David Stieve talks approach
Now on DVD and begging for a sequel, Behind the Mask split the slasher genre wide open and poked around inside to see what made it tick. The result was a surprisingly fun and analytical journey that watched killer wannabe Leslie Vernon elevate himself from normal joe to legend.
Icons of Fright ran an interview with “Mask” writer David J. Stieve who discusses where he would steer a sequel. And like Scream 2, his take is cognizant of the “rules” to a follow-up.
“Obviously the focus of that or the metaphor involved there, as it happened with Nathan as an actor or Scott as a director, or me as a writer, it’s how do you handle that ‘freshman phenom/rookie of the year’ type thing!” Stieve poses. “That’s the symbolism at play; how does Leslie handle his success? And of course you have the whole genre-specific constructions and conventions of a horror sequel. There’s specific conventions involved with every killer that comes back. How the town reacts, who the people are that survive, and who fills what role coming around again…so there are all these very specific genre expectations for a sequel that are ripe for the picking but thereâs obviously the metaphor of how does Leslie as the ‘artist’ handle his fame, does he handle it well, does he burn out too quick, keep himself in check, does he do it right? There’s a very rich soil to till from a storytelling standpoint.”
Naturally, DVD sales and audience reception will dictate if we’ll ever see Leslie Vernon return. To check out the rest of this thorough and terrific interview, click on the “Icons” link above!
Source: Ryan Rotten, Icons of Fright
