scott glosserman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

OK, so nobody ran out to make Scott Glosserman's Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon some sort of unexpected cult hit -- but now that the fantastic little flick is now out on DVD, you have no excuse for not checking it out. OK, if you don't like horror movies, you have a fair excuse. But everyone else! You add it to your Netflix queue, you! (shakes fist indignantly)

Anyway, we're pleased to share the news that (despite his debut baby's paltry box office performance) Mr. Glosserman has been tapped by Paramount Vantage to helm a horror flick called Playing House. According to Variety, it'll be about a deserted island mansion that delivers some terror when a young couple shows up. (I assume there'll be a little more to it than that.) Glosserman will be writing the screenplay with first-timer Macy Raymond. Scotty G. (we're pals so I can call him that) also has an adaptation of Paul Fenimore Cooper's Tal in the works.

And one day, who knows? Maybe Glosserman will become the next Sam Raimi and we'll see the return of Leslie Vernon. Hey, stranger things have happened. (But yeah, definitely rent the flick and then report back with your thoughts.)

I'm not a guy who goes out of his way to see a horror flick (never been a hardcore fan of the genre), and so for me to announce that one of my favorite films of last year was a horror -- well, that's saying a whole lot about the film in question. As much as us movie bloggers threw tons of love toward Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, it still wasn't enough to get audiences to open up their wallets ($69 grand on 72 screens throughout a 17-day run) during its limited release this past spring. I'm not sure how well it's doing on DVD, but let me take this time to encourage you to please rent or buy this sucker -- it's a fantastic little gem that will feel so refreshing after the ugly "torture porn" flicks we've been subjected to over the past few months.

Part comedy, part old school slasher pic, Leslie Vernon felt like an indie version of Scream -- except, I actually liked it better. The brainchild of two guys who grew up addicted to horror (Scott Glosserman and David J. Stieve), there's now talk that a sequel might be in the works. In an interview with Stieve over at IconsofFright, he says they know exactly where they want to take the Vernon character next. However, it all depends on whether someone will be there to finance another horrific adventure. In fact, his exact words were: "There are a lot of what-ifs, and things have to happen right in this business for that to ever come to fruition, but certainly if there's going to be another horror movie coming from me, my biggest impulse, of course, is to relate what happens to Leslie next."

Stieve adds that, if there is a sequel, they would create one utilizing all the necessary horror sequel ingredients. "There's specific conventions involved with every killer that comes back. How the town reacts, who the people are that survive, and who fills what role coming around again ... so there are all these very specific genre expectations for a sequel that are ripe for the picking ...," he says. If you're a fan of Leslie Vernon, definitely check out this interview as it's packed with tons of info on the film, the writing process, the production and, of course, the potential sequel. And if you're looking for a fantastic way to celebrate this upcoming Friday, the 13th -- might I suggest renting Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

The coolest horror flick of the year that nobody went to see has claimed itself a DVD release date. After giving the critically-embraced Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon a cursory (and very limited) theatrical release, Anchor Bay will bring the slick slasher deconstruction home to DVD on June 26th. According to Bloody-disgusting.com, the platter will come complete with audio commentaries, a couple of featurettes, several deleted and extended scenes, two of the very cool trailers, thoughts from writer/director Scott Glosserman and a perfectly lovely anamorphic widescreen transfer.

For the record, Anchor Bay released Behind the Mask in 72 theaters on March 16th. (It opened opposite Dead Silence and Premonition, hardly heavy-hitters but most certainly "genre" flicks.) Over the course of its 3-week theatrical run, the movie grossed less than $70,000. I mention that rather ugly number not to draw attention to the film's fiscal failure, but to indicate how damn hard it must be to "sell" a movie like this one. It's got no stars, it's definitely an "indie" and it's tailor-made for a very specific niche audience. But this is what makes DVD so great: I predict that millions of horror fans will have a ball "discovering" Leslie Vernon on their own ... and if this movie doesn't become a cult mini-classic within five years time, then I vow to retire from the horror game forever. (Disclaimer: In actuality I promise no such thing.)

Anyway, you can see for yourself if the horror community has over-hyped Behind the Mask when the flick goes digital in June. As far as Anchor Bay's theatrical releases are concerned, they also have a full-bore September 7 release planned for Adam Green's Hatchet -- a flick that better get more than 72 screens and 70k before we hear news of a DVD release!

A conference session called "Panel of the Dead" brings to mind an image of a long table populated by zombies, facing an eager crowd waving shotguns. However, the horror-film panel at SXSW this year was lively and no one tried to eat anyone else's brains, at least not in a literal sense. The big conference room was full and most people stayed in the room even after learning that Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever) was too ill to attend. (He was suffering from a virus, which inspired a lot of "flesh-eating disease" jokes. It was that kind of crowd.)

Panelists included Cinematical's Scott Weinberg, who watches more horror movies in a month than I ever will in my life; Scott Glosserman, who directed Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon; Lauren Moews, a producer on Cabin Fever and the recently announced Cabin Fever 2; Zev Berman, who co-wrote and directed Borderland, a horror movie premiering at SXSW; actor Rider Strong, who had lead roles in Borderland and in Cabin Fever; and Zack Carlson, who programs horror film events at Alamo Drafthouse such as Terror Thursdays. The panel was moderated by Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, who also actively participated in the discussions about the horror genre.

Knowles started the session with a question about what he called "torture porn," the type of horror movie that features people being tortured in horrible ways, instead of being slaughtered quickly with a sledgehammer, axe or chainsaw. Although Saw was mentioned as an example, Weinberg argued that the film's attraction wasn't simply from scenes of torture. "Saw taps into some primal questions. What affected me was that I put myself in those characters' shoes."

Scott Glosserman's crazy, cool and undeniably clever Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is many things at once: a winning mockumentary, a legitimate horror film and a very sly deconstruction of the slasher genre. It's precisely the sort of geek-friendly genre pic that 14-year-olds plan to make as they sit through a triple feature of Halloween 2, Elm Street 3 and Friday 4 -- but only a few of 'em actually grow up to do it, let alone as amusingly as Glosserman has. The gimmick is a fun one indeed: A documentary crew has been invited to spend some time with Leslie Vernon, an upstart serial slasher who aims to become as famous as Freddy, Michael and Jason. But what begins as a simple lesson in how to effectively slash, bash and dispatch a gang of hard-partying teens becomes, you guessed it, a true-blue nightmare. The documentarians forgot the golden rule of their craft -- don't get involved with your interview subjects -- and now they're going to pay for it dearly.

The cast is exactly what you'd hope for from a winking-yet-reverent mockumentary like Behind the Mask. Leading man Nathan Baesel switches from Jim Carrey-goofy to Jack Nicholson-creepy with the drop of one eyebrow, and it's his performance that perfectly nails what Glosserman is going for: sly, scary ... and maybe just a little silly. (We all love these old slasher flicks, of course, but nobody's about to label 'em as "high art," right?) Fans of the genre will ooze geek-juice all over the supporting cast. No less than Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund, Scott Wilson (The Host) and the awesome Zelda Rubenstein (Poltergeist) stop by for a few choice scenes. As the documentarian who opts to follow Leslie V. around (and lives to regret it), Angela Goethals is quite solid throughout. Sometimes funny, sometimes annoying, her character serves as an excellent foil for Mr. Vernon as well a bemused stand-in for the more seasoned audience members.

Extra, extra! Read all about it! Professional gore-slinger Eli Roth to attend South By Southwest this March, sit on a horror-geek panel, and show off a brand-new clip from his upcoming movie Hostel: Part 2! Cool!

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First the panel news: The event ("Panel of the Dead: Horror Films of Today") will be held on March 11, with AICN's Harry Knowles moderating the discussion. Panelists will include Mr. Roth, filmmaker Scott Glosserman (Behind the Mask), producer Lauren Moews (Cabin Fever, Borderland) and yes, yours truly, because if you're going to invite a film critic to sit in on a horror panel, you should probably choose one who actually appreciates the fine art of cinematic horror ... as I so definitely do. (There may be some more panelists announced down the road, so stay tuned!)

But what about the movies? Well, in addition to the aforementioned Hostel: Part 2 clip, SXSW attendees will be able to enjoy the following fright-centric flicks:

Borderland (World Premiere) -- Sean Astin, Rider Strong and the amazingly gorgeous Mircea Monroe star in this tale of lost kids, wrong turns and human sacrifices.

Grimm Love (North American Premiere) -- Before he was handed the reins on the upcoming Hills Have Eyes 2, German filmmaker Martin Weisz created this unpredictable (and fairly controversial) tale of hardcore cannibalism. (Over the past year or so, I've been asked "Have you seen Grimm Love yet?" at least a dozen times.)

Mulberry Street (North American Premiere) -- SXSW producer Matt Dentler described this one to me as "Zombies overtake New York, only they're like Rat-Zombies. It's pretty damn wild." Sign me up.

Sisters (U.S. Premiere) -- All I know is that it's a remake of the Brian De Palma flick, and it stars Stephen Rea and Chloe Sevigny ... which is all I need to get at least somewhat interested.

Them (U.S. Premiere) -- A French chiller also known as Ils, it's about a couple who get absolutely terrorized by a group of unseen assailants. And by "unseen," that means by the audience as well.

...and of course the SXSW brain-trust has its collective eye on a few more horror titles, so if you feel like visiting Austin and you really like scary, spooky, splattery movies -- I say you make your trip mid-March.

One of the most disarmingly clever genre deconstructions I've ever seen is Scott Glosserman's Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon -- which is just another way of saying "It's a horror mockumentary created by folks who definitely know their old-school slasher flicks, and aren't afraid of being a little irreverent while paying homage to the genre that Jason (and Michael and Freddy) built." I saw the movie with a very enthusiastic crowd back at last March's SXSW Film Festival -- and then once again at the Alamo Drafthouse on Halloween Night when I happened to be back in Austin for reasons of a more personal (to say nothing of curvier) nature.

And after two sessions with Leslie I can tell you: This flick really works, but only if, as a child, you used to love sneaking HBO peeks at Friday the 13th Part 4, Halloween Part 5 and Freddy Part 6 while your parents were off doing more, ahem, parental things. Bolstered immeasurably by the fantastic lead performance of Nathan Baesel (and kept consistently afloat by Glosserman's witty screenplay), Behind the Mask is a certifiable hoot for the horror crowd. If the "meet the hot young slasher" mockumentary idea doesn't sell you at first, I'd also remind you that Behind the Mask delivers genre veterans like Robert Englund, Scott Wilson and Zelda Rubinstein. And if you're still not curious, then fine: You're officially off my list of true-blue horror geeks.

So here's some good news: Not only has Anchor Bay purchased Behind the Mask for distribution, but they'll be doing it in a theatrical capacity! Yep, Anchor Bay is gonna bang out some prints and distribute the flick on January 5 -- although obviously it's going to be a fairly limited-style release pattern. But don't worry; I hear those Anchor Bay guys do some pretty fine horror-work on the DVD front as well.