You want to really think about your costume, because, really, there's so much to choose from.. A Nightmare on Elm Street? Poltergeist? The Hills Have Eyes? Scream? The Omen? Or classic The Birds?
Horror movies present a unique challenge to any filmmaker: In order to construct a truly great horror film, you must not only understand the genre formula, but you must also ascertain which elements of the formula may be dispensed with and which must be enhanced in order to get the most out of one particular scary story. Some of the best horror flicks acknowledge genre conventions tongue-in-cheek — think of the virgin/death paradigm, among other horror-flick ingredients, discussed to death in the first Scream.
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon takes this self-analytic approach a step further. Scott Glosserman's film premiered at the 29th Starz Denver Film Festival's midnight program in 2006 and tells the story of Leslie Vernon, a man just trying to make his dream come true — only his dream is to become a psycho killer.
Taylor Gentry and her documentary crew follow Vernon on his quest to become the small town of Glen Echo's worst nightmare. Between Vernon's training processes, strategy planning, former-killer mentor and deconstructions of the conventions and archetypes of the horror genre, Gentry and her fellow filmmakers can't seem to discern the line between fact and fiction, observing and abetting.
For more information on the film or the costume party, visit www.denverfilm.org or call 303-595-3456. — Amber Taufen
