A Sequel to the Cult Fillm LESLIE VERNON in the Works

The sequel to the horror mockumentary film about psycho slasher Leslie Vernon is in the works according to writer David J. Stieve.

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon was an indie film which blended horror and comedy. The film was about a young man, Leslie Vernon, who's dream is to be the next great psycho horror slasher. He gives a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo, all the while deconstructing the conventions and archetypes of the horror genre for them. The film was in limited release in theaters but was a huge success at festivals and with critics and since its DVD release has received a large following making it a new cult favorite.

Icons of Fright recently caught up with David J. Stieve, one of the co-writers of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon and he talks about there being “concrete interest in making a sequel to BEHIND THE MASK soon," and that "it's legitimate enough to get [director] Scott (Glosserman) and I working on the story and plotting it out."

He reveals a little bit as to where the sequel would go and whether or not it would follow the original in blending a documentary-world aesthetic with the film-world; the original film would switch from one to the other depending on the point of view.

“I can tell you that there IS a way we're blending the documentary and cinematic lenses again. And there is also a manner in which Taylor (Angela Goethals) and Leslie are forced to cooperate with one another, although not necessarily on the best of terms. There's definitely a perverse love story that must be honored, but then again they did try pretty hard to kill each other. Not exactly a ‘kiss and make up’ situation. There's a sort of bigger, badder influence that's threatening everything Leslie's worked to accomplish, and Taylor may have her own agenda for ‘helping’ him. Or does she?”

He also attempts to assure fan who may be weary of the sequel,

“Scott and I are painfully aware of the sequel trap, of treading the same ground again with nothing more than a bigger budget. That's not what's going to happen. Things didn't go the way Leslie wanted them to, particularly in the reaction of the residents of Glen Echo. I can't give any more details than that, but suffice to say, we find Leslie a little perplexed that he ‘did everything right, everything went exactly according to plan!’ and yet the aftermath of his rampage is a right-turn derailment of what he was expecting. So he, being Leslie, regroups and plays the hand he's been dealt. How Taylor and the boys get involved is part of the unfolding of his efforts in that regard. I'm VERY pleased that we've found what we feel is a progressive, organic,and rational way to make that happen. Again, the real world parallel is that our efforts as filmmakers also needed to be re-calibrated and adjusted to the reality of the industry. I feel we've found that signature blending of the two worlds at the story level. Albeit this time, the industry is going to take a few harder shots... When you think about it, Michael Myers, Jason, Freddy Krueger all had to pay their dues. It's not an instantaneous process, even in their world! So each of us, individually and collectively, have come to realize how much more work we need to do. We all accept it and are up to the task. We've learned our lessons, taken our lumps, and we're going to craft a better story for Leslie as a result. Leslie is redoubling his efforts to become the greatest slasher killer ever. He knows it's gonna be a longer race than he thought, and he's gearing up to win it. Woe to the ones who doubt him or get in his way! "

According to Stieve, Leslie will be “channeling Freddy a bit more this time, finding some frightening ways to express his sense of humor.”