YMMV / Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Is Leslie Vernon Affably Evil and sincerely believing in his Balance Between Good and Evil philosophy or is he actually a Faux Affably Evil psychopath who is just using it as a veneer to cover up his horrific crimes? Does he hesitate to murder Todd the cameraman due to their past friendship or just delay it for spite?
  • Is the camera crew fully aware Leslie is dangerous or are they thinking this is all a joke? They clearly undergo a Heel–Face Turn when they discover Leslie is murdering people for real but were they just not thinking about the implications until they actually happened?
• Foe Yay Shipping: A bit of a one-sided one between Leslie and Taylor. Ironically, Taylor seems more interested in Leslie than the reverse.
• Magnificent Bastard: Leslie Vernon is an aspiring killer in the vein of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger who is chosen to be the subject of a documentary that the main character, Taylor Gentry, is making. Taylor ends up charmed by the shockingly charismatic Leslie who details to her and her film crew exactly how he plans to carry out his murder spree. When Taylor opts to interfere on behalf of the victims, she realizes Leslie's real plan: she and her crew were also intended to be his victims, and they're playing right into his hands, becoming part of his attack just as Leslie always intended. It turns out Taylor is actually Leslie's chosen "final girl" to defeat him and seal his place in slasher legend. It also turns out Leslie predicted exactly how Taylor would defeat him and took precautions to survive this as well.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: The film crew comes off as this if you believe they knew Leslie was going to go on a killing spree.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic?: Thoroughly averted. The movie is very clear that all of the subtle or Freudian imagery of slasher films are deliberate in this version. Added with the Director's Commentary stating that Leslie Vernon's mask is based on a fetus (showing he's not developed as a man).

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