I saw this on the recommendation of a friend. I had never heard of it, but I was assured it was a good movie. Understanding the premise helps a lot, because this is a great movie and excellent concept. The beginning of the movie sets up the second half. In the first part, we see Leslie as human. He sometimes says creepy things, like when they begin to discuss his library of text books, mostly medical and anatomy. He makes a joke of this, saying these are necessary for the trade. He always refers to his need to kill as a profession and even has a mentor. Through them we see the world as if it were a game. The mockumentary parts are not only hilarious, we get to see the monsters side of things. The door that won't stay open? Probably rigged. Those ever-so-creepy newspaper articles the main character always seems to find at just the right moment? Those require more effort then the viewers might consider.
The second half of the movie is when we get to see Leslie in action. Because we have seen him as human in the first half, seeing him as a monster in the second isn't as scary as one might expect. It is not supposed to be. Leslie Vernon has become a person we know, who made us laugh, who keeps pet turtles. He is not some random resurrected guy with an axe to grind. He is a guy at work, albeit disgusting and immoral work, he is still a guy at work. Set up this way, it is a bit like watching two movies. The two parts play off each other very well.
This movie is darkly funny. No one wants to laugh as scary things happen, but when things work out just as Leslie predicts they will, even the "documentary" crew gets very enthusiastic.
Robert Englund (Freddy Kreuger) read this script and was impressed. being a big name in horror, he admittedly gets swamped with scripts. This movie interested him enough that he accepted the role. If you can't decide if you should watch it, remember that. And then rent it, with friends.
Everyone needs someone to look up to. Leslie realized he will never reach the fame of Mike (Meyers), Chuckie or Freddy, but he is trying.
