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Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Story: On the surface, Leslie Vernon seems like your average small town, nice guy. He has goals, ambition and aspirations to follow in the footsteps of his long-time hero Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees, and be the world's next great psycho-slasher. A true self-promoter, Leslie gives documentary filmmaker Taylor Gentry and her crew exclusive access to his life as he plans and executes his next great reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo, all the while deconstructing the constructions and archetypes of the horror genre for them.
Comment: If you are a fan of horror films then you will get all the references of other horror films in this story. I thought the story was well done and documenting a sociopath doing his job was an interesting twist.
Rating: 8/10
Diary of the Dead
Story: A group of film students are making an independent horror film when they become trapped in a world being consumed by flesh-eating zombies. With an obsessive, unflinching eye, one filmmaker documents each death on camera. As the lucky survivors take final refuge, the film continues to roll, recording every detail for future generations...if any survive.
Comment: If you like one of the main characters holding the camera to document the findings, like in Cloverfield and Quarantine then you might like this film. The camera is stable in the hands of the character, which is better than what I have seen in Cloverfield. The special effects and the story were decent, but some of the characters are a bit whiny, but I guess I might be in their situation where zombies were attacking everyone.
Rating: 7/10
Otis
Story: In the midst of a serial abductor/killer's rampage, a beautiful young teen, Riley Lawson, goes missing. When her desperate parents, Will and Kate, are contacted by her kidnapper, an insufferable FBI Special Agent takes charge of the case.But, from deep within the psychopathic subterranean world created by Otis, Riley turns the tables on her tormentor, manages to escape and to contact her parents. And, fed up with the tragi-comic inability of the FBI to find their girl, Will, Kate, and Riley's brother, Reed decide to take matters - and justice - into their own hands.
Comment: A very dark comedy where the main characters actually torture someone until they discover they tortured the wrong person, which is relatively funny if you have an odd sense of humor.
Rating: 8/10
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