CRYPT MAGAZINE: sex. horror. rocknroll.

by Lexa Vonn

The horror film 'Behind the Mask' is scheduled to hit theatres March 13th, 2007 and marks Scott Glosserman’s first feature film and directorial debut. In addition to directing, he also served as producer and co-wrote the film along with David Stevie. The film follows the story of an aspiring documentary filmmaker Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals) and her crew as they arrive in the small town of Glen Echo to record the sinister plan of vicious killer Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel) to place himself in slasher history by unleashing a reign of terror on the town all in front of the rolling cameras. We recently contacted Scott Glosserman with a few questions to give us some insight to the making of the film.

LV: What is your favorite horror movie of all time?
SG: The Shining is my all time favorite movie, period!

LV: What was your inspiration to write 'Behind the Mask?'
SG: David Stevie wrote the original draft and I think it would’ve inspired any lover of the horror genre to get involved. I was the lucky one who read it first, I guess!

LV: Do you believe that slasher films are a reflection of man’s basic instincts and fears?
SG: Briskly walking down a dark alleyway at 2:00 in the morning versus taking one’s time is a reflection of man's basic instincts and fears. But, once a viewer has reached a certain age when he/she knows the difference between what's real and what's celluloid, horror/slasher films become entertainment/art. Are they Freudian? Do they espouse social commentary? Do they scare the shit out of us? They can do all of that, yes. But I believe that quality horror/slasher films belong in the same echelon as great films from other genres. Consequently, answering yes to the above would be far too simple. It wouldn't be doing the genre justice.

LV: Who would you site as the greatest onscreen killer of all time?
SG: If we break it down the way you’d break down the greatest basketball centers or homerun hitters, you gotta go with stats, and there are really only two (with Freddy Krueger as a close third) worthy of conversation. Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees. At that point, it’s like Nirvana or Pearl Jam. Both awesome, but you gotta give the nod to Nirvana because they came first. So, you gotta go with Michael Myers.

LV: What do you think of modern day thrillers that use mass computer animation as opposed to old-school special effects, make-up, pyrotechnics, etc.?
SG: If the endevor is just to scare, I generally think that the slicker the aestetic, the less scary the film. Something about the grainy, contrasting, pallid cinematography of old-school slashers—and even recent ones like the TEXAS CHAINSAW remake are more frightening to me. A general rule is that the degree of realism that can be pulled off increases as the production value decreases. And films that are couched in realism tend to be scarier for obvious reasons—i.e.: the original TCM and BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.

LV: What makes the character of Leslie Vernon tick?
SG: Leslie feels as though he's on the cusp of hitting it big. And he deserves
to feel that way. The guy's spent several years working really hard
mastering his craft. I think most people can relate to where he is in his
own personal journey. The only difference is scale. Most of us feel the
alacrity of a promotion. Some of us feel as though we're ready to take over
the starting position on the team. And, a couple of us, like Leslie, believe
its our time to wreak terror over the next unfortunate town and solidify
ourselves as a great psycho-slasher.

LV: How did you hook up with such horror legends as Robert Englund and Zelda Rubenstein?
SG: My casting director tracked down Zelda. She was extremely gracious to read the script and when she agreed to cameo as the librarian, we went back and beefed up the part. One of our executive producers got the script to Robert’s agent and apparently he read it right away. We were negotiating to get him up to Portland within days!

LV: Is the part of the documentary crew in the film a commentary on our current society’s unrelenting fascination with violence and reality TV?
SG: our angle was slightly different. We wanted to explore the boundary betweenjournalist as third party objective observer and compassionate human being. Originally, the script culminates with the documentarian on trial as an accomplice to the mayhem. However, much of this social commentary never emerged from the editing room, as we veered almost entirely toward satirical deconstruction of the conventions of horror. In the end, I decided that it didn't pay so much to make a bold statement about anything other than the nostalgic celebration of horror film.

LV: Would you say the part of Taylor, the documentary director is
symbolic of the media's sensationalism of current events at the cost of honesty and morality?
SG: You nailed it. Again, that’s what we were going for, initially, but 90% of that commentary got edited out to maintain focus.

LV: When watching a horror flick, do you relate more to the victim or the killer?
SG: That sort of depends on whether I am watching HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW or not.