Loomis, Leslie's "Ahab", the man intent to hunt him down. Scott Wilson (Hershel from TWD) is his mentor. This is another super clever part of this movie. They clearly play on Scott's role in IN COLD BLOOD and use that to comment on the style of killer used in 50s and 60s "psycho noir" horror compared to the modern slasher.The star of this movie, though, is Nathan Baesal as Leslie Vernon. He is truly spectacular and I can't believe he hasn't got more roles indie horror. He plays the comedic lines and gags so well that he seems like a seasoned comedian, but does it with enough straight lace that we never cross into SCARY MOVIE territory. He's likable enough that the viewer forgets we are watching a man plot people's murders and almost cheer him on. He's sincere enough that we believe why this is important to him.The best horror comedies work, though, because they don't forget the horror and this movie is no exception. The documentary style of the film, with a crew following Leslie's every move, carries through into the final act. Then, there is a switch in point of view. It's not unnatural or forced feeling. You understand why we change smoothly in the plot. From that moment, the movie switches into a tense, thrilling slasher film complete with a spooky, iconic movie villain of its' own. The final act is every bit as good, if not better, than your average 80s slasher film and it's what makes this movie work so well. Yes, some will remark that it's completely cliché at moments, but that is the exact point. Leslie has spent the entire movie setting the viewer up that these are the essentials of a slasher movie and carries them out with spot on accuracy.It's a comment on the slasher genre, done as a sincere love letter. It's an incredibly fun movie and I will preach its' greatness to anyone who will listen.

I have always been a fan of horror movies. Even as a small child I would sneak into the living room, and peer from behind the couch at the Freddie movie that the adults were watching. I still really enjoy all of the old 80s horror movies with the infamous larger- than-life serial killer.As an adult I also became a fan of mockumentaries. This is Spinal Tap, and Best in Show both brought to life the genius of Christopher Guest and introduced the world to documentaries gone mad. As a genre, it is typically only comedies that it showfronts.This movie merges the two genres but not in the way they'd have you believe. The movie begins with an interview between a very green newb journalist who seems to be doing a college project of some sorts. She wants to interview Leslie Vernon who believes himself the new Jason Voorhees, the new Freddie Kruger. As interesting interview subjects go, you can't really tell as the viewer if this guy is just a giant douche bag, or if they are just poking fun at the movie serial killer genre as a whole. Are we meant to take him seriously as he describes how to stalk and get-to-know his newest obsession, his proposed subject?Then something amazing happens. After his description of how to be a killer, the movie shifts entirely. Enter music, effects, dramatic acting, and all things you would expect from a horror movie. The movie, which was a shaky-cam low budget documentary, becomes a horror movie – if only for a scene while his plan (previously described to you in detail) sets into action.And this is how the movie plays out. We cut from documentary style to horror movie and back and forth until his movie and story are told. Its akin to watching a horror movie DVD special edition – if all the behind the scenes were cut into the film itself.Its not something I have ever seen before or since. And it was worth every single minute.

The next psycho horror slasher has given a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the town of Glen Echo...All the while explaining and deconstructing the conventions and archetypes of the horror genre for them....It's a sound idea, having someone pretend to be an invincible entity such as Freddy, Jason et al, but sometimes, the film is just too clever for it's own good, and promises more than it delivers.homaging Halloween more than anything else, the movie is a treat for anyone who grew up on these sort of movies from the eighties, as it does every single element of the slasher genre by the book.Which means ultimately, it feels a little samey. The cast are great, and at times it's really funny, but the lead girl just reminded me of Home Alone all the time, and every time she spoke, I was expecting her to say the line 'Your what the french call Les Incompetente'.Englund is the Loomis character in all this, and the final third turns into full slasher mode.If Scream hadn't of been made ten years prior, this would have been something special,