It's tough to believe, but as of March it will already have been ten years since director Scott Glosserman's BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON receieved its limited theatrical release. A slasher movie that desconstructed the slasher sub-genre, BEHIND THE MASK told the story of
the next great psycho horror slasher, who has given a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo.
Speaking with Scaredycast, Glosserman revealed that he intends to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Leslie Vernon's rise with the release of a special edition DVD/Blu-ray. He's considering recording a director's commentary for the new release, and he might record it with Adam Green as part of Green's Movie Crypt podcast.
Getting Green in there would be fitting, since HATCHET II revealed that Victor Crowley and Leslie Vernon exist in the same universe.
Another bonus feature that could wind up on the disc is a deleted courtroom scene, the most expensive scene shot for BEHIND THE MASK. In addition to this release, there's also the possibility of a Leslie Vernon comic book being published this year.
Glosserman and writer David J. Stieve have long been wanting to make a follow-up to BEHIND THE MASK, something they refer to as a "spremake", as it's a mash-up of a sequel / prequel / remake, a deconstruction of every way horror franchises can go. Glosserman is hoping that the anniversary year will culminate in him finally getting this "spremake" off the ground.
Stieve wrote the script years ago, which brings up an interesting dilemma. Glosserman doesn't necessarily want to update it to present day, which means the film could end up being a mid-aughts period piece – with a possible explanation being that it's built on footage that was discovered in 2007 but has been embargoed until now. As Glosserman explains it, the script is a snapshot of where the horror genre was several years ago, capturing the essence of what was happening during the torture porn and found footage trends.
Whether the script would remain as it is or get a 2017 update, Glosserman is very enthusiastic about the idea and really wants to get the spremake out into the world.
There's more to say. There's an entire decade of horror tropes and conventions that I'm anxious to comment about. So one day maybe we'll get our shot to do it again."
I've been waiting for this follow-up for a long time. I really hope 2017 will be the year when all the right things happen to get Leslie Vernon back in front of the camera.
To hear the full interview with Glosserman, head over to Scaredycast.