Movies
SOMETHING is Finally Happening with the ‘Behind the Mask’ Sequel…
Leslie Vernon may soon be coming back. And it’s about time.
It’s been 11 years since we first met a new slasher icon in Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Directed by Scott Glosserman, the innovative slasher film took a meta approach to the sub-genre, deconstructing the whole damn thing by taking us behind the scenes and showing what it’s like to be a slasher villain. The planning. The preparation. The execution.
In the past decade, Behind the Mask has scooped up a pretty sizeable audience of fans, and back in 2012, Glosserman tried in vain to fan-fund a sequel to the film. The script had already been penned by David Stieve, who wrote the first film, and though fans were begging for it, the numbers just didn’t reflect the interest. Leslie Vernon, it seemed, would forever be a one-hit wonder.
But that may change this year.
After being inactive for well over a year, the official Before the Mask: The Return of Leslie Vernon Facebook page was updated last night with a mysterious message: “It’s about time to dust this old thing off…..2017 seems like a good year.” Actor Nathan “Leslie Vernon” Baesel subsequently shared the post, writing that “Maybe something good will come out of 2017 yet.”
After seeing the post we reached out to Stieve, who told us this:
Leslie doesn’t give up, he’s always watching for his moment. Remember, if he taught us nothing else, it’s that his line of work is neither easy or convenient, and it takes its own sweet time for the right confluence of events to come together.
What does this all mean? Well, if nothing more, it’s confirmation that SOMETHING is finally happening in the world of Leslie Vernon. We’re keeping our eyes and ears peeled for more.
In the meantime, here’s what we last heard about Before the Mask:
Before the Mask will pick up where Behind The Mask left off with Vernon disappointed that his fame did not catch on, but ready to get back to work. With Before The Mask, Glosserman seeks to create a spreemake, or a mash-up of a sequel, prequel, and remake, that will deconstruct and comment on the archetypes of prequels, sequels and remakes. The original team of filmmakers and actors, including all-stars Nathan Baesel (Leslie Vernon), Angela Goethals (Taylor Gentry) and Robert Englund (Doc Holleran), are anxious for the second Leslie Vernon installment.
Before updating the video nasty Faces of Death, director Daniel Goldhaber and writer Isa Mazzei explored the dangers of online life in tech-thriller Cam, their feature debut that was acquired by Netflix in 2018 after making waves on the festival circuit.
At the end of last year, the Netflix exclusive quietly departed from the streaming platform, left without another streaming home.
It’s not an isolated story; Mike Flanagan’s Hush also left streaming entirely for a period until it was finally picked up on both physical media and other streaming services.
While the tech-thriller currently isn’t available to watch on Netflix, Tubi, Hulu, or any other platforms, that’s not a problem for Cam thanks to a very cool move by Goldhaber: the director has made his breakout film accessible to watch online for free via his website.
As his site notes: “CAM is unfortunately not currently available to view on any platforms, so you can watch it here if you like :).“
No subscriptions or fees necessary, just hit play.
Cam follows Alice (Madeline Brewer), who works as an online cam girl obsessed with her ranking on the cam site. The higher her ranking goes, the more it draws unwanted attention, and Alice soon finds herself replaced on her own show with a doppelganger.
Written by Mazzei, a former camgirl, it uses the horror thriller premise to examine the life of a sex worker; Alice’s career ambition is directly at odds with the shame it brings to her family, and how she tries to spare them from it by keeping them in the dark. It only compounds her danger when the doppelganger enters the equation in Goldhaber’s engaging thriller.
For a deep dive into the treacherous world of Cam, listen to Horror Queers’ episode on it now.
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