Behind the Mask strikes surprising thematic gold, while also worshipping the genre. Glosserman’s shell game approach leaves the audience with clear messages, all while providing enough easter eggs and homages to satisfy the hardcore genre fans.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Oct 2, 2022

The film is more a comedy than a horror film, and a very very funny one at that

| Jul 2, 2021

It's cool to see that he didn't chain himself to the limitations of the mockumentary format. I've actually never seen a film shot like this, so that's pretty cool.

| Oct 29, 2019

This film proves why deconstructing a genre you love isn't always necessarily a negative. It can help us learn how to love it even more.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | May 1, 2019

The movie is a lot of fun, as well as a prime example of how to pump new life into an old formula.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 27, 2018

...it's ultimately the underwhelming execution that confirms the movie's place as an almost total misfire.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 27, 2015

[A] terrific little pearl of a satiric horror-comedy.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Sep 11, 2014

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 8, 2011

A pure horror film masterpiece, and slasher fans would be best to acknowledge it.

| Apr 29, 2009

A rather funny "Scream"-like cross between a mockumentary and a direct-to-video slasher movie, "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" is custom-made for horror fans, but it isn't remotely scary and people that aren't already steeped in the lore of t

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 4, 2008

| Original Score: 3/6 | Sep 22, 2007

Other than displaying a textbook awareness of its ancestors, Behind the Mask offers next to nothing

| Original Score: C | Aug 9, 2007

A mini-masterpiece... one of the best indie films in recent memory.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 19, 2007

Fun stuff, though the jokes ultimately miss as much as they hit

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 22, 2007

Behind the Mask isn't a bad movie, but it is a decidedly minor one, a short pumped up to feature length that impales itself on its own hook: After you've explained all the tricks, it's impossible to have your act perceived as genuine magic.

| Original Score: 85/100 | Mar 30, 2007

Unfortunately, we've seen this jolly inventory of slasher-flick clichs before, in other parodies dating back to "Scream." And with not much new to contribute, "Behind the Mask" starts running out of narrative momentum about two-thirds of the way through.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 23, 2007

A deconstructionist horror comedy that owes a debt to Scream and the 1992 Belgian film Man Bites Dog, Mask nevertheless has enough pitch-perfect wit to lay claim to its own patch of postmodern, movie-loving snarkiness.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Mar 22, 2007

Lacks the bitter resonance of its obvious predecessor, Belgian filmmaker Remy Belvaux's 1992 Man Bites Dog.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 16, 2007

About two-thirds in, the movie shifts gears disastrously. Made me want to haul someone into the cutting room for revenge.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 16, 2007

The wait is over. Endlessly imaginative, rigorously crafted, and extremely frightening, Behind the Mask is as good as horror gets.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 16, 2007