Director Scott Glosserman admits he was a little raw when he shot “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.”
“I didn’t know, technically, what was going on,” Glosserman tells Big Hollywood with a laugh.
That 2006 micro-indie became a cult hit all the same, winning over hardcore horror addicts with its genre knowledge, sense of humor and affection for the material.
Today, Glosserman has far more experience behind the camera as he approaches a new “Leslie Vernon” project. But this time he could use a little help from his online friends.
Glosserman’s Kickstarter effort, which ends Aug. 7, is raising money for that film’s “spreemake,” “Before the Mask: The Return of Leslie Vernon.”
After all, the horror genre is full of sequels, prequels and remakes, so why not tweak all three at the same time?
“What’s gratifying and humbling is the constant stream of blogs and Google alerts, with someone else discovering ‘Behind the Mask’ in their video store,” says Glosserman, adding the film has a steady presence on Facebook. “I don’t know if it’s enough to commercially demand a sequel … I’ll leave it up to the audience to decide.”
He’s already received commitments from three horror stalwarts to return for the new film.
“Before the Mask” will feature Robert England of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” fame as well as character actor Scott Wilson, best known of late as Hershel on AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and Kane Hodder (Jason from several “Friday the 13th” films).
The original “Mask” wasn’t the first movie to mock horror movie staples. The original “Scream” came back in 2006. But the film’s talk of a “survivor girl,” the scrappy female survivor in too many horror movies, and juicy meta-references clearly resonated with audiences.
Now, Glosserman would like to ride the new wave of crowd sourcing technology to bring the slight but still spooky Leslie Vernon back from the film grave.
Follow Christian Toto on Twitter @TotoMovies