A US student documentary crew follows the next "supernatural killer" wannabe who aims to emulate Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers et al. Leslie Vernon lets his audience into the secrets of the trade as existing horror-film characters, story lines, myths and philosophy are mined by Mr Vernon during a faux- documentary, which cleverly flips to show us how his antics would look in a "real" movie.
However the great first half, which includes several good jokes and comments on the genre and a good performance by Mr Baesel, peters out when it becomes a rather sub-standard teen-slasher pic. Obviously what the makers intended (maybe not the sub-standard bit), but the build-up, which felt bright and original, was wasted.
Unfortunately my overall impression was of yet another US horror film that can't escape the past. I thought the first half of the film was enjoyable and deserved a unique conclusion to distinguish it from its predecessors. Instead it ended up a shadow of some of movies it referenced.
However the great first half, which includes several good jokes and comments on the genre and a good performance by Mr Baesel, peters out when it becomes a rather sub-standard teen-slasher pic. Obviously what the makers intended (maybe not the sub-standard bit), but the build-up, which felt bright and original, was wasted.
Unfortunately my overall impression was of yet another US horror film that can't escape the past. I thought the first half of the film was enjoyable and deserved a unique conclusion to distinguish it from its predecessors. Instead it ended up a shadow of some of movies it referenced.